GLOUCESTERSHIRE were comprehensively thrashed at The Kia Oval as Surrey took an easy victory by an innings and 180 runs in the LV= County Championship second division.

They succumbed to Surrey bowlers Zafar Ansari and Tom Curran, who underlined their potential as two of the best young bowlers in English cricket by both completing career-best bowling figures.

Ansari, 23, took 6-30 from 21.1 second innings overs with his left-arm spin after 20-year-old seamer Curran had earlier picked up an equally eye-catching 7-20 as Gloucestershire were skittled for 113 and then 155 in reply to Surrey’s 448 all out first innings total.

Only Will Tavare, with 58, resisted for long as Surrey completed a 22-point victory inside three days, their fifth of the season, to strengthen their promotion ambitions and close on second division leaders Lancashire. It was, however, Gloucestershire’s fifth defeat this summer and they take just a solitary bonus point from a heavy beating.

Gloucestershire were already in trouble on 102-7 at the start of day three, and Curran quickly added two more scalps to his five of Sunday’s second day to ensure that the follow-on would be applied with the minimum of fuss. Indeed, Gloucestershire’s first innings lasted just 10.3 more overs despite Hamish Marshall’s defiant 34 not out.

Curran sent back both Craig Miles and Liam Norwell for ducks, caught at the wicket and bowled respectively, before Matt Dunn ended Gloucestershire’s first innings by bowling James Fuller for 3 and striking an early blow when they batted again by having Chris Dent leg-before for 8 in the third over of the visitors’ second innings.

Michael Klinger followed before lunch, caught low at short leg off Ansari for 12, and from 52 for two at the interval the Gloucestershire decline continued apace with Marshall this time falling for only 11 when he edged behind off Curran.

It was Curran’s eighth wicket of the match, but soon it was Surrey’s two spinners, Ansari and Gareth Batty, doing most of the bowling in the warm sunshine. Ansari, in particular, was proving a difficult proposition on a pitch offering some turn, although it was his quicker arm ball that did a lot of the damage.

First, he had Ian Cockbain lbw for 17, after a spirited stand of 42 with Tavare, and then he pinned Benny Howell leg-before for 3, with both batsmen paying the penalty for going back to cut and being completely flummoxed by Ansari’s change of pace and variation.

In between, Tavare’s excellent innings was also ended by Ansari, who turned a more flighted delivery to induce a snick to Jason Roy at slip. Tavare had faced 131 balls, hitting seven fours.

At tea Gloucestershire were on the ropes at 122-6 and the final session began with Jack Taylor bounced out for 1 by James Burke, who saw a fiery short ball fended off into the hands of short leg.

Curran then returned to end Geraint Jones’s resistance on 24, with Gloucestershire’s captain lobbing up a simple caught and bowled chance as he mis-hit an attempted pull.

The end came soon afterwards with Ansari picking up the last two wickets as he had Miles caught for 10 and last man Fuller leg-before for nought aiming a flamboyant sweep.

Curran finished with two for 37 in Gloucestershire’s second innings, for match figures of nine for 57, and he now has 43 championship wickets this summer at an average of 25.93, while Ansari’s fast-improving left-arm spin has brought him 28 wickets at 33.25 and confirmation that he should now be regarded as a genuine all-rounder at first-class level.