Archie Vaughan and Jack Leach dominate Somerset in the last minute against Surrey to revive the title race

Somerset have never won the County Championship, but they secured their position as everyone’s second favourite county by beating reigning champions Surrey with less than five minutes to play and reducing the gap to eight points with two games to play.

The two counties also meet in the first semi-final of the Vitality Blast T20 at Edgbaston on Saturday, which is a tantalising prospect. After this 111-run win over Surrey, Somerset will have higher morale.

The two players who made the difference in Somerset were the two spinners who took Surrey’s 20 wickets. One of them, predictably, was their left-hander Jack Leach, who has returned to the England squad for next month’s tour of Pakistan. The second, less important, was Archie Vaughan, the 18-year-old son of former England captain Michael.

By his own admission, the young Vaughan had never taken five wickets in an innings in any format, having represented England Under-19s as a batsman. He took six wickets for 102 in Surrey’s first innings and five for 38 in their second, for a total of 11 for 140.

Somerset captain Lewis Gregory said: “To get a win with just a few minutes to go was very special. Four-day wins are some of the most rewarding you can have as a cricketer because you work so hard for them.

“Archie has taken to first-class cricket like a duck to water. The fact that he is more of a batsman than a bowler is really exciting and we think he will be very good to watch with the bat for a number of years. When you add to that the off-spin he bowled in this game, he is developing into a very special cricketer.”

So the joke quickly spread around the West Country: Shoaib Bashir is England’s first choice spinner but now Somerset’s third choice.

The defining features of Vaughan’s off-spin were its stability, accuracy and unwavering patience. Leach is renowned for his very stability, but his partner, 15 years his junior, was no less so during his 69 overs with barely a long hop.

But the least bizarre detail of this epic match was not the sight of Tom Banton rushing to celebrate with his team-mates on one leg at the end. Banton had badly injured his left ankle in a football warm-up on the third morning; but, such is his commitment to red-ball cricket and his county, that the player who was an England T20 star and a future franchise contributed to two match-winning runs, his 46 on one leg after his first innings of 132.

Towards the end of the third day, the central figure was Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladeshi all-rounder, who led Somerset’s second innings on a tightrope. Shakib, as a left-arm spinner, took 242 Test wickets and scored over 4,500 runs. Surrey signed him for this match alone, hoping to prevent Somerset from gaining ground on them, for a hefty five-figure fee.

Somerset were 153 for nine, with only 149 to spare, when Banton got out with a runner to join Craig Overton on the third evening. They defied Shakib until the end, and on the fourth morning Banton played some remarkable shots – including a reverse-sweep – without putting any weight on his front foot or left ankle. Together they added a crucial 71 for Somerset’s last wicket, before Shakib bowled Banton, which allowed Surrey to win at 221 with three runs per over.

Surrey brought in Shakib from Bangladesh. Somerset brought in Vaughan from Bridgwater. Since leaving Millfield he has played for their club and made his debut for Somerset in the Metro Cup and a league game. For his second game against Surrey, who are chasing a hat-trick of league titles, he was asked to open the batting – and score a valuable 44 on the first morning – before having to partner Leach.

Surrey made the mistake of not trying to score runs, simply determined to survive and lock in to get a draw. But Vaughan quickly stepped in to take out two of his left-handers, captain Rory Burns and Ryan Patel, with classic counter-attacks.

Thanks to two former England players well known for their defensive qualities, Dom Sibley and Ben Foakes, Surrey looked set for a draw at 95 for three with less than 20 overs remaining. But a collapse ensued and they soon resorted to the tactic of sending substitutes in with drinks and towels, even though it was a sunny and cool evening, to ensure Somerset did not bowl any extra overs – more than 15 an hour – before the end of the match at 5.30pm.

Surrey pair not out on 78 balls

Leach did Vaughan and the rest of his team a favour by removing both right-handers, Sibley after a 183-ball stand and Foakes with balls that spun to skim their outside edges to be caught by Somerset captain Lewis Gregory at slip. Vaughan, pitted against another left-hander in Shakib, also caught him at slip, then bowled Tom Curran on an inside edge and pinned Cameron Steel leg before, rounding the wicket with tireless accuracy on a pitch that offered turn but not great speed.

Jordan Clark, one of the greatest white-ball T20 strikers, blocked in company with Kemar Roach. Surrey’s ninth-wicket pair failed to score a single run from 78 balls. Overton was literally on his knees at second slip – his team-mates only metaphorically – in the fielding position pioneered by former Somerset and England player Marcus Trescothick.

Overton even tried Stuart Broad’s trick of returning the deposits – and it worked.

Leach finally managed to trap Clark behind him after another forward push, then pinned Dan Worrell leg before with his second, quicker ball. The home side celebrated, including Banton, who would have won a single-leg run.

Meanwhile, Matthew Potts took nine Lancashire wickets in an innings for 68 runs to record the fifth-best figures for Durham, who won by an innings and 63 runs.

Potts was not selected for the third Test against Sri Lanka last week but was subsequently named in England’s squad for Pakistan.

While Ben Stokes had a long hitting net at Riverside, suggesting he will be fit to play in the first Test against Pakistan next month, if not bowl, Potts recorded his career-best score in an innings and match figures of 12 for 126.

“It’s a really good thing,” Potts said. “It was great to come back and give the boys a boost at the end of the season. I felt like it was only right that we were there to get the job done.”

Potts added: “David Bedingham [who made Durham’s highest-ever score of 279] continues to produce them and he and Colin Ackermann are very relaxed at the crease. They have had good rhythm and put the bowlers under pressure [in a record stand of 425] and that was the way to go on that pitch. I think that’s where Lancashire made a mistake in their approach in the first innings.

“It was quite flat ground and that made it difficult to work. We thought it would be a full day but it just so happened that we had an opening and took the opportunity to continue.

“Scott Borthwick [Durham’s captain] He told me after my sixth over that it was time to put my feet on ice, but I took a wicket and he said, ‘OK, I’ll leave you on the field,’ and I said, ‘Good luck getting me out,’ but after my 10th over I was completely exhausted. I had given everything against them.

“I took the second new ball and threw the old one as far as I could from the field. It’s disgusting, I have it in my pocket and it feels like I’ve been throwing it to my dogs for an hour.”

Potts was recalled to take Lancashire’s final wicket – and his last for Durham this season as he is now due to join England’s one-day squad to face Australia.

The only good news for Lancashire, who took a point in this match, is that Nottinghamshire, another struggling team, were also beaten by Essex by an innings. Lancashire and Notts are fighting to avoid joining Kent and being demoted.