Clark helps Surrey beat Worcestershire by an innings

Jordan Clark took his first five-wicket haul of the season

Vitality County Championship Division One, Visit Worcestershire New Road (day four)

Surrey 490: Lawrence 175, Smith 86, Sibley 76, Foakes 52; T Taylor 3-99

Worcestershire 212: Libby 77; J Taylor 3-19, Lawrence 3-49 & 273: Kashif Ali 66, Hose 64, Roderick 63; Clark 5-65

Surrey (22 pts) beat Worcestershire (2 pts) by an innings and five runs

Match scorecard

County champions Surrey made it five wins in eight matches as they finished off promoted Worcestershire with two sessions to spare.

The Pears resumed on day four 71 runs behind, with five wickets in hand - but Surrey got the job done eight minutes before lunch, bowling out their hosts for 273 to win by an innings and five runs.

On their return to red-ball cricket for the first time since their shock innings defeat by Hampshire in May, it was a confidence boost for Surrey ahead of next week’s potential title decider against second-placed Essex at the Kia Oval.

Despite some late six-hitting heroics from Adam Hose, paceman Jordan Clark got two of the five wickets to fall to claim a season's best 5-65, while Australians Sean Abbott and Dan Worrall and England's Dan Lawrence claimed the other scalps.

For the injury-hit Pears, missing skipper Brett D'Oliveira, Joe Leach, Ben Gibbon and Yadvinder Singh, and with Adam Finch nursing a new leg injury, it was a third defeat of the season.

Resuming on 207-5, the Pears quickly lost Matthew Waite, who was leg before wicket aiming to work Abbott through the leg side.

After his three first-innings wickets, occasional spinner Lawrence then came into the attack to account for Tom Taylor, who played back and edged to Surrey skipper Rory Burns at first slip.

Clark then picked up his fourth wicket of the innings when Ben Allison shouldered arms and was bowled - and the end was nigh when Finch was lbw to a ball of full length from Worrall.

But, having put the accent solely on defence to score just seven runs in the first hour, Hose then decided to go down with a flourish and struck three fours and a six in an over from Clark as he reached his second Championship half-century of the summer.

He then pulled Clark for another massive six over wide long on to reach a 121-ball half-century - but the Cumbrian had his revenge when, on on 64, Hose attempted a ramp shot and was bowled to end the contest.

'We were never quite at the races' - Richardson

Pears head coach Alan Richardson told BBC Hereford & Worcester:

"We were never quite at the races in giving ourselves a chance to compete and Surrey played very well.

"When we conceded 490, on what was a pretty good wicket, it always put us behind. Dan Lawrence was very effective.

"But we didn't quite bowl as well as we can. In the first five games, we got a lot of batting points and played in partnerships but, over the last three games, we haven't done as well."

Surrey all-rounder Jordan Clark told BBC Radio London:

"I found a bit of rhythm this game and it was a nice performance. I'm happy. A little to do with bending my back.

"I had a few niggles early on in the season and the white-ball stuff helped me get over that.

"Obviously, Dan Lawrence was outstanding with the bat and put it in with the ball and got it to spit quite a lot at this end and gave the seamers a rest. But it was a good all-round team performance."