Nottinghamshire 184 (Patterson-White 76*, Lawes 5-45) and 306 (Clarke 95, Worrall 4-39) beat Surrey 162 (Thomas 48, Stone 6-44) and 183 (Pope 111, Stone 4-50) by 145 runs

Surrey, asked to score 329 to win after bowling out Notts for a second innings 306, crumbled to 183 all out with Stone adding 4 for 50 to his magnificent first innings’ 6 for 44 when Surrey were dismissed for 162.

Liam Patterson-White’s brilliant unbeaten 76 started the turnaround on Thursday, hauling Notts up to 184, but it was Stone who was the clear difference between the two sides as he terrorised Surrey with pace bowling of the highest class.

Stone began Surrey’s slide by having Dom Sibley caught behind for 6 in his third new-ball over. Then, in his next, he removed Adam Thomas with a superb rising delivery that again caught a thin edge. Brett Hutton had Rory Burns athletically caught at second slip for 16 off a sliced cut and Ben Foakes was bowled by Dillon Pennington for one to leave Surrey 45 for 4.

Left-hander Mahipal Lomror soon followed, again bowled by Pennington from around the wicket, and Stone returned for a nine-over spell in which he bounced out Josh Blake for 15, caught at square leg, before bowling Tom Lawes for 1.

Patterson-White’s left arm spin had accounted for Jordan Clark, bowled for 2, and Stone – who else? – scored a direct hit from short third man to run out Matt Fisher for 11.

Dan Worrall stayed to make sure Pope completed his 26th first-class hundred, and 14th at the Oval, before skying Pennington, who finished with 3 for 46.

Earlier Joe Clarke’s superb, controlled 95 was the mainstay of Notts’ batting effort, with his fifth-wicket century partnership with Kyle Verreynne ensuring a match-winning lead. But the Notts pace attack, led by Stone but with excellent support from Pennington and Hutton, proved too hot for Surrey to handle for the second time in the game.

A three-day attendance of more than 13,000 – including 4500 on this third day – have watched spellbound throughout a fixture aptly promoted by Surrey as their annual Festival of Red-Ball Cricket.

This year’s Championship, with five more rounds still to go, is proving to be one of the hardest-fought and compelling in recent memory – only 27 points separated the top eight at the start of the six-game run-in. But Notts’ great victory over their closest rivals of the last two seasons will consolidate their lead at the top of Division One and increase the likelihood that they can clinch back-to-back titles.

A seismic third day began with Worrall pinning Jack Haynes leg-before for 34 with the sixth ball of the morning and without addition to Notts’ overnight 147 for 3. Clarke and Verreynne, however, then added 110 in 27 overs for the fifth wicket. But, in 15 balls either side of lunch, Notts lost four wickets for just one run to plunge from 257 for 4 to 258 for 8, with Fisher the main protagonist in a wonderful spell from the Vauxhall End.

First Fisher bowled Clarke in the 75th over, getting reverse swing with the old ball and hitting the off stump with a beautiful delivery that also seemed to keep a little low.

Lomror’s slow left arm played a part, with Ben Martindale smartly stumped by Foakes in the next over after missing a forward defensive.

Fisher’s next two strikes came from successive balls, either side of lunch, with Verreynne bowled off stump for a gritty 83-ball 46 by an unplayable delivery. And then, immediately after the interval, Stone edged to Foakes to give Fisher his fourth wicket and Surrey hoped the contest had suddenly veered their way.

Patterson-White, Hutton and Pennington, though, garnered a further invaluable 48 runs for the last two wickets – Patterson-White hitting Lomror straight for six before on 12 edging Worrall’s first delivery with the second new ball to Foakes.

But the last pair frustrated Worrall and a tiring Fisher to add 30, No. 11 Pennington looking particularly comfortable with 20 not out until Hutton was leg-before to a returning Lawes for 14.