Last night, Essex's David Masters unravelled what had been shaping up to be an encouraging performance by this season's principal under-achievers, Surrey. The former Kent and Leicestershire seamer, who recorded one-day career best figures of 5-17 when the Eagles overcame the Brown Caps in the Friends Provident Trophy back in May, took 3-10 as the Pro40 Division Two leaders ran out winners by 30 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis rule.

Mark Ramprakash was absent due to the fixture clashing with one of his Testimonial events. But Jonathan Batty, who has been awarded a benefit in 2009, led the Surrey side well to restrict the hosts to just 167 after they had won the toss and elected to bat. Unfortunately, with rain closing in, the Brown Caps were soon in trouble against Masters who had Stewart Walters shouldering arms, Usman Afzaal, caught low down to the left of second slip, and Scott Newman, edging behind to leave the visitors 24-4 in reply.

Apart from Newman, Matthew Spriegel was the only Surrey batsman to register a boundary. Before the rain set in for good, the 21-year-old drove Graham Napier over wide mid-off for four before despatching Chris Wright's first two deliveries past the inner ring on the off-side.

Earlier, Essex were already three down after ten overs - Mark Pettini going lbw to Jade Dernbach, Varun Chopra run out by Spriegel at mid-off and Jason Gallian bowled by Pedro Collins, who was the pick of the visitors' attack despite him bowling three of the nine wides conceded by the Brown Caps.

Following a forty-minute break for rain, the match was reduced to 36 overs per side and both Napier and James Foster fell victim to superb catches in the deep. But, then, Grant Flower shared in stands of 38 and 32 over the next fourteen overs, with Ryan ten Doeschate and James Middlebrook.

Ten Doeschate was caught at short extra cover off Benning. Flower, who made 51 off 71 balls, was taken behind trying to play a ball from Chris Jordan that was too close to him to cut. Two overs later Dernbach cleaned up Wright before Collins accounted for Masters, who was caught in front of slip. But some lusty blows from Danish Kaneria started to chip the gloss off what had, until that stage, been a match that Surrey seemed on course to win.

Mark Butcher's return from injury has suffered at setback. The Surrey captain had hoped to be fit for his side's visit to Taunton next week, but after failing to come through a fitness test ahead of this week's three-day second eleven game, the plan now is for him to return for the vital LV County Championship clash with Sussex at the Brit Oval starting on August 20.

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