Darren Maddy may well have lain awake in a cold sweat last night. After guiding the Foxes to a respectable, if modest 217 for eight with a well worked 66 off 87 balls, he made the mistake of dropping Alistair Brown at slip in the third over of the Lions’ reply. The one-day world record holder had made just one.

Brown is not a batsman who looks a gift horse in the mouth. The 33-year-old was then handed more than a few gifts by the Leicestershire seamers who, with the exception of Vasbert Drakes, bowled like a unit destined for second division cricket next summer.

After paying to the tune of 88 runs, Maddy clung on to Alistair Brown at mid-wicket upon the introduction of spin. By that time, however, the Surrey pack had already descended upon the cowering Foxes.

Thanks to a one-day league record 131-run first wicket partnership for Surrey against Leicestershire, the visitors won with more than sixteen overs to spare. Afterwards, Darren Maddy admitted: “We didn’t take our chances early on and I was the major culprit.”

Brown’s highest score of the season in all competitions enabled him to extend what was already a remarkable record against Leicestershire in the National League. He has now taken 534 runs off them at an average of 76.28 in his one-day league career.

He and Ian Ward had 128 on the board before the fielding restrictions were lifted. After being two without loss after three overs, the fifty was posted in the ninth over when Ward steered Charlie Dagnall through point.

David Masters went for 23 off his first over, the tenth, in which Alistair Brown brought his half-century up in 37 deliveries with two fours followed by a six over long leg. The hundred partnership arrived in Masters’s next when Brown pulled the former Kent seamer for yet another boundary.

Having seen the assistance that Ian Salisbury enjoyed, it was curious as to why, with all this mayhem, the spin pairing of Brad Hodge and Jeremy Snape were held in reserve for so long. But even after Hodge accounted for Brown and Snape had Azhar Mahmood caught at long-on, the Lions passed over Ramprakash and Thorpe in an effort to make their net run rate the best in Division One. Thanks to an unbeaten 70 from Ward, plus two lustily struck straight sixes from Adam Hollioake, they succeeded.

Earlier the Surrey captain recorded his season-best figures after Phillip DeFreitas won the toss. After getting off the mark streakily with a four between keeper and first slip, DeFreitas played some attractive strokes in his 39, but was struck on the left foot by former team-mate and birthday boy Jimmy Ormond.

DeFreitas, who lost John Maunders to a leg before decision in the fifth over, played no further part in the game and is a doubt for the championship encounter which begins at 11.30am today.

Brad Hodge contributed a useful 46, but after he was up-ended by an inswinging yorker from Hollioake in the 25th over it was left to Darren Maddy to combat the spin of Saqlain and Salisbury.

Adam Hollioake had Nixon missed by Ormond at mid-on, but went on to have Sadler and Drakes caught on the long-on boundary and Jeremy Snape well caught at long-off.

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