Mark Ramprakash three-month wait for his 100th first-class century ended yesterday on the ground where he made his first, in 1989.

The 38-year-old became the 25th batsman to reach the landmark when he cut Yorkshire left-arm spinner David Wainwright to the boundary.

He did not celebrate wildly but he raised his arms aloft and smiled as he received the acclaim of his team-mates and a sparse crowd, and was warmly congratulated by each member of the opposing XI.

His relief was palpable. His runs had dried up since his 99th century on May 3, with scores of 17, 9, 29, 14, 17, 15, 48, 0, 42 and 6 in 10 subsequent innings. For the first man to pass 2,000 first-class runs in consecutive seasons, a feat he achieved last year, this was a drought. A procession towards the pantheon of greats had turned into an awkward quest.

Coming in at 0-1 with Surrey needing 210 runs to make Yorkshire bat again, Ramprakash started nervously, beaten by his second ball, from Tim Bresnan, and then playing and missing at a delivery from Darren Gough.

It took him 110 balls to reach a perfunctorily acknowledged half-century. His century came off 196 balls, with nine fours and a six. The century was of vital significance for Surrey, as was Scott Newman’s. The pair put on 259 for the second wicket to save the game.

Elsewhere, Stuart Broad gave the perfect response to being dropped from the England team by taking four second-innings wickets for Nottinghamshire against Durham. The 22-year-old seamer helped push the match towards a draw at Trent Bridge.

Nic Pothas was left unbeaten on 104 as Hampshire reached 311 for seven before rain stopped play and the match with Kent ended all square. Pothas, who finished unbeaten on 73 in the first innings, received support from Chris Tremlett who hit 56.

Sussex’s match with Somerset got under way in the afternoon after the first session was washed out. Somerset chased an unlikely 275 runs for victory after Sussex declared their second innings on 264 for five, but lost opener Marcus Trescothick when he was caught by Chris Nash off Corey Collymore. Justin Langer, the captain, scored 50 as the match was drawn.

In Division Two, Worcestershire strolled to victory by an innings and 142 runs at the Cheltenham Festival. Gloucestershire resumed on 128 for four and despite good resistance from David Brown, with 53, victory was secured early in the afternoon after Simon Jones and Imran Arif took the last four wickets in 18 deliveries.

Warwickshire did enough to earn a draw with Leicestershire after they crawled to 169 for three after being asked to follow on and Derbyshire versus Northamptonshire also finished in a stalemate at Chesterfield.