If Leicestershire manage to salvage a draw from this contest they will probably have the weather to thank for their shift in fortunes, having learnt overnight that they are down to ten men, with Jigar Naik having broken his arm when he took a blow from Chris Jordan in the Foxes' limp first innings. But, with eight wickets still intact, Surrey look set to answer it with an imposing total of their own and will no doubt be planning to declare before tea today to give their attack four whole sessions to bowl Leicestershire out a second time.

Rain resulted in just 36 overs of play at Grace Road yesterday. Resuming on 46, Michael Brown survived a confident LBW appeal from Jim Allenby before moving to fifty, which came off 158 balls, in the 54th over when he worked Harry Gurney to the mid-wicket boundary for four.

Mark Ramprakash went to 45 when he edged A.J.Harris through the vacant second slip area. But, after bringing up the hundred partnership for the visitors' second wicket with a flick to leg off the same bowler, Ramprakash reached his half-century, in 125 deliveries, when a similar shot brought him a single off Claude Henderson.

Brown gave Surrey a first innings lead by working Allenby to leg off the back foot. He then on drove the 26-year-old Australian for four. Just before the stoppage for rain, the former Middlesex and Hampshire right-hander added a straight driven four off Henderson to his boundary tally.

When play re-started at 4.45pm with the Brown Caps on 179-1 off 56 overs, Brown was rapped on the front pad by an in-swinging ball from Allenby, which prompted another raucous LBW appeal.

Ramprakash posted Surrey's first batting point by on driving Henderson for four. The 39-year-old then advanced down the pitch to despatch Allenby to the extra cover boundary. However, soon after taking the new ball, Gurney had Ramprakash caught in front of first slip by Tom New. The addition of one further run, saw the visitors take a lead of 52 into day three with Brown still there, a diligent 82 off 245 balls to his name.

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