Alistair Brown may have taken time finding his range this season, but when bad light and rain put paid to the last 34 overs of scheduled play at Hove yesterday he was closing in fast on a fourth century in 13 championship innings.

Brown’s 93 off 104 balls has finally begun to tip the balance slightly four of the visitors, who take a useful lead of 272 into the last day. If the 34-year-old converts his knock into a century and then some the Oval outfit will certainly fancy their chances as much as the weather forecast for the concluding day of the 2004 season on a pitch that has slight more in it for the bowlers.

With the chance of finishing in the prize-money gone – along with a total of 91 overs in the opening three days of this match – Surrey will be hoping to level off their five championship defeats this season with a fifth victory. Should they succeed in their mission the Ovalites will take a record of four wins out of the last five into the off-season, which would be in complete contrast with a year ago.

Brown, who has so far batted for two hours, struck 11 fours and two sixes. The first maximum, which came when he had 51 to his name, seemed to go straight through the hands of Chris Adams at deep square leg off the bowling of Robin Martin-Jenkins. However, there was no questioning his second, which sailed over the leg-side boundary off the same bowler eight overs later.

Following an hour’s delay, Mark Butcher added just six to his overnight score before falling to an inside edge off Martin-Jenkins, which was well taken low down to Matthew Prior’s right. Tight bowling from the home side held Surrey in check for the remainder of the pre-lunch session, which ended soon after Mark Ramprakash reached an enduring fifty off 86 balls with his seventh boundary – a drive straight up the ground off Mushtaq Ahmed.

The former Middlesex man was leg before to the second ball after lunch, but after playing himself in Brown powered his way to his second half-century of the match, which occupied just 70 deliveries. Alistair Brown’s alliance with Jon Batty resulted in a partnership of 95 in twenty overs, which put the visitors in the ascendancy. But then the Surrey skipper, sweeping, was caught behind off a thin edge and three overs later Rikki Clarke was leg before when he tried to yank Martin-Jenkins to leg.

Light rain precipitated the early arrival of tea. Ten minutes after the break Martin Bicknell was hit high on the right arm by James Kirtley, which convinced the players and the officials that further play would only be possible following a significant improvement in the light, which, sadly, failed to materialise before rain had the final say.

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