Yesterday at the Brit Oval, all eyes were on Andrew Flintoff, who was returning to competitive action for the first time since last year's ICC Twenty20 World Championship. But if Luke Sutton had not taken his eyes off the routine chance Mark Ramprakash presented to him in the 20th over, the day would not have belonged to the Brown Caps' evergreen number three. At 5.50pm it was Oliver Newby, the unlucky bowler, who was in operation again from the Vauxhall End when Ramprakash brought up the ninety-eighth hundred of his first-class career with a fierce pull to the mid-wicket fence.

In partnership with his captain, Mark Butcher, the former Middlesex man helped put on 186 runs in 50 overs for no further loss to give the hosts the upper hand, even though 27.3 overs were shaved off proceedings due to a late start and an early finish.

In addition to being spared the ignominy of recording a duck, Ramprakash was fortunate not to have been run out on 24. With the tea break approaching, the 38-year-old pushed Gary Keedy to mid-off, set off, but then lost his footing. Flintoff fielded the ball cleanly, but despite having nearly all three stumps to aim at, attempted to run Ramprakash out with a direct hit; rather than lob the ball to the bowler.

Ramprakash's hundred, his third in a row against Lancashire, came off 164 balls and included 17 fours. But at the other end Butcher played equally as well in compiling a chanceless 80 in 141 deliveries. The only time the Surrey skipper looked even close to getting out was when he wafted at Sajid Mahmood shortly after the interval; having just brought up his half-century in the 51st over off 89 balls with the second of two cover drives off the England seamer.

Surrey opted to deny Chris Schofield the opportunity of facing his old side, and with Matt Nicholson stuck down by flu, Alistair Brown was drafted in to give the hosts even greater batting depth. In hindsight the decision would appear to be over cautious. On the other side of the ledger, Steve Croft missed out for the visitors.

Following a delayed start - the consequence of overnight rain - Surrey began in assured fashion after having won the toss. Scott Newman collected two boundaries from the opening over, the first with a flick off his hips to backward square leg and the second by opening the face of the bat and running Glen Chapple down to the vacant third man boundary.

In the twelfth over Jonathan Batty struck his first four of the championship season. In the next he despatched Flintoff's first delivery through backward point.

After both openers went in quick succession, with Batty falling leg before and Newman being caught at deep fine-leg, Ramprakash and Butcher gradually tightened Surrey's grip on the game.

Ramprakash used his feet and the sweep to good effect against Keedy and, for good measure, threw in some exquisitely timed cover drives off the seamers. Butcher clipped Chapple for two leg-side fours in the 31st over, then cut Keedy to the point fence to bring the hundred up for the home side. But the 35-year-old's stock in trade was the extra cover drive, which he reeled off for the last time in what proved to be the last over but one - Flintoff's tenth.

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