Mark Ramprakash’s four-hour vigil, an eye-catching career best 74 not out from Tim Murtagh and the not inconsiderable aid of forty-two extras gave Surrey the psychological advantage at the end of an, at times, ill-tempered first day at the Brit Oval, after Scott Newman had opened proceedings with an entertaining, but all too brief half-century.

With the home side showing four changes from Edgbaston, one of them being Murtagh – who came in for the injured Azhar Mahmood – Jonathan Batty at least had the advantage of winning the toss. In the morning session, however, his side made scant use of a pitch that looked ripe for a 400-plus total.

Having overcome the early loss of their skipper Jonathan Batty, Surrey raced along to 98 for one, with Newman, who was given a reprieve on 22 when he was dropped at first slip, passing fifty for the sixth time in as many first-class matches. The left-hander reached his half-century in 61 deliveries with the fourth of four consecutive boundaries off Klusener. Meanwhile, at the other end, after getting off the mark with a tentative edge to third man, Mark Ramprakash settled down to playing some strictly textbook strokes in the area between point and straight down the ground. Everything was rosy in Surrey’s garden once more – or so it seemed.

But then the team that have been no strangers to batting collapses this season proceeded to lose four wickets for twenty runs in a 46-ball spell leading up to the lunch interval. The havoc started in the 24th over when Newman failed to control a hook stroke and was caught in the deep. Two overs later Rikki Clarke was out in almost identical fashion. Alistair Brown recorded a first ball duck when he was upended by a leg stump full toss and after Ramprakash, on 33, had been caught at second slip off a Lance Klusener no-ball, Adam Hollioake drilled Paul Hutchison low to short mid-off where Owais Shah pulled off a spectacular parried catch.

The first delivery after lunch saw James Benning edging just short of first slip, but after playing an attractive flick to the leg-side boundary the 21-year-old failed to drop his hands in time and was caught behind.

Thereafter Middlesex found wickets harder to come by as the home side discovered some backbone. Martin Bicknell kept Ramprakash company for sixteen overs and Ian Salisbury hung around with the former Middlesex man for a further twelve. Then, after the indomitable veteran of 52 Tests had departed to a catch a deep backward point for an 174-ball 89, the tenth wicket pair of Tim Murtagh and Jimmy Ormond put on 106 in nineteen overs to the obvious frustration of the visitors.

With Middlesex claiming the extra half hour, tea was taken 65 minutes later than it might otherwise have been due to the combination of a tardy over-rate and a touch of needle involving Hayward, Nash and Ormond. But the tensions between the two sides had originally surfaced in the 71st over when Koenig stood on the rope after catching Murtagh at long-off. The fielding side were adamant that the young left-hander was out. Umpire George Sharp equally certain that a maximum should be signalled. Two balls later Murtagh clubbed Paul Weekes for another six, this time over mid-wicket.

Surrey’s tenth wicket pair made batting look extremely easy, which is perhaps something the home side should keep that in perspective until they have seen what Middlesex can achieve on the same surface today.

But nothing should be taken away from Murtagh, who was comfortably Surrey’s best batsman. The 23-year-old former England U19 cricketer possesses a crisp backfoot cover drive, which suggests that in years to come he will prove to be Martin Bicknell’s successor in more ways than one.

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