With Mark Ramprakash featuring in two three-figure partnerships, Surrey appear to be well on course for their seventh championship win of the season. The Brown Caps' charge towards promotion at the first attempt is also proving as relentless as the former Middlesex man has been with a Gray-Nicholls in his hand this summer.

Ramprakash struck his seventh hundred of the year and his fourth in five championship innings. More notably, the 36-year-old has now scored four centuries in successive matches, which is the second time he has achieved it for Surrey. Tom Hayward and Sir Jack Hobbs are the only other Oval legends to have to done likewise.

Day two also saw Scott Newman record his first championship hundred of the season, which enabled the dashing left-hander to go past a thousand first-class runs in 2006 in the process.

Once Jonathan Batty had been trapped leg before by Lance Klusener for 18, Newman and Ramprakash racked up 187 in 160 minutes for the second wicket. But the departure of Newman in the 68th over, to a well-judged catch by Ben Phillips running round from long-off to a deepish extra cover position, saw no relaxation of Surrey's grip on this contest.

In adding an unbeaten 168 in 42 overs for third wicket, Ramprakash, in partnership with his skipper, ran the Northamptonshire fielders ragged. The former Middlesex man finished the day on 174, which took him 258 balls including 27 fours. At the other end Mark Butcher, whose strokeplay matured rapidly after being stuck on nought for 23 deliveries, showered with an undefeated 73 off 133 balls to his name.

Neither Butcher or Ramprakash looked like getting out, apart from in the over before tea when the latter was dropped twice on 105 in successive balls when he miscued straight drives off Jason Brown, both of which were misjudged by Phillips running to his left from mid-on.

Ramprakash had just lapped Rob White to the square leg boundary to reach his century off 174 balls. He went on posted his fifth 150-plus score this year and his third in successive innings, off 245 balls, by whipping David Wigley through mid-wicket.

Earlier in proceedings Newman reached his hundred off 155 balls with successive cover driven fours off the bowling of Wigley, who was left nursing figures of 8-0-56-0 four overs later. The Surrey opener went on to make 143 in 208 deliveries, including 23 fours and two sixes over long-on off Brown.

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