Harris strikes early but Ramprakash takes centre stage

Date: Sunday 02 August 2009

Day Three Report: Surrey 311-2 (Ramprakash 174*, Walters 84*) trail Leicestershire 593-5dec (Taylor 207*, du Toit 100*, Dippenaar 86, Ackerman 75, New 53, Smith 46) by 282 runs.

A masterclass of batting from Mark Ramprakash and a fine knock from Stewart Walters helped Surrey to close on 311-2 in reply to Leicestershire’s 593-5 declared on day three at The Oval.

Ramprakash, who is well-known to County followers for his run-scoring exploits, was unbeaten on 174 by stumps. He shared an unbroken stand of 236 with his skipper as the batsmen continued to dominate the match.

The batsman offered only one opportunity all day; a low chance at backward point when on 82 which James Taylor couldn’t quite cling on to.

Walters contributed 84 of his own runs in the aesthetically-pleasing stand and helped Ramprakash to help steer his side into a comfortable position. However, when the former Middlesex man started his knock, things looked less rosy.

AJ Harris bowled Jon Batty with the fourth ball of the day to give the team an ideal start but Ramprakash – who currently posses a first-class average of more than 96 against Leicestershire – steadied the ship alongside Michael Brown.

The opener had recovered sufficiently from a nasty neck injury sustained while at short leg on Saturday to bat up front, but he received another unwanted shock when his partner was beaten by a Harris inswinger.

The home side regained composure though, with Brown sharing 75 with Ramprakash for the second wicket.

Life was not easy for the batsmen early on, with County’s Championship debutant Nathan Buck causing plenty of problems alongside Harris.

The experienced seamer beat the edge on numerous occasions and Buck bowled a consistent line outside off-stump as Leicestershire used the new ball wisely.

Unfortunately no further wickets could be taken with the new cherry and Brown got the scoreboard moving with three boundaries in the 11th over of the day.

Ramprakash looked in ominously good form by playing a handsome cover drive early in the piece and captain Boeta Dippenaar decided on an early change of tack in a bid to unsettle the batters.

Claude Henderson was introduced from the Vauxhall Road End and immediately spun the ball sharply past the outside edge on two occasions.

The slow left armer looked the most likely to provide a breakthrough and that proved to be the case. With the score on 75, Brown attempted an ill-advised sweep against the spin and the ball looped off the glove to the grateful hands of HD Ackerman at slip.

It was to prove the last success of the day as Ramprakash and Walters batted through the remainder of play.

Ramprakash pulled two nice fours and Walters swept the last ball of the session for six as the hosts went in on 99-2, and after lunch it was solid hard work for the attack.

Ramprakash moved to a 92-ball fifty which included eight fours and he continued to play with his trademark fluency and class.

The batsman accelerated as the session went on and Walters was a good foil by playing straight and picking off loose balls when the opportunity presented itself.

County’s bowlers continued to work hard on the flat deck and Harris created a chance with the batter on 82.

In a rare error, Ramprakash cut the ball into the air towards a diving Taylor. The ball was dieing, though, and the youngster could not hang on.

It would have been an excellent catch but it was always going to take something special to remove Ramprakash in this form and he was not in the mood to offer another chance.

He moved to his 54th century for Surrey before tea, which was made from 166 balls and included 16 fours. Walters also moved to a personal landmark by moving to 50 before tea, with the score on 211-2 at that stage.

After the break, Surrey added a further 100 runs without any loss by the close.

County tried things to attempt to break the stand, with Henderson continually switching ends and the seam attack of Harris, Buck and Harry Gurney having short bursts around the spinner.

The new ball was also taken in the 90th over, by which time Ramprakash had moved past 150 from 233 balls with 23 fours and a six which came from a powerful pull over long leg.

He continued on his way to close within 26 runs of a double-century and Walters was just 16 short of his second hundred in two games by stumps.

Although the scoreboard does not make the best reading, County can be heartened by the performance of Buck on debut, as the 18-year-old bowled extremely well over a number of spells.

Even though he did not take a wicket, Buck’s lines were excellent and he also bowled with good pace and carry.

He and the team will look for quick wickets in the morning, but with just seven taken by both teams in the best part of three days thus far, it looks as though another day of hard graft for County’s attack will be on the agenda.