Brit Oval (Day two of four; Surrey won toss)

Surrey 455 (MR Ramprakash 178, JN Batty 102, Usman Afzaal 58, CD Nash 3 for 7, RJ Hamilton-Brown 3 for 54)

Sussex 96 for 3 (MW Goodwin 49 not out, MH Yardy 36)

Lunch

The likelihood of disciplinary action following his furious row with Murray Goodwin, Sussex’s former Zimbabwe batsman, last night did not affect Mark Ramprakash as he continued to bat with supreme control until seven minutes before lunch.

Then he surprised everyone when he tried to hoist Ollie Rayner, the off spinner, for six and was well caught by Robin Martin-Jenkins on the square leg boundary.

Ramprakash had batted 468 minutes for his 178 off 311 balls with a six and 23 fours, taking his aggregate in his last three innings to 490.

Earlier, Jonathan Batty, who had completed his second century of the season off 271 balls with 10 fours, fell leg before to Corey Collymore after joining Ramprakash in a third wicket partnership of 232.

Tea

Surrey were still 16 runs away from a fifth batting point at the end of the 130th over but Usman Afzaal and James Benning took their fifth wicket stand to 78 before wickets began to tumble against Sussex’s part-time off spinners.

Rory Hamilton-Brown, who left Surrey for Sussex at the end of last season, picked up his first two championship wickets in three balls when he had Benning caught at short leg and Matt Nicholson caught behind.

Chris Nash then had Afzaal caught at long off, Alex Tudor at long leg and Saqlain Mushtaq at cover to return figures of three for seven and when Hamilton-Brown had Murtaza Hussain stumped Surrey had lost their last six wickets for 57.

Close

Sussex , needing 306 just to avoid the follow-on, had the worst possible start when Jade Dernbach reduced them to 16 for two by bowling Nash off an inside edge in his second over and having Michael Thornely caught behind in his third.

They should have been 29 for three when Goodwin, then on five, edged Benning to second slip but Nicholson put down the catch and Surrey looked set to pay a heavy price when Goodwin joined Yardy in a third-wicket partnership of 68.

They were relieved when Yardy was run out by Benning’s direct hit from short fine leg but Goodwin, who had so upset Ramprakash the night before, was still getting under Surrey’s skin with an unbeaten 49.