sport news Surrey wrap up 21st county championship title with game to spare by thrashing ... trends now

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Surrey coach Gareth Batty hailed his side after they clinched the county championship with a round to spare – then warned that a 10-game competition, proposed by Andrew Strauss’s high performance review, would ‘diminish the emotion’ of victory.

Surrey wrapped up their 21st title with a 10-wicket thrashing of Yorkshire, having learned half an hour earlier that Hampshire – their only rivals for the crown – had lost to Kent. The trophy will be handed over next week in Manchester, where Surrey’s final game, against Lancashire, now becomes a lap of honour.

This was their eighth win out of 13, and while Hampshire have won nine, they have also suffered three defeats to Surrey’s none. Unlike Surrey, Hampshire have not lost a stream of players to England.