Mark Butcher's fourth championship hundred of the season, his second against Glamorgan this year, helped Division Two leaders Surrey rack up 397 for seven after the home side had won the toss for the first time at the Oval since May in the championship. But the story on the opening day looked as if it was destined to be an all together different one when the Brown Caps were reduced to 198 for five thanks to a spell of three wickets in 15 balls from New Zealander James Franklin.

With the hosts opting to field three spinners at the expense of a specialist batsman in Stewart Walters the turning point came when Franklin, who is under orders from the New Zealand management to bowl no more than twenty overs in a day's play for Glamorgan, was taken out of the attack.

The left-arm seamer returned later in the day to bowl his other four overs, strangely just before the second new ball was due, and finished with figures of four for 48. But in-between times Butcher, in alliance with Azhar Mahmood, put on 192 in three hours, a sixth-wicket record for Surrey against Glamorgan; surpassing the stand of 183 by Arthur McIntyre and Errol Holmes on the same ground in 1947.

Butcher passed one thousand first-class runs for the first time in three summers on his way to 151 from 243 balls with 17 fours and two sixes, which was his highest score for two years. Azhar Mahmood also made his mark, hitting 101 in 135 deliveries, thus denying the visitors a dart at the tail.

With Franklin out of the attack, only Dean Cosker's left-arm spin was shown any respect. But, eventually, the visitors' time-wasting tactics appeared to get to both centurions. Azhar had his off stump flattened by David Harrison and Butcher danced down the wicket in Robert Croft's first over with the second new ball and was stumped, leaving Salisbury and Saker to bat out time.

The day began with Jonathan Batty shouldering arms to Franklin. Scott Newman fell lbw to Huw Waters for 35, but then Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher added a purposeful 124 for the third wicket.

Ramprakash launched Robert Croft for two sixes, a sweep over mid-wicket and the second over long-on, and made 77 off 126 balls before playing on to Franklin twenty-three runs short of his ninth championship century of the campaign. The former Middlesex man did, however, get to 2,000 championship runs for the season when he reached 23.

Ali Brown was adjudged leg before to his third ball, despite looking to be a long way forward, and Chris Schofield, making his first championship appearance for nearly two years, fell for three.

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