No longer this season’s champions elect, Surrey are now on the brink of following up their eight-wicket loss at Old Trafford with their first defeat by an innings since September 1998. After polishing off the five remaining wickets in Kent’s first innings for one hundred runs, they were cut down for 125 in only 28.5 overs – their lowest first innings total since Leicester in July 2001 – and, following on, had limped to 169 for seven by the time bad light intervened five overs into the extra half-hour, which was claimed by David Fulton.

Martin Saggers, rather than the man who is no stranger to causing such havoc, Muttiah Muralitharan, inflicted the most telling damage by accounting for the first four in the defending champions’ order and returning later in the day to grab the wickets of Mark Ramprakash and Nadeem Shahid again. It was hardly the kind of 34th birthday present the former Middlesex man would have been hoping for. His captain, Adam Hollioake, who, coincidentally, is exactly two years Ramprakash’s junior, was also defeated twice – worryingly, before he had reached double figures on each occasion. Well, they say that after one’s 21st, birthdays are over-rated.

Saggers took three of the four Surrey wickets to fall before lunch. Ian Ward was bowled through the gate. Saggers then claimed his 50th championship scalp of the season when Ramprakash lost his middle stump. Nadeem Shahid departed leg before on the back foot to one that jagged back appreciably and when Alistair Brown whipped Amjad Khan to backward square leg the visitors were reeling at 30 for four.

Jonathan Batty and Rikki Clarke, who both survived early misses, shared in the biggest stand of the innings, 34, before going shortly after the interval. Surrey had Ian Salisbury and Tim Murtagh to thank for avoiding the ignominy of being dismissed for less than a hundred after Hollioake was caught behind off Khan, looking to hit his way out of trouble.

The defending champions showed more resolve after being invited to follow on. But just half an hour into their second dig Batty, shouldering arms, was adjudged leg before to Mark Ealham. Ward, who made a determined a 118-ball half-century, added 39 with Ramprakash and 44 in partnership with Brown, but when the former England left-hander again lost his off stump, Surrey all but threw in the towel.

Ramprakash was trapped lbw, despite getting well forward to Saggers. Shahid, who made a pair on his last appearance at Canterbury, capped an equally undistinguished performance by pulling the same bowler to backward square leg. Brown escaped being caught at long leg, but after the departure of Ward, Clarke, to a bat-pad catch to short-leg, and then Hollioake, who advanced on Rob Ferley in the descending gloom, he became the seventh Surrey batsman to be dismissed for the second time yesterday when he was bowled between bat and pad by Muralitharan.

Earlier, the hosts lifted their first innings total to 535 – their second-best of the summer. Ealham, who looked set for a hundred, was pinned on the back foot by Murtagh. Ferley was then caught in the gully to give Franklyn Rose a third wicket, but an 80-ball 53 from Geraint Jones left the visitors approaching their first innings feeling as if the world was against them.

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