Having come to the wicket on Friday evening in the opening over of Northamptonshire's reply, Usman Afzaal all but carried his bat to repel Surrey with an unbeaten 136 off 255 balls, which included 19 fours and one six. His was the highest individual score to be conceded by the Brown Caps this summer and its value was underlined by Rikki Wessels's 34 off 49 balls being the next best contribution yesterday.

Afzaal and Wessels added what may yet prove to be a crucial 74 in twenty overs for the hosts' seventh wicket. But, thereafter, Northamptonshire's leading light received little support as his side limped to a third batting point, whereupon Mohammad Akram collected his 400th first-class scalp by breaking through the defences of Jason Brown.

With Surrey's hero of the first innings, Alistair Brown, nursing a twinged hamstring and most likely having to bat at seven, the visitors' objective was to get through to close relatively unscathed. Other than the early departure of Scott Newman, the Brown Caps could afford to pat themselves on the back.

Newman went when a thick inside edge cannoned on to his middle and leg stumps, with the former being plucked out. Although he has been on the end of some unplayable deliveries, not to mention some iffy decisions recently, the left-hander's last eight first-class innings have harvested just 128 runs; that after having made a century and seven fifties in his first nine.

Resuming on 61 for three, the hosts lost nightwatchman Charl Pietersen in the fifth over of proceedings, when he almost succeeded in getting his bat out of the way of a ball from Akram. David Sales shared the crease with Afzaal for thirteen overs and the fifth wicket pair appeared to be fashioning a significant partnership when the Northants skipper was adjudged leg before, half forward to the testing Neil Saker.

Afzaal, who reached his fifty in 76 deliveries with his tenth four - a cover drive off Saker - was holding firm on 68 at lunch. Seventeen consecutive overs of spin after the break brought Surrey the solitary wicket of Lance Klusener, who was trapped on the crease shortly after the restart. But the reintroduction of seam saw Afzaal reach a much-deserved hundred - his 25th in first-class cricket - off 189 balls, with a cut to the third man boundary off Akram.

By that time, with Riki Wessels also looking well set, the home side appeared to be on course to overhaul Surrey's first innings total. But then, in Rikki Clarke's first over of the day, the 20-year-old wicketkeeper was caught at short mid-wicket. Clarke went down in his delivery stride before he could bowl another ball, but, with Brown already resting up, the visitors were thankful when the injury to their vice captain turned out to be nothing more than a cut toe.

Ian Salisbury switched ends and picked up the wickets of Ben Phillips and Matt Nicholson in the space of three balls, which left Afzaal to farm the strike. The Northamptonshire innings reached a climax when the 29-year-old left hander cover drove Saker for four and then launched the ball straight up the ground for a six which also brought up the 300.

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