Mark Butcher has twice opened the batting for Surrey this season and on both occasions the Brown Caps' skipper has reached three figures. In Sunday's 17-run defeat to Kent in the Friends Provident Trophy he recorded his one-day career best. Judging by the way the ball was whistling through extra cover off his bat yesterday, the former England number three is in supreme form. Surrey needed him to be, especially when they stumbled to 121-4 shortly after lunch. But thanks to his unbeaten 203-run alliance with Matt Nicholson it was the home side that ended day one in the ascendancy.

Having won the toss and elected to bat, Butcher decided to open and thus protect the out of form Jonathan Batty from the new ball; plus, as it transpired, some additional bounce. With Surrey also opting to play two frontline spinners, a big first innings total was clearly their first objective.

Scott Newman, as he does so often, struck the new ball cleanly. In the opening over he dispatched Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who was making his debut for Yorkshire, through extra cover for four and two overs later clipped the Pakistani to the point boundary off the front foot. But in the 16th over, the 28-year-old left-hander was squared up by Tim Bresnan.

That brought Mark Ramprakash, still one hundred away from making his one hundredth in first-class cricket, to the crease. Over the next nineteen overs the Brown Caps appeared to be taking the upper hand. In the 24th over Ramprakash on drove Bresnan for four and in the next treated Deon Kruis similarly before getting a leading edge down to the third man boundary in front of the Lock and Laker Stands.

Butcher then put his foot on the accelerator, collecting four boundaries off Naved-ul-Hasan's last two overs before lunch.

But, after the break, the hosts lost wickets in the 35th, 36th and 38th overs. Sandwiched in-between was Butcher's half-century, which came off 94 balls with a pulled four off Oliver Hannon-Dalby. It was immediately followed by a flowing drive to the extra cover boundary. But the tall 18-year-old seamer was probably still on cloud nine after claiming Ramprakash as his first scalp in county cricket.

The former Middlesex man was caught at second slip, nibbling at a ball that lifted a tad, Usman Afzaal, driving, was caught behind for a duck off Kruis, who then accounted for Alistair Brown, leg before on the move.

A useful partnership of 72 in 22 overs between Butcher and Batty put the home side back on course. The latter played with a good deal of freedom, but, in the 60th over, Batty became the fifth Surrey batsman to be dismissed for less than thirty when he drove hard at Anthony McGrath and was caught at throat height at second slip by Joe Sayers.

Two overs later, the Brown Caps' skipper brought up his second championship hundred of the season, in 161 deliveries, with his sixteenth four, which was caressed through extra cover. At tea, however, the Oval outfit were 213-5 and in danger of failing to capitalise on a decent pitch. But Butcher found a more than useful ally in Matt Nicholson, who followed up the 73 he made in his last innings, against Hampshire, with his first hundred for his county.

In the final session the runs flowed thick and fast, 183 of them to be exact came off just 31 overs.

Butcher lifted Adil Rashid over the straight mid-wicket boundary for six and three overs later reeled off yet another of his trademark cover drives against the bowling of Hannon-Dalby. At the other end, Nicholson pulled and on-drove with relative ease.

In the 77th over, Butcher, on 133, was dropped at short leg by Andrew Gale off the bowling of Rashid, but that was all forgotten when he clipped the first delivery with the new ball through wide mid-on to bring up his 150 in 224 deliveries.

Four overs later Nicholson went to his half-century off 70 balls with a two to long leg. The tall Australian celebrated the landmark by pulling and on-driving successive fours off Naved-ul-Hasan, who looked increasingly ineffective.

In the last over of the day, Nicholson, who should have been caught at first slip when on 60, powered to his hundred. A four cut to the third man boundary saw it posted in just 119 deliveries. The shot also brought up the 200 partnership, however the day belonged to the masterful Butcher, who was just three runs away from making his highest ever score at the Oval when stumps were drawn.

GO TO:

BACK TO: