Before yesterday only one member of Surrey's eleven for this match had scored a championship century at Whitgift School (I think you can guess who), but you can now make that three. The opening day at Croydon ended with Steven Davies and Chris Schofield clubbing the ball to all parts, but the highlight of the day was Rory Hamilton-Brown's swashbuckling 125 in 130 deliveries, which included 20 boundaries. It was the Surrey skipper's second three-figure score in first-class cricket and his first for the county. It enabled the hosts to collect all five batting bonus points for only the fourth time in 23 matches in the championship, for the loss of six wickets.

After winning the toss and electing to bat on a dry-looking pitch, Surrey lost Stewart Walters to the fourth ball of the day - caught at first slip off Alan Richardson, whose opening spell read 8-4-7-1. The hosts could have been two down, still with no runs on the board, in the second over, however Ben Smith, lunging forward, failed to hold on to Arun Harinath's edged backfoot drive off Richard Jones. Two overs later, the 23-year-old left-hander capitalised by despatching Jones through cover and then to the rope at third man.

Mark Ramprakash announced himself with a four straight down the ground in the sixth over, but he did not find the rope again until the 17th over, Imran Arif's first, when he crunched a pull through square leg.

Harinath brought the fifty partnership up in the 20th over by steering Jack Shantry through backward point for four. But with the first and last deliveries of the 25th over Arif accounted for Ramprakash, leg before to a ball that appeared to be going over the top of leg stump, for 40, and Usman Afzaal, caught off an ill-advised slap to Jaques at gully, without troubling the scorers.

Rory Hamilton-Brown had a life, on one, when he was put down by Daryl Mitchell at second slip off the luckless Jones. But when Harinath departed in the 36th over, caught down the leg-side off Shantry for a gritty 45 off 99 balls, it looked as though Surrey had squandered all of their hard work. However, a highly entertaining partnership of 175 in 32 overs, between Hamilton-Brown and Steven Davies for the hosts' fifth wicket, put the Oval outfit back on course for an imposing first innings total.

Hamilton-Brown, who collected three fours off Jones in the space of four deliveries in the last over before lunch, meted out similar punishment to Richardson in the 37th over by hitting the former Warwickshire and Middlesex man to the rope at cover and third man off the front foot and then through cover again, except this time off the back foot.

After bringing up his fifty off 56 balls, the Surrey captain then made Arif his next victim by pulling him through wide mid-on for four before despatching him to the rope at third man and square leg for two further boundaries in the 47th over. Not to be outdone, Davies punched Jones through cover for a couple of fours two overs later and in the 51st over drove him on the up through the off-side before dismissively driving the 23-year-old to the rope at extra cover.

Davies's half century arrived in the 60th over, off 72 balls, though not before Hamilton-Brown had progressed to his first century for Surrey, which he brought up with the second of four boundaries off Mooen Ali in the 57th over. To reach three figures it took him just 119 minutes and 96 balls.

At tea the hosts were 273-4, but with Davies following Hamilton-Brown's lead the Worcestershire attack were left looking ragged by the close. After Hamilton-Brown drilled a low catch to mid-on in the 68th over, Davies and Gareth Batty combined for 78 runs in 16 overs.

In the 71st over, Batty picked Ali up over wide long-on for a maximum. Two overs later a slog sweep produced an identical result. Then, in the 82nd over, Davies deposited Jones over the rope at mid-wicket off the front foot for six.

Jones finally got his reward when Batty was caught at second slip in the 84th over. Four overs later Davies moved to his second first-class hundred in six innings for Surrey with a quickly scampered two to deep extra cover. Davies's century came off 145 deliveries and contained 13 fours and a six.

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