County Championship: Jamie Smith hits century as Surrey start well in huge run chase

Jamie Smith became the first Surrey batter to pass 400 runs in the Championship this season

Surrey need another 238 in what would be their highest-ever run chase after a brilliant century by Jamie Smith gave them a chance of making history in the County Championship.

The Division One leaders were 263-3 stumps and more than halfway to their target, with Dom Sibley on 61 not out and Ben Foakes unbeaten on 22, after Smith made 114 and Tom Latham 58.

Kent were all out for 344 just before lunch, a lead of exactly 500, as Jordan Clark took 5-79, but only after Hamid Qadri had hit a highly entertaining 72 and put on 117 in a crucial stand with Joey Evison.

However, having lost just two wickets in the last two sessions Surrey stand an excellent chance of overhauling their previous highest chase, which was against Kent at the same venue in 2002 when they finished on 410-8.

Surrey began a pulsating third day with hopes of getting Kent's final four wickets cheaply, but Qadri survived a dicey early spell, smacked Sean Abbott for six over cow corner and brought up his 50 with a heave past the bowler, Gus Atkinson, for four.

By the time Clark took three wickets for no runs in the space of five balls, Kent's lead was already 445 and the seventh-wicket stand that exasperated Surrey only came to an end when Evison was caught by Smith off Clark for 42.

Clark then bowled Wes Agar, promoted up the order, for a second-ball duck and Qadri's fun finally ended when he hit the same bowler to Jacks on the boundary, but the last-wicket pair of Arshdeep Singh and Matt Quinn then put on 53.

Arshdeep hit fours off his first two balls and Quinn made 37 from 22 balls, including three sixes before Clark bowled him.

Just as it looked like Surrey's morning could not get any worse, in the two-over mini-session before lunch, Rory Burns edged to Jack Leaning at second slip and Latham was nearly run out.

He survived by an inch and the let off seemed to remind Surrey of the discipline they would need as he and Sibley batted through the entire afternoon.

They only looked vulnerable when Qadri came on, but his earlier luck deserted him as he had Latham dropped twice, by Ben Compton and Agar, in the space of two overs.

He finally got his man when Daniel Bell-Drummond took a diving catch at mid-on shortly after tea but while Sibley continued to score steadily, Smith then started flaying the bowlers.

He was on 77 when he cut Quinn and Compton could not hold a difficult catch and he reached three figures from 70 balls when he smashed Joe Denly's first ball for six over long on.

A wave of relief went round the ground when Arshdeep sent his off stump flying to end a stand of 138 but with Foakes joining Sibley and taking eight off the final over, it left Kent members with long memories fearing something even worse than their defeat 21 years ago, when Ian Ward and Jimmy Ormond put on 97 for the eighth wicket to steer Surrey home.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.