There were rumbles of thunder yesterday, but no rain and, tellingly, no lighting. The visitors, of the same name, were reduced to playing walk-on parts as Mark Ramprakash took centre stage and the supporting Surrey cast of Clarke, Brown, Murtagh and Ormond fed off the great man’s lead performance.

At the close Lancashire, who had not been seriously considered relegation material prior to this match, were three down in their second innings, a daunting 258 runs behind and looking as if they too are not immune from the drop despite boasting a star-studded squad.

For the home side, the swagger that epitomised their run of three championship titles in four seasons was evident once more. But it is not difficult to lord it when you possess the leading run-scorer in the country and a man who has now struck hundreds in four consecutive matches – a feat that has only been achieved in Surrey colours by three others in first-class cricket; namely Andy Ducat, Tom Hayward and Sir Jack Hobbs.

Ramprakash, who resumed on 55, reached his fifth championship century in seven innings in 192 deliveries with his fourteenth boundary, a straight-driven four off of Kyle Hogg so brutal a spherical object of similar age had to be called for. When he reached 131 the former Middlesex man recorded a thousand first-class runs against the Red Rose county and was just two away from posting 1,500 for the season when he was out to a tired push to short extra cover. His 134 in five and three quarter hours helped Surrey establish a valuable lead of 120, but with two and a half days still to go they were eager to fill their boots.

The underused Dominic Cork was the pick of the visitors’ lacklustre seam quartet, adding the wickets of Clarke and Brown to that of Clinton on Wednesday to collect three for 110. Rikki Clarke, who partnered Ramprakash for thirty-two overs in an alliance worth 124, took a liking to the bowling of Sajid Mahmood, off whom he hit three successive boundaries to bring up the first batting point for the home side.

The 22-year-old reached his second championship half-century this season in the next over off 74 balls, but perished towards the end of Cork’s first spell of the day when the former Derbyshire man slipped in a gentle leg stump delivery.

Jonathan Batty, who should have been run out first ball – when Ramprakash, at the other end, had 99 to his name – was caught on the third man boundary, but Alistair Brown cashed in with a 64-ball fifty. However, the really big shots were supplied by Tim Murtagh who struck 56 in 69 deliveries, including five sixes, and shared in a last wicket stand of 61 in seven overs with Nayan Doshi.

With Lancashire facing a deficit of 315, the Oval outfit’s ascendancy continued when Mark Chilton pushed the first ball of the new innings into the hands of Richard Clinton at short leg. Iain Sutcliffe flicked Ormond to fine leg and over to top to third man for boundaries before pulling Bicknell for six. But then he perished to a juggling catch at point, only to be followed back to the pavilion by Dinesh Mongia, who was caught at first slip in Jimmy Ormond’s next over.

Carl Hooper, on whose shoulders much rests today, and Jamie Haynes saw their side through to the close without any further mishaps, but Haynes, in particular, encouraged the seamers with much playing and missing.

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