Santner led Surrey to go top with thumping win

After easily defeating Sussex Sharks at the Kia Oval by a score of 48 runs, Surrey moved up to join Somerset at the top of the Vitality Blast South Group. When top scorer Danny Lamb was bowled by Chris Jordan in the final over, Sussex were dismissed for 162 and could have won the match to take the lead. However, despite missing three players from a team that had only lost one of their first six games, the undermanned side never threatened to reach their target of 211. Although this season's leading run-scorer, Jason Roy, failed to add to his 265 runs after falling for a second-ball duck, Dom Sibley (45), Will Jacks (43) and Sam Curran (38) made good contributions before 20-year-old left-hander Ollie Sykes thrashed 44 off 18 balls - including three sixes in an over from left-arm spinner James Coles - as 66 from the last four overs took Surrey to an imposing 210 for 6. When Reece Topley took two wickets to quickly reduce Sussex to 14 for 3, they appeared to be struggling to score at 11 runs per over without the injured Harrison Ward and Tom Alsop. Lamb had a career-high 49 runs and left-hander Tom Clark had 45, but Surrey's attack was led by Mitch Santner, a slow left-hander, who went 3 for 26. Openers Jacks and Sibley added 52 in the first five overs after Surrey had been put in. When Jacks attempted to hit Tymal Mills for a third six in the over, he was caught at deep midwicket. Roy was caught at deep extra cover in the next over by left-armer Brad Currie, but Sibley and skipper Sam Curran were able to add 61 from 44 balls for the third wicket without much trouble. Sussex then took three wickets in 15 deliveries to stop Surrey from moving forward. Sam Curran was caught and bowled by Coles off a leading edge, Sibley clipped Henry Crocombe to deep backward square and in the next over Nathan McAndrew claimed his 14th wicket in this season's Blast when Laurie Evans holed out to deep mid wicket. Sussex needed to make a good start but instead lost three wickets in the first three overs. Debutant George Thomas, signed from Somerset in the winter, lost his off stump to Topley's sixth ball which Thomas played around, Dan Hughes dragged a widish delivery from Tom Curran onto his stumps and Topley struck again courtesy of a superb diving catch in the deep by Sykes to remove Coles. Clark and skipper John Simpson made a stand of 62 from 35 balls for the fourth wicket, giving Sussex hope. However, Santner, a seasoned New Zealander, caught Clark and Simpson (21) on the leg-side boundary by Jacks in consecutive overs. Topley went 3 for 34 after Santner picked up Jack Carson in his final over. Lamb's 49 from 34 gave Sussex some solace on a night when they were well beaten.