BRIT OVAL

(day two of four): Surrey won toss

Surrey 466-8 dec, 119.4 overs (Butcher 205, Nicholson 133, Bresnan 3-102). Yorkshire 292-3 (Rudolph 99*, Gale 70* Collins 2-79).

Lunch

Surrey looked to have faltered from their strong overnight position of 396 for five when Mark Butcher was out after adding just 16 to his overnight 189. But Butcher, the Surrey captain, obviously had other ideas of what a good score was on this pitch and with rain forecast.

After his 205, his highest score at the Brit Oval, Butcher, who clipped hard to Adil Rashid at mid-wicket, did not watch for long and made an aggressive declaration rather than crawling past 500.

Nicholson, who added 232 for the sixth wicket with Butcher, cracked on to 133 off 164 balls, his highest first class score, as Yorkshire continued to feed his cut. But after smashing a cover drive through Rashid at cover, he was bowled off his pads slightly falling over to Tim Bresnan. Bresnan’s figures this morning of 9-3-17-2 from the Vauxhall End were much improved and with Surrey making slow progress Butcher declared, unusually, in the middle of the 120th over.

It left Yorkshire with an awkward 20 minutes to face and though Pedro Collins and Jimmy Ormond were off-beam, Collins trapped Joe Sayers in front in the last over before they went off for lunch.

Tea

A blistering half-century off 46 balls saw Anthony McGrath, the Yorkshire captain, seize the initiative. With impressive support from Adam Lyth, the 20-year-old left-handed opener, McGrath took Yorkshire to 50 in the ninth over and reached his own 50 with two flowing back-foot cover drives.

Surrey were guilty of bowling both sides of what is, as ever, a true batting surface. Pedro Collins, the West Indian leftarmer, overpitched looking for the swinging yorker, but switched to the Pavilion End, eventually got it right bending one back to comprehensively beat McGrath, who was leg before head toppling to point.

The rate slowed with Surrey’s two off-spinners from Pakistan on and Lyth was well caught by Mark Butcher at first slip driving at a full ball in the 29th over to reduce Yorkshire to 123-3.

Close

In a game of turning fortunes Surrey must hope they have the aces with their two off-spinners from Pakistan, but on a blameless second day pitch Jacques Rudolph and Andrew Gale steered Yorkshire out of trouble and towards parity with an unbroken partnership of 169 in 42 overs.

It could have been different if Mark Butcher had held a tough chance at slip in the second over after tea. Gale, on nine and Yorkshire 163, drove hard at Saqlain Mushtaq and Butcher got one hand on it diving to his left. Gale rubbed it in by cover driving Saqlain’s next ball for four. Then halfway through the evening session, Rudolph on 75 and Yorkshire on 242, tried to run Saqlain to third man and Butcher got his right hand to a lightning quick chance.