Priyanaz Chatterji led Surrey to an unlikely One-Day Cup win in a nervous run chase against Essex at the Kia Oval.
The hosts looked out of it when despite 49 from Alice Monaghan they slumped to 150-7 in pursuit of 228 to win, but Scotland international Chatterji made an unbeaten 37 sharing an eighth wicket stand of 79 off 68 balls with Aylish Cranstone (31 not out) as the hosts got home by three wickets with 47 balls to spare.
Earlier, contrasting half-centuries from Flo Miller (74 not out) and 69 from Ariana Dowse rescued Essex from 39-3 and 157-7 as they posted 227 all out, Chatterji taking 2-37 while spinner Dani Gregory returned 3-51.
Maitlan Brown gave Surrey a dream start, striking with the first ball of the game, Essex skipper Grace Scrivens bowled off the inside edge, her third duck of the competition. Brown should have a second wicket in her next over when Dowse was spilt at slip by Bryony Smith, a drop which would prove costly.
Dowse made the most of her reprieve, pulling Monaghan over backward square for six and lofting Gregory back over her head, but wickets continued to fall at the other end until Miller joined her teammate to steady the ship.
Skipper Alice Davidson-Richards was banned from the attack after two head-high full tosses, Dowse dispatching the second resulting free-hit to reach 50 in 85 balls and when she eventually holed out Miller took on the mantle employing the sweep to good effect against the spinners.
A sixth four off a rare short one from Brown took her past 50, before she ran out of partners as the visitors almost batted out their overs.
Monaghan would have been run out for nought save for an errant throw, but Paige Scholfield drilled three glorious straight drives to the fence to give the chase early impetus before she was bowled through the gate by Eva Gray.
Sophia Smale (2-35) quickly accounted for Smith and Sophie Munro then returned to see the back of an unusually fretful Davidson-Richards.
Monaghan and Brown, the latter promoted to number five due to England absences both employed the straight drive to good effect, but the mid-innings drinks break did the trick for Essex with the latter hooking one from Kate Coppack down the throat of Smale at long leg third ball after the resumption.
Essex were in the box seat when the in-form Danni Wyatt-Hodge drove loosely at Smale to depart for one and Surrey’s plight deepened when Monaghan who had earlier hooked Coppack for six was dismissed in similar fashion one short of 50.
The visitors lost from a similarly prosperous position against The Blaze earlier in the competition and ahead of the rate Cranstone and Chatterji initially nudged and nurdled Surrey closer.
Munro dropped a caught and bowled chance offered by Chatterji on nine to raise the tension further and the all-rounder made them pay as she belatedly opened her shoulders to seal victory.
