Smith reinforced his Test credentials with an unbroken 98, but Miles' late three of wickets held Surrey at bay. Surrey 327 for 6 (Smith 98*, Sibley 64, Miles 5-43) trail Warwickshire 343 (Barnard 108, Clark 4–65) by xxx runs. Jamie Smith's stunning 98 not out from 111 balls, along with a 139-run fourth wicket stand with Ben Foakes, boosted Surrey to a commanding lead at the halfway stage against Warwickshire at the Kia Oval.
But three wickets in three overs with the second new ball by Craig Miles, who closed the day with magnificent figures of 5 for 43, reduced Surrey to 327 for 6 in response to Warwickshire's 343, giving the visitors a foothold in this Vitality County Championship match.
Miles bowled Foakes for 52 with a low ball - not for the first time in the game - before pinning Dan Lawrence leg-before for three and having nightwatchman Kemar Roach superbly held low and left-handed by a diving Rob Yates at second slip.
Smith, on the other hand, remained unbeaten, with some imperious strokes bringing him two sixes and 14 fours. In addition to Cameron Steel, who is not out on four at stumps, Surrey have all-rounders Jordan Clark and Sean Abbott still to bat as they look to turn a slender 16-run deficit into a potentially match-defining first innings lead on day three.
Miles' late drama included twisting his right ankle in celebration after Roach's wicket with his final ball after the day's penultimate over and walking quickly from the field for treatment. Ollie Pope, meanwhile, is still looking for his first significant score of the season after providing a mediocre 44 in Surrey's first innings.
Surrey batted solidly throughout the day, with openers Dom Sibley and Rory Burns scoring 64 and 40, respectively, to establish a big lead and put pressure on their opponents for the remainder of the game.
However, England batsman Pope is experiencing a slump in form, with only 79 runs from four innings in this season's tournament and 198 from 12 first-class knocks total since his magnificent 196 at Hyderabad in last winter's opening Test against India.
Coming in after Burns hit Will Rhodes' medium pace to backward point in the 28th over, and after the Surrey captain had put on 88 in two hours with Sibley, Pope initially overcame an erratic start to glide to what would have been a confidence-boosting half-century. But, as tea approached, Pope tried a wayward drive at a Miles ball that curved away just enough to grab the edge and go straight to Yates, who was stationed in a single widish slip position.
Pope pounded his bat in disgust, but there was more reward for paceman Miles' controlled eight-over afternoon stint of two for 24, which had previously also resulted in Sibley's dismissal, bowled off stump by one that maintained little low to defeat the opener's back-foot defensive shot. After tea, Smith and Foakes appeared to be taking the match away from Warwickshire in a more aggressive and well-judged 31-over partnership.
Smith had off-driven the last ball of the afternoon session, from Miles, for his maiden boundary, and the 23-year-old scored 50 runs off 65 balls. Foakes, meanwhile, was busy at the crease and straight-driving Ollie Hannon-Dalby for one of his own fours.
Warwickshire captain Rhodes, who was taking his second period, was smashed to the offside ropes as Smith took a few paces down the pitch to strike the ball at the top of the bounce. Soon after, Smith hit two more brilliantly struck fours off Rhodes in the same over, through extra cover and midfield.
Later, there was a pull for six off Jacob Bethell's left-arm spin, followed by a lofted four over mid-on against the same bowler, a brilliant extra cover four off Ed Barnard's fast-medium, and a powerfully driven six and four off consecutive Barnard deliveries.
The day began with Warwickshire on 318 for 8 overnight, and 28-year-old all-rounder Barnard promptly scored the four runs required to complete a deserved sixth first-class century - his first for the club since leaving Worcestershire at the beginning of last year.
Dan Worrall, who had been unlucky on the first day, produced an off-cutter to nip the top of Miles' off stump as he elected to shoulder arms on 29, a creditable effort by the No 10 in a stand of 66 with Barnard. Barnard, on 108 from 179 balls and attempting to hit out for a third batting bonus point, then skewed Lawrence's off-spin to cover in the next over, ending both his own brilliant knock and Warwickshire's first innings.
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