Like every good student, Lancashire did their homework. They looked back at the story of last year’s championship fixture at Whitgift School and concluded that should they win the toss the decision was simple – they would bat. But Surrey had an alternative strategy in place, which was for their new-ball pair to go straight for the jugular.

The result was that after thirty-five minutes the visitors were left scratching their heads after being reduced to 21 for four, at which point the ECB probably considered placing a Pitch Inspector on standby. If that were the case, when they saw that Chris Schofield had struck a half-century, they must have concluded there couldn’t possibly be anything untoward with the surface. However, for all of Schofield’s good fortune – and he had plenty – the conditions seemed to be in the bowlers’ favour for much of proceedings.

Surrey, after all, dismissed Lancashire for the lowest total any side has managed against them this season in the County Championship. But the initial collapse seemed instrumental in destroying the visitors’ fragile confidence. In the third over Mark Chilton edged Martin Bicknell to first slip, then Iain Sutcliffe was on the receiving end of a superb delivery from Jimmy Ormond that swung as well as deviated.

Jamie Haynes, cutting, and Dinesh Mongia, caught and bowled, both gave their wickets away and Schofield could have made it 38 for five had Newman pulled off an over the shoulder catch at square leg upon Tim Murtagh’s introduction to the attack. But despite some less than convincing stroke-play, Chris Schofield survived long enough to push his side’s total up to 172 for eight.

After Carl Hooper had pulled the ball on to his stumps, the 25-year-old who is out of contract at the end of the summer found a valuable ally in Glen Chapple, who took six boundaries off two overs from Ormond just before lunch. In the fifth over after the break, however, Chapple went to a catch at second slip.

Cork barely troubled the scorers before holing out to point off Murtagh’s first ball back and Schofield, who batted for an hour and forty minutes and struck a dozen boundaries – predominantly in the area between third man and extra cover – was eventually prized from the crease by a low catch at first slip off the bowling of Azhar Mahmood.

Kyle Hogg suggested there is more to come from his batting before being caught at third slip and the Lancashire innings was wrapped up two overs later when Rikki Clarke clung on to a head-high catch at first slip.

Richard Clinton was an early casualty when Surrey started to compose their response, going to a catch at third slip that appeared to clip the shoulder of his bat before looping up off his own left shoulder. But Scott Newman and Mark Ramprakash then put on 102 in 31 overs for the second wicket.

Newman, who was dropped at third slip off Chapple when 18, struck a controlled 61 off 117 balls before allowing his confidence to get the better of him. But Mark Ramprakash, making his fiftieth championship appearance for Surrey, ended the day unbeaten on 55 – seemingly on course for a fifth hundred in seven innings.

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