Surrey have met Middlesex three times this season and on each occasion Owais Shah has made at least fifty. Yesterday he went one better, becoming the first Middlesex batsman to record a century in this season’s Norwich Union League as the Crusaders triumphed over the Lions at Whitgift.

There can be little doubt that Shah is one of the finest strokemakers in the country, indeed he is probably wasted on second division cricket, but Surrey seem to have no answer for his straight driving, meaty square cuts and flicks to leg.

The 23-year-old reached his half-century in 55 deliveries and needed just 34 more to post three figures as the visitors took advantage of some less than scrupulous bowling.

After winning the toss and inserting their guests, Ed Giddins claimed three wickets - including Shah’s - but conceded twice the number of runs the home fans have come to expect from him. Hollioake, Clarke and Sampson also failed to put the ball in the right areas. Tim Murtagh did, however, enhance his growing reputation with figures of one for 26 off nine overs, after conceding fourteen off his first two.

Andy Strauss, who took fours off the opening pair of deliveries of the first two overs, was the other major contributor with 74 off 81 balls. The Crusaders’ captain added 90 in less than an hour with Shah after Aaron Laraman was lbw pushing forward and Sven Koenig had skied a catch to mid-on.

In reply, the home side were soon in trouble, losing the wickets of Ian Ward, Mark Ramprakash and Rikki Clarke inside nine overs; the second, involving the former Middlesex man, giving the appearance of an extremely hairline decision following a nifty piece of handiwork by Strauss.

Nevertheless with Alistair Brown passing fifty in 34 deliveries two overs later, it seemed as if it was just a question of Surrey keeping their heads. But there was no legislating for what was to bring about the downfall of Nadeem Shahid.

After the fourth wicket pair had added 66 in nine overs Brown, who punished Chad Keegan three times in one over and was just starting to tuck into the bowling of Simon Cook, knocked the bat out of Shahid’s hand with a thumping straight drive. Cook then picked up the stationary ball and threw down the stumps before the non-striker could make his ground sans bat.

Paul Weekes’s first over produced the prized scalp of Alistair Brown, whose 94 had occupied just 63 balls. When spin was also introduced at the South End in the shape of 21-year-old James Dalrymple the Lions lost the only other man likely to propel his side to victory, Adam Hollioake, to an off-stump full toss.

That left Surrey needing 123 in twenty-one overs, with four wickets remaining and all of their trump cards spent. The home side lasted another three quarters of an hour, during which Philip Sampson straight drove Dalrymple for successive sixes. But the game was brought to a premature conclusion when Sampson failed to jab his bat down on an Ian Jones yorker.

For Middlesex, who had not beaten Surrey in the one-day league since 1989 and had not tasted victory away from home against them since 1986, it was their third Norwich Union success on the trot. The Oval outfit, meanwhile, have lost three limited-overs matches in four days.

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