A gritty innings of 76 off 146 balls from Worcestershire opener Stephen Moore, played out in two chapters – the first when his side were taking the game by the scruff of the neck and the second when the visitors badly needed someone to save them from the follow on – was the main theme on a day that also saw Mark Ramprakash make his third championship hundred in as many matches, two mini collapses, the return of Alex Tudor plus the announcement that Adam Hollioake has made his last ever first-class appearance.

The bottom line was that, not for the first time this summer, the Oval outfit enter day three of a championship match with a realistic chance of converting the advantage they have gained over the first two into a much needed victory.

The day began with Ramprakash making the four runs he needed to go to three figures, which, in all, took him 190 deliveries. He then lost Alistair Brown to an impetuous swipe, followed shortly afterwards by James Benning, who was caught low down at extra cover in Nadeem Malik’s first over. Enjoying support from Azhar Mahmood, the former Middlesex man marshalled the home side up to a total of 374-6, whereupon Surrey lost their last four wickets for one run in the space of nine balls.

Azhar played on, Tudor was beaten for pace and then a peach of a delivery from Kabir Ali penetrated the apparently solid backward defence of Ormond before Ramprakash was the last man out, leg before to Matt Mason.

The story of Worcestershire’s response began and ended with contributions from Stephen Moore, who spent seventeen overs off the field after ducking into a short ball from Jimmy Ormond resulting in a cut above the left eye. Prior to that he and Stephen Peters had set off at a gallop, putting fifty on the board in thirteen overs and one hundred in nineteen. Peters, whose half-century came in just 59 deliveries, was given full licence by the Surrey attack, who allowed him to cover drive half of his fourteen boundaries. But the former England U19 World Cup winner fell in the 22nd over to one of the balls of the day.

Moore retired hurt nine overs later, on 32 with the score on 144 for one, and shortly after the game took on a different complexion. When the South African born opener returned, the visitors were 189 for six.

Graeme Hick, launching himself into a cut stroke far too early, was caught at extra cover to give Alex Tudor his first championship scalp for over a year. Vikram Solanki then obliged by providing him with his second, bowled off the pads, and Andrew Hall his third when he was caught at second slip. In the middle of all the mayhem, the Worcestershire skipper captain Ben Smith was cleaned up beautifully by Ormond.

Having made a rapid start, the visitors took twenty-two overs moving from 150 to two hundred. Soon after going to fifty in 115 deliveries Moore took his side past the follow-on target with the second of three fours in what proved to be the final over of Rikki Clarke’s impressive second spell. Clarke picked up the wicket of Gareth Batty, who lost his off stump when he should have been playing forward, though not before Kabir Ali had gone to a brilliant catch by Tudor at second slip off the bowling of Azhar.

Tudor finished with paradoxical figures of 13-2-61-4 thanks to Azhar returning the compliment to account for Stephen Moore seven overs from the end.

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