Tom Lawes stars as Surrey outclass Kent to tighten grip on top spot

Lawes returned career-best figures of 5 for 22 as Kent were all out for just 141, leaving Surrey needing just 58 to complete their fourth win of the season

The Oval (third day of four): Kent 278 & 141, Surrey 362 & 58-0 - Surrey won by 10 wickets

Tom Lawes dismissed both Zak Crawley and Sam Billings in dramatic fashion early on day three, finishing with a career-best 5 for 22 to set up a crushing 10-wicket victory for Surrey against Kent at the Kia Oval.

Crawley fell for 34, adding just three runs to his overnight score, and Billings bagged an agonizing pair as Kent slumped to 141 all out, leaving Surrey needing just 58 to complete their fourth win in six LV= Insurance County Championship matches this season.

They got there at 58 without loss from 11.3 overs, ending the match just before the scheduled lunch interval, with Rory Burns reverse-slapping Jack Leaning's off spin for six over third man in a run-a-ball 36 not out. Dom Sibley was unbeaten on 16, and the 22-point haul strengthens champions Surrey's position at the top of the Division One table.

For Kent it is a third defeat of a summer which for them looks like bringing only a desperate fight against Championship relegation, and it took Surrey only 16 overs on the third morning to take the last six Kent second innings wickets for 61 runs and give themselves their modest victory target.

Allrounder Lawes, still only 20, underlined his huge potential by adding the scalps of Billings, Crawley and Joey Evison to those of Tawanda Muyeye and Leaning late on day two after Kent had resumed on 80 for 4.

^{Lawes appeals for a wicket on day three [Ben Hoskins/Getty Images]}

It was his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, and Lawes – who broke through into Surrey's senior side midway through last season – now has 36 red-ball wickets from 10 matches at an average of 20.22 in a stellar start to his career. His spell this morning was 6.2-1-20-3, adding to the 2.4-1-2-2 of the previous evening.

Billings, who initially faced the final two balls of Lawes' third over when play resumed – Leaning having been bowled by what was the last ball of day two – only lasted six balls in all before edging a sharp lifter to keeper Ben Foakes. The Kent captain is enduring a miserable season so far, with only 92 runs from ten Championship innings and a top score of 31.

Lawes, having struck in his first full over of the morning, then removed Crawley in his second full over. The England Test opener pushed defensively at a fine ball which left him just enough to take the edge on its way into Ollie Pope's hands at second slip.

And another excellent piece of bowling soon earned Lawes his third scalp of the day, a pacy inswinging near-yorker plucking out Evison's off stump on five to leave Kent 107 for 7.

Sean Abbott, replacing Dan Worrall at the Vauxhall End, then had Jordan Cox caught down the legside by Foakes for 15, fending off a short ball, and it was left to Jordan Clark to replace Lawes at the Pavilion End and apply the finishing touches to Kent's sad rout.

Clark's fourth ball saw Grant Stewart (6) edge to Pope at second slip and last man Michael Hogan lost his off stump, wafting at Clark in the big seamer's next over, to go for 2.

It gave Clark second innings figures of 3 for 36, and six wickets in the match, while Abbott took 2 for 17 in what was a brilliant and relentless performance throughout by Surrey's five-pronged pace attack.