With Saqlain Mushtaq taking 3-62 and Abdul Razzaq chipping in with the crucial wickets of Key and Jones, to follow up a priceless hundred from Jonathan Batty, Surrey ended day two against Kent in a strong position. Only Martin van Jaarsveld, who struck an unbeaten 95 off 136 balls has shown any real defiance in response. At the close the Spitfires were thirteen runs away from avoiding the follow-on, but with Saqlain getting the ball to dance - due, in part, to the addition of the leg-break to his repertoire - the Brown Caps appear to be on course for their first championship victory of the season.

Kent got off to a positive start with Joe Denly driving the first ball off the visitors' reply through extra cover for four and by the eighth over the Spitfires had raced along to 37. But then Jade Dernbach struck when Denly failed to get on top of a bouncer and lofted a catch to Usman Afzaal running in from deep square leg. With no addition to the score, James Tredwell was lbw, beaten for pace by Pedro Collins.

Rob Key hit Razzaq's first ball to the fence at extra cover and followed it up by flicking the Pakistan all-rounder backward of square on the leg-side for four.

Van Jaarsveld brought the fifty up for the hop county in the thirteenth over with the first of two successive boundaries off Collins, but the visitors were pegged back further when Key departed leg before to Razzaq in the sixteenth over.

Darren Stevens despatched Saqlain Mushtaq's first two balls to the boundary, but in the 24th over gloved the veteran off-spinner into the hands of Matthew Spriegel at short leg.

Kent were 123-4 at tea. Shortly after the break van Jaarsveld brought his fifty up off 70 balls, but then looked on as Saqlain got one to turn sharply into Justin Kemp, who was lbw playing around his front pad.

Nine overs later, Geraint Jones edged Razzaq behind. When Yasir Arafat was caught inches off the ground by Afzaal in the 50th over, Kent were facing the prospect of being asked to follow-on, but with Ryan McLaren making an unbeaten 25 the chances are it will be avoided.

The day began with Alistair Brown despatching Robbie Joseph for two successive boundaries. A couple of overs later, however, Joseph had his revenge when Brown was caught at second slip. In Joseph's next, Razzaq was caught behind to leave Surrey 269-6.

Batty and Schofield were together for twelve overs, during which the latter pulled Tredwell past Kemp at mid-on for four with such ferocity the ball had to be changed at the end of the 113th over.

The next over proved to be an eventful one with Batty taking a slat out of the sightscreen at the Pavilion End, with a six off Tredwell, and Schofield edging the 26-year-old off-spinner behind to give Jones his fourth of five catches.

Two overs later Batty progressed to his 17th first-class hundred, which he celebrated by hitting three sweetly timed straight fours in as many overs, two off Arafat either side of one off Joseph in the 122nd over.

Saqlain then reverse swept Tredwell for four and, in the last over before lunch, slog swept his counterpart for six. Shortly after the break, however, a dollied catch to short leg drew a line under Saqlain's entertaining knock. With Dernbach making an equally enjoyable thirteen and Collins failing to trouble the scorers, Surrey fell just short of the 400-mark.

After seven hours and 25 minutes at the crease Batty ended up with an unbeaten 136 off 343 balls that included one six and 14 fours. Extras, which totalled 55, the most in a Surrey innings for four years, finished third top scorer.

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