Sangakkara’s gruelling hundred just sees Surrey to Lord’s final

Kumar Sangakkara fell only three short of a one-day best -  Getty Images

ESPNCricinfo: A wonderful Royal London Cup semi-final which could have fallen either way bestowed its gifts upon Surrey by four runs when Tom Curran held his nerve and prevented Steven Mullaney hitting the last ball for what would have been a match-winning six for Nottinghamshire.

So it is Surrey, a coming force again in the county game, who have the chance to follow promotion from Division Two of the LV= County Championship with a one-day trophy when they meet Gloucestershire at Lord’s on 19 September. It is Nottinghamshire who despite their midsummer rally once again fail to prove their pedigree with a trophy. On such small margins are conclusions drawn.

The stark contrast between the game’s two dominant batsmen - both of whom made hundreds - was just one facet of a match that showcased the county game at its finest and which questioned the sense of staging this semi-final as a Monday day game with the schools beginning a new term. One batsman is famous, even to those who don’t follow the game; one may not be known, even to those who do.

For Surrey, there was Kumar Sangakkara, a legend of the game, extolled to the heavens during his several international retirements, a man who could become a Sri Lankan high commissioner, perhaps in London, if he wanted it badly enough. For Nottinghamshire, there was Greg Smith, loaned out to Leicestershire earlier this season, playing his first Royal London Cup game of the season, just another Smith to some, a jobbing county pro taking on the best, proving his worth, so close to glory.

Sangakkara’s unbeaten 166 fell only three runs short of his record one-day score made against South Africa in Colombo two years ago. He has been chaired from outfields, chased by photographers, and has been the subject of endless appreciations. Smith’s response - 124 from 134 balls - was his only notable performance of a summer when appreciation has been in short supply. He only played because Alex Hales and James Taylor were away with England. But how pluckily and robustly he responded.

“We were nervous,” said Surrey’s captain Gareth Batty. “Notts are a very good team. Kumar is the best player in the world still. What is a disappointment for world cricket is the best news possible for Surrey.”

Sangakkara’s will to win remains as strong as ever. He carried Surrey to a Lord’s final with an indomitable innings of character and know-how, an innings which left him exhausted but ultimately triumphant. Michael Klinger saw off Yorkshire in the first semi with a hundred, now Sangakkara - just - did the same: two fine overseas stars earning their corn.

Presented with a dry, benign pitch, he took the onus on himself to deliver. His first hundred including only six fours and a six as he worked deliveries towards a 90-yard long boundary and steeled himself for endless to-ing-and-froing. Then as responsibility also rested with him to lift the scoring rate, he stepped it up so successfully alongside Gary Wilson that 109 came off the final 10 overs, such acceleration harder now with five fielders allowed out in the deep, and he dropped to his knees with fatigue more than once, staring blankly into the distance and perhaps wondering what on earth he was putting his body through, at 37.

Chief Scores: Surrey 300 for 5 (Sangakkara 166, Wilson 48, Foakes 42) beat Nottinghamshire 296 for 7 (Smith 124, Patel 51, Mullaney 42*) by four runs