Oval, the Yorkshire match in July attracted 30,000 people, the one against Middlesex 51,250. There was a similar story in 1950, when a late surge by Surrey earned them a share of the Championship with Lancashire. Surrey won both of the holiday games with ease, Nottinghamshire coming in for some mild barracking for some unenterprising batting on a good pitch at The Oval. Hardstaff and Fishlock batted attractively but new blood – Peter May, Jim Laker and Tony Lock – was now coming to the fore. Their arrival heralded the great years of Surrey as they won seven consecutive Championships between 1952 and 1958, first under Stuart Surridge’s dynamic captaincy and then Peter May. In contrast, Nottinghamshire were bottom of the table in 1951, 1958, 1959 and 1961 and not far away in some other years. In 1953 it was decided that the Trent Bridge pitch was so doped with marl that the only solution was to dig up the square and bring in fresh soil. For a few memorable seasons the leg spin and googlies of the Australian Bruce Dooland helped improve fortunes, with fifth place achieved in 1954. But between 1950 and 1960, with May in splendid form and Alec Bedser, Peter Loader, Laker and Lock at the heart of perhaps the finest county attack of all time, Surrey won 16 of their 22 games against Nottinghamshire. The only match Nottinghamshire won was in 1956 at Whitsuntide, although they forced Surrey to follow-on at The Oval in August 1956 and lost by only six runs at The Oval in 1953. Two years later at Trent Bridge umpire Alec Skelding ordered the removal of a brass band preparing to play during the lunch interval because its instruments were reflecting the sun’s rays and dazzling the fieldsmen. Alec Bedser took eight for 18 and Laker six for five in 16 overs on helpful Oval pitches; Roger Harman eight for 12 in 17 overs at Trent Bridge and May, John Edrich and Ken Barrington joined the list of double centurions. Whitsuntide 1957 can be put forward as a perfect example of Surrey’s power. A fierce storm ended Saturday’s play with Surrey 147 for two and they soon lost Mickey Stewart on Whit Monday. By then May had already made his intentions clear and his determination to force the pace in the pursuit of victory remains in the mind’s eye more than half-a-century later. He made 83, adding 103 in an hour with Fletcher (53 not out). Ken Smales and Dooland suffered heavy punishment from beautifully timed drives which rocketed through the covers before May closed the innings at 303 for four. Trent Bridge then became a killing ground for Lock and Laker, with the hawks Stewart, Barrington, Lock himself and the wicket-keeper Arthur McIntyre seeking prey. First it was Lock (32.2-13-49-7), with left-arm spin who enmeshed the batsmen and when Nottinghamshire followed on it was the turn of Laker’s off breaks (15.5-10-16-7), Surrey winning by an innings on the final day. As a result of this victory they went to the head of the table and nobody leaving Trent Bridge held any doubts that they would remain there. Another example of Surrey’s dominance had been provided in 1955, when Nottinghamshire, 43 behind on the first innings, went in a second time at 5.25pm on Monday. By the close they were 30 for nine, Laker having a spell of four for one in six overs. Ten runs were added on Tuesday morning before Surrey won by an innings and three runs. Roger Moulton, a frequent visitor to The Oval for the holiday fixtures, said: “I didn’t see this but a school friend did and he was still full of it the following term.” Roger’s memories also include an enormous crowd on a gloomy Monday in 1958 at The Oval. “In 1959, although Nottinghamshire lost on the Tuesday I enjoyed Surrey v Nottinghamshire 145