County Championship: Surrey complete second-highest run chase in history to beat Kent

Dom Sibley's century took 363 balls and 502 minutes - just over eight hours and 20 minutes - to compile

Surrey completed the second largest run chase in County Championship history by knocking off 501 to stun shellshocked Kent.

After resuming on 263-3 overnight, England pair Dom Sibley and Ben Foakes extended their fine partnership to 207 to take the game away from the hosts.

Foakes fell for 124 but Sibley's unbeaten 140 off 415 balls guided the Division One leaders to victory by five wickets as they salvaged their undefeated record against all the odds.

"To chase that many and to win the game, the boys are buzzing and it's great to stay at the top of the table," Sibley told BBC Radio London.

"Even when we were set 501 it didn't feel like it was out of our possibilities as a side - all the conversations were extremely positive yesterday and overnight."

Reigning champions Surrey's chase was just one run shy of the all-time Championship record held by Middlesex, who scored 502-6 in the fourth innings to beat Nottinghamshire in 1925.

• Relive Surrey's chase of 501 as it happened

But it was a record pursuit since the Championship was split into two divisions in 2000, surpassing the 479-6 amassed by Somerset to beat Yorkshire in 2009.

It also comfortably bettered Surrey's club-record chase, the 410-8 they tallied to beat, coincidentally, Kent in 2002 - and sits eighth in the list of largest chases in first-class cricket history worldwide.

"Obviously the game didn't go to plan at the start but there's a weird self-belief that we could chase 500 and the way Sibs wore them down was just incredible," Foakes added.

"That kind of belief creeps in from winning games. A lot had to go right but it was always in the back of our minds that the game wasn't out of reach."

'No rush and no need for one' - Sibley

On a day of records, Sibley set some, admittedly slightly less glorious, ones of his own - his patient effort the slowest first-class Championship century ever by both balls faced and time spent at the crease.

Jamie Smith's quickfire 114 off 77 balls on Tuesday - sharing a 139 partnership with Sibley - had set the platform for the opener to do what he does best and grind the bowling attack into submission.

Both Sibley and Foakes had points to prove after being overlooked for England's Ashes squad and they did so in style at the expense of a Kent side who remain second-bottom of Division One.

"It was just about occupying the crease, spending time getting through the new ball - I wasn't in any rush and I didn't need to be," Sibley added.

"Obviously it helps when Smithy comes and plays an innings like that, it was one of the best knocks I've ever seen from the other end, the striking and the shot-making was unbelievable.

"I had the best view in the house and I feel very privileged to have watched it - he's a very special player, top class and he's playing a different game at times.

"I was just trying to play that anchor role for the knock and the two lads beside me were unbelievable so credit to them."

Having been dismissed for just 145 in their first innings, Surrey took advantage of a flat pitch offering little to the bowlers, seeing off the new ball intelligently under blue skies at Canterbury.

Foakes did survive a couple of animated Kent appeals for, first, lbw and, later, caught behind, either side of lunch but once he and Sibley reached their centuries within a few balls of each other, they opened up.

Wicketkeeper Foakes hit two sixes as a Joe Denly over went for 20 runs before he was caught on the boundary trying for a third maximum as Surrey reached 452-4 at tea.

Will Jacks went in similar fashion for 19 but there was never any real danger of a Kent fightback while Sibley remained at the crease and Jordan Clark hit the winning run with 23.5 overs still in hand.