After being made to spend most of the day under a baking hot sun, Northamptonshire's top order wilted in the face of a victory target of 453 in 117 overs. Losing four wickets in as many overs, they slumped to 20 for four in their second innings with Azhar Mahmood and Mohammad Akram sharing the spoils, before ending the penultimate day on 97 for six. But it was a second wicket stand of 281 in 81 overs between Surrey's Mark Ramprakash and Jonathan Batty, followed by a slogfest that saw the visitors smash 106 runs in sixteen overs either side of tea, which left their opponents in no frame of mind to regroup.

Rob White was the first to go for the home side, leg before pushing forward to Azhar in over number four. The next over saw the departure of Usman Afzaal, who gloved Akram on to his off bail. Bilal Shafayat managed to squeeze Azhar past gully for four, but was then adjudged, somewhat harshly, to be lbw. However, Sourav Ganguly had no excuses when he was out slapping a wide ball to point.

It looked as if the game might advance to a rapid conclusion, but Lance Klusener made a defiant 42 not out off 46 balls. At the other end from him, however, the Surrey spinners had lbw shouts upheld when David Sales and Riki Wessels opted to sweep. The latter went in the final over of the day and did not attempt to conceal his opinion of umpire, John Steele's verdict.

Earlier in the day, Batty survived a chance at slip off Charl Pietersen, on 87, but for Ramprakash it was yet another chanceless display from the man who is arguably the best batsmen in the country still. The 36-year-old batted for 326 minutes - apparently with a stiff back - for his 155 off 262 balls, which included one six and fourteen fours.

Shortly after bringing up the 200-run stand in 68 overs, Ramprakash reached his fifth hundred of the campaign off 202 balls, when he eased Pietersen out to the cover boundary for two. Another couple off the left-arm seamer, down to the fine leg boundary, enabled Batty to record his first century this term, which came up in 232 deliveries.

As well as sharing in the Brown Caps' most productive stand of the summer, Batty and Ramprakash set a new record for Surrey's second wicket against Northants, beating the 247 Andy Sandham and Andy Ducat garnered at the Oval in 1921. Both batsmen celebrated it by launching Rob White's innocuous leg-spin straight down the ground for maximums in the 83rd over.

Batty took three sixes in three overs off White before falling victim to a ball that Ganguly got to keep low. After Mark Butcher's brief appearance, which culminated in the former England number three lofting a catch to mid-off, Ramprakash reached 150 with a pulled four off Pietersen before being caught on the mid-wicket boundary off Jason Brown in the 93rd over.

Rikki Clarke could have been caught and bowled off the first delivery he received, but, instead, the ball thumped into the advertising boards in front of the members' pavilion. To complete the over the Surrey vice-captain hit Jason Brown out of the ground for six. Clarke then went attempting to angle the off-spinner to fine leg, but with Alistair Brown and Azhar Mahmood putting on a quick 94 for the sixth wicket, the visitors had the luxury of 21 overs at the Northants batsmen before the close.

As Surrey recorded their highest second innings total against Northamptonshire, beating the 400 they made on the same ground in 1963, Brown, who batted with a runner after tea, struck an unbeaten 44 off 41 balls, while Azhar bludgeoned a 57-ball 52, which ended when he hit Ben Phillips to long-off in the fourth over with the new cherry.

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