Another day’s cricket, another century for Mark Ramprakash. After making an unbeaten 122 on Wednesday, he took fresh guard yesterday and helped himself to another 144 runs without giving a chance. It was a masterly performance even by his lofty standards.

This was the thirteenth double hundred for Ramprakash, his unbeaten 266 from 332 balls taking his season’s tally to 676 in the LV County Championship. Sadly, a thousand runs before the end of May looks out of reach as, after this match, he will have only one more innings before June.

In putting on a monumental 403 in 91 overs, Ramprakash and Mark Butcher set a record for the highest stand against Sussex in the county championship. The Surrey third-wicket record was only ten runs away when Butcher, who had hit the previous ball for a straight six, was bowled by Mushtaq Ahmed, attempting a repeat. Only one pair – Warwick Armstrong and Monty Noble for the Australians in 1905 – have shared a bigger stand (428) on this ground.

Although chances are almost inevitable in such a big partnership, Sussex will not be pleased to have spurned as many as five during it. The alliance was worth only 39, of course, when Butcher was dropped on ten on Wednesday; he was missed again yesterday before he had added to his overnight 75 when Carl Hopkinson put him down at backward point off Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. Soon after reaching his hundred from 179 balls, Butcher offered a difficult chance to slip off Robin Martin-Jenkins.

Even though the pitch was a little flatter than on the first day, no praise can be too high for the strokeplay of Butcher and, in particular, Ramprakash. The latter’s occupation of the crease for eight hours and 11 minutes featured a manual of perfectly executed attacking shots: regal on-drives, dismissive pulls, punishing cuts, majestic cover drives and well controlled sweeps. On a couple of occasions, he leant into length balls from Luke Wright and James Kirtley and smash-drove them over mid-off with such disdain as if to question each bowler’s right to bowl to him.

The last person that the demoralised Sussex attack would have wanted to see walk to the crease at 515 for three was Alistair Brown. It did not take the Surrey swashbuckler long to charge to his fifty, which he reached in only 47 balls while matching Ramprakash stroke for stroke. Ramprakash’s rate of scoring, pretty much constant through his innings, was unusually quick, and when he was applauded off the field by the disappointed but admiring Sussex members, he had struck 31 fours as well as three sixes.

Almost inevitably, Sussex lost a quick wicket after their humbling marathon in the field. Hopkinson’s movement let him down off the very first ball of the innings when he played across a ball from Matt Nicholson that held its line and was leg-before. Chris Nash, groping nervously at his first ball, narrowly avoided getting an edge, but grew slowly in confidence to reach his fifty from 101 balls.

Richard Montgomerie offered predictably doughty support at the other end, grafting his way to his own fifty from 130 balls to give Sussex a chance of saving this match. Their hopes were improved by the lack of swing for Surrey’s bowlers, just as had been the case for the home side’s attack yesterday.

Scoreboard from Hove

Surrey: First Innings

S A Newman c Martin-Jenkins b Wright 38
†J N Batty c Kirtley b Naved 39
M R Ramprakash not out 266
*M A Butcher b Mushtaq 179
A D Brown not out 50
Extras (b 4, lb 18, w 6, nb 26) 54
Total (3 wkts dec, 146.4 overs) 626
R Clarke, R S Clinton, I D K Salisbury, M J Nicholson, N C Saker and N D Doshi did not bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-83, 2-112, 3-515.

Bowling: Naved 26-4-103-1; Kirtley 27-5-89-0; Martin-Jenkins 28-6-97-0; Mushtaq 35-2-178-1; Wright 24-0-107-1; Adams 4-0-9-0; Hopkinson 2-0-16-0; Nash 0.4050.

Sussex: First Innings

C D Hopkinson lbw b Nicholson 0
R R Montgomerie not out 54
C D Nash not out 53
Extras (nb 2) 2
Total (1 wkt, 38 overs) 109

M W Goodwin, *C J Adams, †A J Hodd, R S C Martin-Jenkins, L J Wright, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mushtaq Ahmed and R J Kirtley to bat.

Fall of wicket: 1-0.

Bowling: Nicholson 10-2-28-1; Saker 9-1-29-0; Clinton 5-3-8-0; Clarke 5-0-23-0; Doshi 4-1-6-0; Salisbury 5-0150.

Umpires: G I Burgess and B Dudleston.