Warwickshire remain on top against Surrey
Surrey face a testing final-day rearguard action at Edgbaston to avoid defeat by Warwickshire in Division One of the County Championship.
Beau Webster was one of five Warwickshire batters to pass fifty in their first innings [Getty Images] Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Edgbaston (day three) Surrey 328: Foakes 128 & 169-3: Smith 51*; Thompson 1-19 Warwickshire 544: Mousley 144; Albert 3-80 Surrey (3 pts) trail Warwickshire (8 pts) by 47 runs Match scorecard Surrey face a testing final-day rearguard action at Edgbaston to avoid an opening-game defeat by Warwickshire in Division One of the County Championship. Trailing by 216 on first innings, the visitors closed the third day on 169-3, still 47 away from avoiding an innings defeat. England's Jamie Smith ended the day unbeaten on 51 and Rory Burns made 55 but Surrey need at least two players to bat long on the last day to save the game.
Warwickshire had earlier extended their first innings to 544 all out as Dan Mousley struck a career-best 144, Sam Hain 94 and Beau Webster 53. Eighteen-year-old spinner Ralphie Albert enjoyed most success with 3-80 in a Surrey attack missing the unavailable Gus Atkinson, the injured Dan Worrall and the flu-hit Jordan Clark. Surrey need to bat diligently to save the game but, on a pitch which has become mostly batter-friendly, would be disappointed not to shepherd the 174th County Championship match between these two sides to its 77th draw.
Warwickshire resumed their first innings on the third morning on 330-2, already two runs in front, and Surrey's objective was to make run-scoring a lot less comfortable than the previous day. They largely did that, bowling a better line and ensuring that runs were a lot harder-earned. Mousley and Hain took their partnership to 212 in 52 overs before both fell shortly before a brief rain break.
Hain, six short of his 20th first-class century, was lbw to a full-length ball from Matt Fisher. Mousley, having hit 25 fours in his first first-class hundred for Warwickshire, edged James Taylor to slip where Burns hung on at the second attempt. Ed Barnard pepped the boundary count back up with four fours from his first ten balls but then edged an attempted cut at Fisher to slip.