It is only the County Championship's second week but Surrey's impressive nine-wicket victory against Hampshire at the Kia Oval was a resoundingly powerful statement of intent from last season's champions. Needing to score 243 from 72 overs after finishing off Hampshire's second innings on 258, Ollie Pope's scintillating unbeaten 122 from 102 balls sped them to a 20-point win with 16.4 overs in hand, while Dom Sibley played a superb anchor role with 79 not out. The pair added an unbroken 193 in 30 overs for Surrey's second wicket with, by the end, complete freedom.

Hampshire, however, for much of last year Surrey's closest challengers for the title, fully contributed to a terrific toe-to-toe contest over the four days but, in the end, as overhead conditions eased and the pitch remained good, Surrey's all-round strength saw them pull away in devastating style in the final session of the match. Pope was annoyed to miss out on an 11th Oval first-class hundred in the first innings, even though he had kept Surrey in the game with a hard-fought 91 when batting was far more difficult, and he treated a good-sized Sunday crowd to a stream of memorable strokes after a solid opening stand of 54 between Sibley and Rory Burns. An extraordinary six off fast bowler James Fuller was struck tennis-fashion over the wicketkeeper's head and one drilled straight drive for four, from a skip or two down the pitch against the same bowler, will live long in the memory.

Pope struck three sixes and 14 fours in total, finishing the match in style by lofting Felix Organ's off-spin for successive sixes, after cruising to his half-century from 60 deliveries, while Sibley faced 144 balls, hitting 10 fours. Earlier, Dan Worrall's five for 40 from 17 overs provided the main cutting edge in a five-man Surrey pace battery that, to a man, played its part in the win that followed a high-scoring draw with Lancashire at Old Trafford in the opening week. There were also two wickets apiece for Kemar Roach and Tom Lawes.

It took Surrey 22 overs, at the start of the day, to finish off Hampshire's second innings after they had resumed on 198-5. With 14 overs still to be bowled before the second new ball was due, the onus was on Hampshire to press on in that first hour, but their cause was not helped when Nick Gubbins edged a fine ball from Lawes to first slip with just 10 runs added to the overnight total.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP