Olly Stone channels Larwood as Nottinghamshire crush Surrey by 145 runs at The Oval
Nottinghamshire beat Surrey by 145 runs in their Rothesay County Championship Division One match at The Oval, with fast bowler Olly Stone producing figures that hadn't been seen from a Nottinghamshire player at this ground in nearly 90 years.
Stone took 10-94 across the match — 6-44 in Surrey's first innings and 4-50 in their second — becoming the first Nottinghamshire bowler to claim ten or more wickets against Surrey at The Oval since Harold Larwood in 1936 (BBC Sport). Larwood, of course, is the name attached to Bodyline; that a modern pace bowler should echo his feat on the same ground gives the numbers a satisfying symmetry.
The match turned on two passages of play. Nottinghamshire were skittled for 184 in their first innings, slumping to 104-8 before Liam Patterson-White's unbeaten 76 hauled them to something respectable (Cricket World). Tom Lawes did the damage with 5-45 for Surrey (ESPN). Stone then ripped through Surrey's reply, bowling them out for 162 in 66.3 overs — a first-innings lead of just 22 for the visitors.
In the second innings, Nottinghamshire stretched their advantage to 306, built around Joe Clarke's 95 and a handy 46 off 83 balls from Kyle Verreynne. That left Surrey chasing 329 to win — a target that always looked demanding against a ball moving around and a pitch offering encouragement.
Ollie Pope provided the resistance. He carried his bat for 111, his 26th first-class century and his 14th at The Oval, before falling last man out as Surrey were dismissed for 183. Dillon Pennington chipped in with 3-46 to support Stone in wrapping up the chase (BBC Sport).
The arithmetic was straightforward: Nottinghamshire's 490 runs across two innings against Surrey's 345 produced the 145-run margin (BBC Sport Scorecard). Nottinghamshire collected 19 points to Surrey's 3.
Surrey had won the County Championship in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and were runners-up to Nottinghamshire the year before that. A heavy home defeat against the side who last pipped them to the title carries a weight that the raw scorecard cannot quite capture.
For Nottinghamshire, the win reaffirms their credentials in Division One. For Stone, whose career has been repeatedly interrupted by injury, a match haul of 10-94 on one of England's most storied grounds is the kind of performance that selectors file away. He bowled with pace and control across both innings, and on this evidence, he is fit, firing, and very much back in the conversation.
