Ollie Pope's battling century could not save Surrey from a 145-run trouncing by Nottinghamshire at the Kia Oval.

It was the second time in 11 months that Haseeb Hameed's side had left victorious but, whereas last year they scraped in by 20 runs on their way to the Rothesay County Championship title, this time they were superior by a much wider margin.

Much of that was down to fast bowler Olly Stone, who took ten wickets in the match to capitalise on a helpful pitch, putting his side another step closer to keeping the Championship but pushing Surrey – treble winners from 2022 to 2024 and only just missing out last year – into trouble at the other end of Division One.

This was their third defeat in four matches, left to rue having Notts 104 for eight on the first day but – as has happened on several occasions this season – failing to make the most of their opportunity.

Liam Patterson-White's 76 not out dragged the visitors up to 184, Tom Lawes finishing with five for 45, but then Surrey slid from 84 for two to 162 all out, England paceman Stone claiming six for 44, the slide started by removing skipper Rory Burns for 44 and Pope for a duck.

Joe Clarke's 95 led the visitors to 306 all out in their second innings, Dan Worrall and Matthew Fisher both finishing with four wickets.

That set Surrey an unlikely 329 for victory but only Pope's fighting 111 stretched the match into the final moments of day three, when they were bowled out for 183 with Stone taking four for 50 and Dillon Pennington three for 46.

Afterwards Burns admitted: “We're pretty disappointed, to put it mildly. After day one I thought we had the better of them and had put ourselves in a decent position. That was still the case on day two when we got to 84 for two but after that we have been second-best.

“I don’t think we should have been bowled out for 162 in our first innings – we should have been pushing 300 the way the pitch was playing then. It improved throughout the game, even though it got a bit low towards the end.

“But you can't bat like we did in our first innings and expect any more than we've got.

“It was a big opportunity missed. It's a real disappointment.”

Results elsewhere have added pressure on to Surrey, who are now just three points above the relegation zone, having started the season as title favourites. They have been overtaken by Yorkshire and pushed into eighth spot, promoted Leicestershire closing up on them after beating Glamorgan.

Surrey head to Chelmsford – rarely a happy hunting ground for them, having last won there in the Championship eight years ago – this week to play Essex, who have safety concerns of their own.

After that they return to the Kia Oval for what may prove a key clash against Yorkshire, closely followed by a trip to Hove to play Sussex in the mad dash through September which marks the closing stages of the campaign. They finish with a home date against Glamorgan and then away to title-challenging Somerset at Taunton.

By Richard Spiller