BRIT OVAL

(day three of four): Surrey won toss

Surrey 466-8 dec, 119.4 overs (Butcher 205, Nicholson 133, Bresnan 3-102). Yorkshire 507-7 (Gale 150, Rudolph 121).

Lunch

Surrey took the first hour of the morning session emphatically with three wickets, but Yorkshire gritted out the second and take back the advantage.

If Surrey can bowl Yorkshire out before tea and the weather holds, there could be a fascinating end to this match on a pitch offering plenty of turn. But Andrew Gale remains, resolute, on 126, his second Championship hundred of the season and Yorkshire have a chance of a lead and inserting Surrey for a tough evening.

It looked like bravado by Mark Butcher, opening up with Usman Afzaal from the Vauxhall End in an attempt to get under Jacques Rudolph’s skin, after their small spat the previous evening. Rudolph came down and smashed Afzaal over his head for four, then swept him for four in an over that went for eleven.

In Afzaal’s next over, Gale strode down and lifted him for six over mid-on. Afzaal looked what he has always looked; a part-time spinning batsman with an average over 50 with the ball. But there was method in Butcher’s madness and real rough outside the left-handers off-stump which Afzaal eventually started landing in. Rudolph left one that spun sharply back and though it might have been high, Nigel Cowley, the umpire adjudged him leg-before. It ended a partnership with Gale of 206 in 50 overs.

Gerard Brophy followed three overs later top-edging a sweep to midwicket off Saqlain Mushtaq and three overs after that Adil Rashid was caught at silly point from an unusually ugly defensive forward lunch at Afzaal. After resuming on 292 for three, Yorkshire were in trouble at 343 for six. But Gale found accomplished support from Tim Bresnan. Together they milked the spinners, as Afzaal bowled unchanged through the session.

Tea

The curse on Yorkshire’s bowlers blackened as Rana Naved ul-Hasan joined the ranks of the limping wounded shortly before tea. Rana, making his debut for Yorkshire, pulled up turning for a second run.

On a increasingly docile pitch, with friendly bowling Yorkshire prospered after rain took them off for over an hour just after lunch. Andrew Gale moved to 150, his highest first class score, but top-edged Matt Nicholson to long leg next ball. Rana slipped with Yorkshire still one run behind, but Tim Bresnan took them passed 500.

Close

When Mark Ramprakash got one high on the bat turning to leg off Rashid and was caught short leg with Surrey still 13 runs behind just before the close of play, the match was suddenly brought to life. Ramprakash remains stuck on 99 first class hundreds after his fourth failure to get there, but more significantly for Surrey they are suddenly in trouble.

The prior loss of Mark Butcher, inside edging a drive at Deon Kruis to the keeper, was perhaps even more significant given his 205 in the first innings. On a slow but turning pitch they still have some hard work to do in a game that was meandering to a draw.

Tim Bresnan, with an unbeaten 84 had taken Yorkshire to 525 and a lead of 59 and left Surrey with an uncomfortable 24 overs to face on a sunny evening.

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