Comprehensively defeated by Yorkshire, Surrey have not only lost their points cushion but the lead itself to Leicestershire, writes Dominic Burgess.

The situation at the top of the championship table is now much tighter with only eight points separating the new leaders from third place Lancashire.

With all three expected to win their current matches, a nail-biting finish now looks inevitable at the end of next week.

Much depends on picking up as many bonus points as possible and the players holding their collective nerve.

Only a month ago, Headingley had been a happy hunting ground for Alec Stewart. However, in that short space of time, his luck has changed and on this occasion the Tykes prevailed through the superior batsmanship of Craig White, some fine seam bowling from Chris Silverwood and Gavin Hamilton.

Only Ben Hollioake produced the goods for Surrey, putting his disappointing Test behind him, but this was too little too late.

The one consolation was that his spirited comeback was matched by the team as a whole, epitomised by brother Adam, as they fought back on Sunday to beat Kent in the Axa league. This shows that they are not too deflated and should rally to fight for this precious pennant - the one that really matters.

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