Whether it was the Old Trafford pitch or the use made of it by Gary Keedy and Oliver Newby remains to be seen. But, after winning the toss and electing to bat, Surrey could not have done more to make their first innings look like hard work. There were signs of variable bounce - with the ball keeping low rather than rearing unexpectedly - in Keedy's first over of the day, the 24th of the innings. With Lancashire opener Iain Sutcliffe also departing just before the close, it would seem, on yesterday's evidence at least, to have been a good toss for Mark Butcher to win.

Abetted, at times, by an uncommitted fielding display from the home side, Scott Newman, Jonathan Batty and Alistair Brown all carved out fifties for themselves. But nobody else managed to go beyond the teens.

Tom Smith, preferred to Kyle Hogg, made his first championship start of the season for Lancashire and picked up the wickets of two of Surrey's half-century makers. For the visitors, James Benning replaced the injured Azhar Mahmood, who is said to be nursing a sore back. Neil Saker's seam-up was also preferred to the left-arm spin of Nayan Doshi; even though Doshi recorded match figures of 11-177 when the Brown Caps last paid Old Trafford a visit, back in 2004.

Newman and Batty reached lunch unscathed. Both took advantage of an unguarded third man boundary, but in the fifteenth over Newman drove Dominic Cork sumptuously through extra cover, then unfurled a classic straight drive, which also went for four. The left-hander progressed to a 74-ball fifty in the 21st over, with his eighth boundary, which was guided past gully off Newby.

Batty should have been run out at the non-striker's end after being sent back in the 26th over. Furthermore, the Surrey wicketkeeper only just got the ball past Stuart Law, posted at a wide second slip, for four immediately after the break to bring up his half-century in 114 deliveries.

But the rot began for the visitors when Newman departed two overs later, lofting a pull off Cork straight into the hands of Keedy, who was stationed at deep backward square leg for just such an error of judgement. Newman had struck 60 from 124 balls, with nine boundaries.

Ramprakash flicked Cork past short leg for four and, in the next over, inside edged Newby to the fine leg boundary. But then the 22-year-old seamer claimed the prized scalp of the former Middlesex man, who nicked him behind to Luke Sutton.

Butcher edged Newby on to his stumps and three overs later Batty, who had a little earlier been put down at slip, on 65, was plucked out of the air by Horton at backward point off the bowling of Smith. His 70 took him 152 deliveries and included twelve fours.

Brown, who struck a match-winning 154 in the corresponding fixture three years ago, cut Keedy for two successive fours. There were further signs of encouragement for the Brown Caps when Rikki Clarke looked to have the measure of the conditions. But then the Surrey vice-captain went to sweep Keedy and after a delay of some five seconds was given out leg before by Roy Palmer.

That brought together the two main heroes of Sunday's record-breaking day against Gloucestershire. But there were no pyrotechnics on this occasion, with Keedy, having switched ends, obtaining the second of three lbw decisions to go his way to see the back of Benning.

Brown and Salisbury both took fours off Keedy's next over, in which Brown also reached fifty off 90 balls. But then Newby had the 37-year-old squared up and, next ball, made a complete mess of Salisbury's stumps to plunge Surrey into even deeper trouble at 251-7.

Brown, driving, edged Smith on to his off stump to finish with a 122-ball 69. Keedy then cleaned up by getting Saker to dab him into the hands of Sutcliffe at short leg and Mohammad Akram to pad up to a straight one.

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