County Championship: Surrey beat Northants by an innings and five runs

Surrey are now 30 points clear at the top of Division One

Surrey's five-man pace attack blew Northamptonshire away for the second time in 24 hours at The Oval, dismissing them for 202 to complete a County Championship victory by an innings and five runs inside three days.

Dan Worrall picked up 3-37, Gus Atkinson 3-26 and Jordan Clark 2-43 for Surrey, who had earlier finished off the Northamptonshire first innings for 194.

During the first innings, Colin De Grandhomme took 4-39 before Surrey strengthened their position at the top of Division One with a third win from five games.

This was a real show of power by the hosts - who earned 22 points - despite the absence of Ollie Pope with illness and the fact Sam Curran did not bowl in either Northamptonshire innings as he continues to manage his return from a stress fracture of the back.

In addition, left-arm paceman Reece Topley was rested.

Worrall, though, hugely impressed on his home debut and the 30-year-old Australian - now classed as a home player due to his British passport - claimed the vital scalp of Will Young soon after Northamptonshire had been asked to follow on.

Worrall produced an absolute beauty to have the New Zealand Test opener caught behind for three in his fourth over with the new ball, leaving the visitors on eight for two after Ricardo Vasconcelos had also edged to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes off Clark in the previous over.

Emilio Gay, to his enormous credit, then shrugged off a series of nasty blows to both his right and left elbows to hit a number of lovely strokes in a brave 51 and hold up Surrey's seam battery for an hour-and-a-half.

Gay twice needed on-field treatment to his right elbow in one Clark over just before lunch and soon after his arrival at the crease. Then, on 33, he was struck on his left elbow by a De Grandhomme delivery that spat up at him.

But the most painful blow came just after he had reached a 56-ball fifty with a pull off De Grandhomme, his ninth four.

The next ball from the New Zealand all-rounder again lifted sharply and Gay initially looked as if he could not carry on after a stoppage for yet more treatment to the tall left-hander's right elbow.

Deciding perhaps unwisely to bat on, Gay was then beaten from De Grandhomme's next ball and also nicked Jamie Overton just short of Foakes before Atkinson found his edge again and this time it carried to the Surrey and England keeper.

Atkinson's first spell of 5-17-2 had earlier also accounted for Luke Procter, who was well caught just inside the deep square leg boundary by Sam Curran for nine when the left-hander slightly mis-hit a pull at the young all-rounder's second ball.

Northamptonshire's slide continued apace following Gay's dismissal, with Saif Zaib leg-before for eight to a searing Overton yorker, Rob Keogh bowled off stump for 15 by another superb Worrall outswinger and Lewis McManus giving Foakes a fourth catch of the innings off Clark.

Tom Taylor sparred De Grandhomme to second slip on 18, soon after tea, but Matt Kelly and Simon Kerrigan both enjoyed themselves in a ninth-wicket stand of 50 before Worrall returned to have Kerrigan caught at cover for 25 and Atkinson saw Kelly swing high to deep midwicket on 33.

Northamptonshire's first innings, meanwhile, had earlier lasted just another 10.4 overs after they began day three on 154-8, with Procter - who had resumed on 61 - remaining 83 not out from 196 balls and fully deserving of the crowd's warm applause following a determined lone hand.

One of Procter's last defiant blows was a memorably-struck six off Overton that flew out of the ground over the short boundary and into the Harleyford Road.

De Grandhomme picked up the remaining two Northamptonshire first-innings wickets, pinning Kerrigan leg-before for 12 with a full-pitched swinging delivery and then forcing Ben Sanderson to sky to mid on when he miscued an attempted smear.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.