By Oliver Brett BBC Sport Online

Surrey may well have started the season as favourites to clinch the title for the third time in four years.

But when the season began in April thoughts were confined to the Ben Hollioake tragedy. The season started less than a month after Hollioake died in a car crash in Western Australia.

The club skipper, Ben's brother Adam, was weeks away from being able to cope with cricket at all.

But the show had to go on and so it did, with a 10-wicket victory against Sussex, who themselves had suffered tragedy of their own after the death of all-rounder Umer Rashid.

Winning it for Ben

Immediately after this triumph, Surrey travelled from their Oval home to Yorkshire to thump the champions by an innings and 168 runs.

Azhar Mahmood: An early season star

The tone had been set. Surrey were immediately the team the others had to come and beat.

There were some new faces on show, too. The close season had brought the signing of Jimmy Ormond, while three Pakistani internationals were all used at various stages.

The all-rounder Azhar Mahmood was there at the start of the season to make use of the friendlier conditions for seamers.

Meanwhile, old regular Saqlain Mushtaq did his stuff once the Oval began to take some spin and another slow-bowler Mushtaq Ahmed also played a couple of matches.

England call-ups were always going to play a big part in dictating the team line-ups from time to time.

And when Essex's James Foster broke his arm in pre-season training at Chelmsford, Surrey also had to cope without Alec Stewart for much of the summer.

Rikki Clarke has a big future ahead of him

Graham Thorpe then decided he would play no further cricket from the end of July, restricting the squad to even tighter numbers.

But the players brought in to fill the perceived cracks in the masonry did more than a passable job of restoring serenity to Surrey's Championship stroll.

Enter the precocious Rikki Clarke. He may spell his first name like a daytime chat show host but instead offers box office potential.

At Guildford, when Surrey completed a Championship double over Yorkshire in late July, Clarke smashed 56 at a-run-a-ball and claimed five wickets.

By then, Surrey had shown that they could defy virtually any situation. At Canterbury the week before they needed 203 to win with just three wickets in hand.

Kent were very much the in-form side at the time and the Championship was in the melting-pot if the home team could finish the job.

But Saqlain (60) and Ormond (43 not out) dug deep and it was yet another win for Surrey.

Jimmy Ormond: A shrewd signing from Leicester

Surrey's victory has seen three different captains in Ian Ward, Mark Butcher and Hollioake - who returned to the fold in mid-June.

Eight players have between them struck 18 centuries, Ward amassing more than 1,200 runs with four centuries and seven fifties.

And the conveyor-belt of quality that is Surrey at the moment could so easily have seen two extra centurions.

Stewart fell for 99 on the first day of the season while Scott Newman was also dismissed one shy of his ton on debut.

No bowler has been outstanding but none has shirked the task.

Workhorse

Among the seamers, Ormond has been the workhorse, and crucially has stayed fit for long enough to claim nearly 50 wickets.

And Saqlain has once again proved his importance - keeping pace with Ormond at a slightly superior strike rate.

Warwickshire and Sussex can at least say they have beaten Surrey this season, but both teams will need to be a lot more consistent to keep pace with them in 2003.

Already, the boys from the Oval are looking good to make it four wins in five.