HEADINGLEY PROVIDES AN OVERWHELMING SENSE OF SYMMETRY FOR RAMPRAKASH by Marcus Hook
Yorkshire 414-9d v Surrey 204 & 264-3. Match drawn.

There was an overwhelming sense of symmetry when Mark Ramprakash reached his hundredth first-class hundred at Headingley yesterday, with his long-awaited century of centuries arriving at the same venue and against the same opposition as his first. What differed was that his 112 not out was in a match-saving cause for Surrey rather than a victorious one for Middlesex, which was the case when he made 128 for Mike Gatting's men way back in July 1989. However, the draw he and Scott Newman secured, thanks to a second wicket stand of 259 in 68 overs, still leaves the Brown Caps propping up Division One of the LV County Championship with six matches to go.

With Yorkshire, who led by 210 overnight, declaring in the morning and Surrey's Stewart Walters falling to a catch at second slip off the first ball of the second over, the day did not get off to the best of starts for the visitors.

In the fourth over, however, Newman cover drove Tim Bresnan for four and repeated the dose two overs later. Ramprakash first started to impose himself when he pulled and then cut Darren Gough for successive boundaries in the ninth over. Four overs later Newman steered Richard Pyrah down to the third man rope, but was not in as much control when he edged a ball over gully for four later in the same over to move to 29.

In the 14th over, Ramprakash brought up the Brown Caps' fifty with a cover driven four off Yorkshire's first innings hero with ball and, as it transpired, the bat, Deon Kruis.

Spin was introduced in the 19th over in the shape of Adil Rashid, who immediately extracted turn and lift. Four overs later Rashid was a little unfortunate not to have claimed the wicket of Newman, who, on 39, slog swept him almost within reach of Pyrah at mid-wicket. When the next ball nearly bowled Ramprakash around his legs it looked as though Surrey would do well to last out the day.

Ten minutes before lunch was due to be taken the players and umpires were sent scurrying from the field by a shower, though not before Newman passed fifty for the sixth time in nine championship innings.

The 28-year-old left-hander brought up his half-century with a four to long-on off the bowling of Gough. Ramprakash's fifty arrived in the 35th over. It had taken the stand-in Brown Caps' skipper 110 deliveries.

Over the next hour Newman and Ramprakash, taking no risks whatsoever, staved off the prospect of defeat. In the 53rd over, the Newman moved to 90 with a cover driven four off Bresnan and five overs later he reached his second hundred of the season with a single to third man off Gough. At that stage Surrey trailed their hosts by just 24 runs.

Off the final two balls of the afternoon session, Ramprakash moved from 81 to 88 with a six into the Western Terrace off Adam Lyth, which he followed up with a cut for three. At 4.12pm it was the cut stroke that brought the former Middlesex man his hundredth hundred, when David Wainwright dropped the ball short for the second time in the 65th over.

After the excitement died down, Newman hit Wainwright straight down the ground for a maximum to bring up the 250 for the Brown Caps, but Wainwright claimed his revenge when the left-hander was bowled trying to run him down to third man.

Five minutes before rain drew a line under proceedings Jonathan Batty gloved Rashid to Andrew Gale at short leg to record his first pair of his career.

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