Surrey v Yorkshire: Mark Stoneman hits 131 as Surrey dominate
- Published
Mark Stoneman made his fourth County Championship century of the season for Surrey
Specsavers County Championship Division One, The Kia Oval (day one): |
Surrey 398-3: Stoneman 131, Sangakkara 85*, Burns 75 |
Yorkshire: Yet to bat |
Surrey 4 pts, Yorkshire 1 pt |
England opener Mark Stoneman's fine century put Surrey in charge on the opening day of their County Championship match against Yorkshire.
The 30-year-old, who made his debut in the Test series win over West Indies this summer, hit a chanceless 131 as the hosts piled up 398-3 at The Oval.
Rory Burns also struck 75 in a first-wicket stand of 178 with Stoneman.
Kumar Sangakkara was unbeaten on 85 at stumps in his first game for the county since June, with Ben Foakes on 64.
Former Sri Lanka batsman Sangakkara has returned for the final three matches of Surrey's season after spending two months with the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League.
Stoneman's innings is likely to boost his chances of opening alongside Alastair Cook in England's first Test against Australia at Brisbane on 23 November.
The former Durham batsman scored 120 runs in five innings at an average of 30 against West Indies, but was in superb touch back on his home ground.
He struck 22 boundaries in his 171-ball knock and had looked completely untroubled before he fell just before tea, edging Tim Bresnan to first slip.
Sangakkara, the leading scorer in the County Championship with 1,171 runs, continued Surrey's dominance in the final session as he passed fifty for the ninth time in 12 innings this season.
The 39-year-old, who is retiring at the end of the campaign, is now averaging 117 in four-day cricket in 2017.
Surrey batsman Mark Stoneman told BBC Radio London:
"It was a great day. We knew that with a 10:30 start there would be a bit there for the bowlers, but if we could get through that we could establish ourselves in the game.
"The first partnership between me and Rory [Burns] really set us up nicely and the way we finished with two lads set at the crease means it's been a really positive day.
"Playing for England was absolutely amazing, what you always dream of, so to get a taste of it was fantastic and it leaves you always wanting more.
"I've just got to try and score as many runs as I can for Surrey then hopefully thing go my way when selection [for the Ashes] comes around."