After a day that produced 379 runs, Surrey held the upper hand as feast turned to famine for three of the country’s leading run-scorers. Darren Lehmann, Ian Ward and Mark Ramprakash came into the match with an aggregate of 2,637 championship runs under their belts. Yesterday they went for a combined score of nineteen as wickets fell at regular intervals.

The only drawback is that, at this rate, the game will be over inside three days, thus denying anyone who works for a living the chance to see something of this fascinating top versus bottom contest. But that is nothing new at Woodbridge Road where, ever since 1996, the championship fixture has either been concluded in three days or very early on the fourth. Guildford, however, is a lucky venue for Surrey. They have won seven in a row there and the way this match is shaping up that run could well be extended to eight.

After winning the toss, Yorkshire chose to bat first on a pitch that always seems to offer early assistance. It was no surprise, therefore, when the visitors soon found themselves in trouble, Matthew Wood making this third duck in a row against Surrey after being opened up by the second ball of the match. The bat-pad chance ballooned to Salisbury at gully where, three overs later, Vic Craven was given a reprieve off the bowling of Jimmy Ormond.

Craven and McGrath played some attractive strokes, adding 53 in twelve overs before the left-hander was caught down the legside to kick off what was to prove a memorable day for Jonathan Batty. Two overs later Ed Giddins remained on course for all ten when Anthony McGrath was adjudged lbw; that he was playing no stroke possibly counting against him.

But then the prized wicket of Darren Lehmann, to a superb left-handed catch at third slip by Rikki Clarke just after the Aussie had completed a thousand runs for the season, persuaded Adam Hollioake to persist with Giddins and Ormond. The new-ball pair bowled 15 and 13 overs respectively and by the time Saqlain Mushtaq was introduced twenty minutes before lunch Yorkshire had also lost Michael Lumb, who struck four boundaries before presenting the Pakistani with a simple catch at mid-on.

The visitors went into the break in even worse shape at 125 for six, after Gary Fellows had picked out Shahid at deep mid-wicket. Richard Dawson opened the post-lunch session with a couple of glanced fours, but then Richard Blakey was caught off bat and pad at short leg off Saqlain. In the next over Chris Silverwood went at second slip. Dawson followed when a thin edge gave Clarke his third victim and following a breezy 15 in 19 balls from Yorkshire’s 20-year-old debutant, David Wigley, the visitors were bowled out for 172.

Surrey’s reply started brightly with Ian Ward looking in particularly good touch after his match winning 168 not out at Canterbury. The left-hander on drove two fours off Ryan Sidebottom, but then Chris Silverwood struck with two wickets in two balls. Ward was deemed to have edged a drive prior to Mark Ramprakash becoming the first batsman to have his stumps shattered when he played on to record his fourth duck in this season’s championship - and his third first-baller.

Whilst never really looking totally at home Batty and Shahid moved the score to 88 for two at tea. After taking two fours square on the offside Nadeem Shahid cut one too many, finding Fellows at cover point. What followed was a productive period for Surrey with Alistair Brown joining Jonathan Batty, who was stranded on his tea score of 35 for the same number of minutes.

The pair added 92 in 25 overs. Brown, who saved his really savage shots for the inexperienced Wigley, needed just 59 balls to reach his half-century while Batty took rather longer - 134 deliveries to be precise - before getting the measure of Richard Dawson, whom he on and cover drove adeptly.

Having been critical of the defensive tactics employed by Yorkshire’s opponents this season, it then seemed a somewhat retrograde step for Darren Lehmann to be introducing Gary Fellows late on. However, it proved an inspired move. The 23-year-old got the wicket of Alistair Brown, cutting, in his third over and nightwatchman Ian Salisbury, who played on, in his fourth to give the Tykes’ spirits a little bit of a lift.

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