Being just 53 runs ahead and, in effect, with only four second innings wickets up their sleeves, Chris Adams's men are facing their second successive championship defeat. If Adams, looking to the future, was wondering how Surrey will fair when Mark Ramprakash is no longer around, he found out yesterday when they were reduced to 57-4 within seventeen overs. Mind you, it was a similar story a week ago when they were bowled out for 190 at Colchester, with Ramprakash playing a lone hand in a nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Essex.

Needing to score 94 to make Kent bat again, Surrey lost both of their openers just before tea, with the score on 38. Michael Brown was first to go, caught at silly point off James Tredwell in the tenth over. In the next, Jonathan Batty, who had appeared to be in good nick, played around his front pad and was adjudged to be lbw to Phil Edwards.

The visitors' fortunes did not improve after the interval when Stewart Walters was caught off bat and thigh pad by Sam Northeast at short leg, to be followed back to the dressing room by in the 17th over by Matthw Spriegel who had his off stump pushed back.

Usman Afzaal and Chris Schofield then staged something of a mini-recovery by putting on 78 in 18 overs for the Brown Caps' fifth wicket before Afzaal, who made 44 off 55 balls, played back to Tredwell and was trapped leg before. That made it 135-5 in the 35th over, giving Surrey a slender 41-run advantage.

Earlier in the day the visitors' lead was all but whipped away in the morning session, which produced 159 runs in 29 overs. Resuming on 242-3, Geraint Jones and Darren Stevens safely negotiated the first five overs before putting the foot down on the accelerator.

In the 69th over, Stevens despatched Jade Dernbach through the off-side for a couple of boundaries and, in the 70th, went to 46 with a one-handed on drive for four off Tim Linley.

The next over saw Stevens reach his fifty, off 64 balls, with a driven four to the mid-wicket rope off Stuart Meaker, as well as bring up the hundred partnership, off the next delivery, which whistled through cover for four.

The Brown Caps took the new ball as soon as it became available, but put it to poor use with 46 runs coming off the next five overs. Jones cut Dernbach over cover point for four to post a new career best before Stevens hit four boundaries in the space of two overs from Pedro Collins.

Stevens was then dropped off successive deliveries. In the 85th over, he survived a difficult chance, on 90, to Walters, at a wide slip, off the bowling of Dernbach. In the next over, Collins floored a routine catch at mid-off off Linley.

Meanwhile, Jones had brought up his 150 off 246 balls with a pulled four off Dernbach, which he celebrated by driving the next delivery past mid-off for another boundary.

After a nine-minute delay for bad light, Surrey had something to cheer about at long last when Meaker uprooted Jones's off peg. But normal service was resumed in the last over before lunch when Stevens went to 99 with a six over third man off Dernbach before posting an 111-ball century - his second three-figure score of the season.

As if the visitors needed even more to reflect upon during the break, Justin Kemp rounded off the session with two successive fours.

After lunch, Surrey made up some lost ground when Kent went from being 430-4 to 517 all out in the space of fifteen overs. The slide began when Stevens, looking to drive Schofield through mid-wicket, was caught at slip. Stevens's 112 came off 126 balls and included 18 fours and a six.

Two overs later Alex Blake was bowled through the gate, but Kemp brought up the 450 with an on driven four off Schofield, just before reaching his fifty in as many deliveries.

In the 105th over, Linley's perseverance was rewarded when Tredwell drove him straight to Spriegel at extra cover. Two overs later, Meaker had Simon Cook lbw on the back foot.

Amjad Khan also fell leg before to the 20-year-old, which prompted Kemp to add two more maximums off Schofield to the one he hit straight down the ground in the 102nd over. The South African was eventually out, attempting a second run to deep point, for a 79-ball 92.

GO TO:

BACK TO: