Due to last week's capitulation at Worcester, Surrey made three changes for this match. So far, two of them have come off. Steven Cheetham is yet to have a bowl, so there's still time for all three to flourish. The intervention rain at 2.30pm resulted in just 37 and a half overs of action at Grace Road yesterday, but Gary Wilson and Jason Roy made it a day to remember. Wilson duly converted the unbeaten 94 he made on Tuesday into a maiden first-class century. Had Roy not run out of partners, he too might have bagged a ton. The former Whitgift School student, who, in June, became the only Surrey player to make a hundred in the Twenty20 Cup, lit up the second morning with an awe-inspiring 76 off 65 balls, which contained three sixes and nine fours.

Without improving his overnight score, Mark Ramprakash went to the thirteenth ball of the day when, playing forward, though not offering a shot, he lost his off stump to Matthew Hoggard. Roy on drove his first delivery in first-class cricket for three. Two overs later, he registered his first boundary by despatching Hoggard through mid-wicket.

Wilson's century arrived in the sixth over of proceedings when he cut Nathan Buck over point for four. The landmark had taken the Irishman, who looked mightily relieved, 228 minutes and 207 balls. Four overs later, Roy, on 19 and aiming to sweep Claude Henderson, survived a concerted appeal for leg before wicket. Later in the same over, Wilson middled a similar shot to the fence at square leg to secure a fifth batting point for the visitors.

In the 110th over, Roy lifted Henderson over The Cricketers pub, at long-on, for six. But three overs later, Wilson, driving hard at Nadeem Malik was caught at backward point for 125. Roy then moved up another gear, driving Buck past mid-off for two successive boundaries.

In the 115th over, the 20-year-old went to his fifty in 52 deliveries, which he celebrated by off-driving the following ball he received for four. A over later, Roy straight drove White for a maximum before flicking the 24-year-old seamer to the long leg boundary. But Surrey's last four wickets fell in the space of eleven balls, during which Roy hit a third six, off Henderson, which sailed over long-on.

Gareth Batty slapped Henderson to mid-wicket, Chris Tremlett, nibbling, was caught behind off Malik who then had Jade Dernbach, driving on one knee, snapped up at second slip. Perhaps sensing he did not have long to make a century, Roy picked out long-off to become Henderson's 50th victim of the season in the County Championship.

Needing 334 to avoid the follow-on, Greg Smith and Matthew Boyce safely negotiated 12.2 overs before the weather had its say. Boyce found the boundary on two occasions - when he cut Tremlett to third man in the fifth over and angled Dernbach off his hip for four seven overs later.

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