RAIN SCUPPERS SURREY’S GAME PLAN by Marcus Hook
Surrey 480 & 233-3d v Sussex 307 & 12-0.

The loss of 50.1 overs on the third day of Surrey’s latest County Championship tie scuppered the Oval outfit’s plan to have a lead in the region of 500 by tea and four full sessions at the opposition batsmen. As it is Sussex enter the final day needing a mountainous 395 more runs to win. Adam Hollioake no doubt feels that is beyond the visitors, even with Martin Bicknell sidelined due to a hamstring pull, but what part will the weather play?

If it has a major say, the county champions will have to hope that the fixture list is kinder to them next year. Last summer three championship games at the AMP Oval began in June, July or August. This term only one – against Kent on 2-5 July – falls in the middle part of the season when rain and, particularly, the light are less of a factor. Hopefully, for everyone’s sake, the rain will not make a re-appearance in this match.

In yesterday’s first session the home side added 143 to their overnight total. Ian Ward and Jonathan Batty shared in an opening partnership of 137 in 39 overs. Ward played with his customary straight bat and, after reaching his half-century in the 27th over off 81 balls, rose to the role of dominant partner with alacrity, despatching Kevin Innes through extra cover for successive fours.

Batty, who posted his fifty ten overs later, in 99 deliveries, threw off the shackles when he lifted the ball over Mushtaq Ahmed’s head for a four straight down the ground. He then cut Innes and pulled Yardy for boundaries before reaching his landmark with a maximum over mid-wicket off the bowling of Mushtaq.

The alliance was eventually broken when the Surrey wicketkeeper played back to the Pakistani’s flipper, which hurried on and hit middle and off stumps about two thirds of the way up.

Ian Ward, who was dropped on 84 just before lunch, when Mushtaq Ahmed snatched at a caught and bowled chance, went on to record his first hundred against Sussex by driving the seventh ball after the break to the cover boundary. It had taken the former England left-hander just over three hours and 136 balls.

Mark Ramprakash soon had eleven to his name, but was brilliantly caught behind for 23 after getting something on a cross-batted swipe, presenting Matt Prior and Kevin Innes with their first successes in the match.

The afternoon’s proceedings were interrupted three times by rain. The third delay resulted in Surrey’s declaration. After the second, however, Ward went to 135 by pulling Innes for six. But the next ball he faced fell ten yards short of its target and down the throat of Goodwin at deep-square leg.

392 runs ahead, Alistair Brown joined Graham Thorpe, who seemed intent on playing his shots. The visitors had the field spread in an effort to stem the flow, but that did not stop the left-hander crashing Martin-Jenkins through wide mid-off for four, to which he added two further boundaries before the weather intervened again.

In the three overs and five balls Sussex had to negotiate, Murray Goodwin took a couple of fours off the bowling of Azhar Mahmood, the first straight down the ground and the second edged over the slips cordon. But the visitors face a daunting task - the most anyone has ever made batting fourth to beat Surrey is 427. The best Sussex have ever managed against their neighbours is 337, when the seasiders won by five wickets at Hove thirteen years ago.

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