Given Surrey’s predicament near the foot of the first division of the LV County Championship, it was a magnanimous gesture from David Stewart, the chairman, not to vote against the ECB proposal to award Kent, their nearest rivals, five additional points from their abandoned match against Worcestershire. Perhaps he was happy to leave that to the four counties who did veto the move. And perhaps he feels that Mark Ramprakash is in good enough form to lift Surrey out of the relegation zone regardless.

Ramprakash racked up his 93rd first-class hundred yesterday, his fortieth for Surrey and his ninth against Worcestershire in his past 17 innings. It was as inevitable as the heavy rain, which put paid to 3¾ hours of play after lunch.

Having waltzed past 50 for the ninth time this season, there was a discernible change of tempo from the former England batsman. Two leg-side sixes swatted off Gareth Batty were interspersed with sublime cover drives and deft flicks through square leg off the quicker bowlers as he brought up his sixth hundred of the campaign from 174 balls.

Having seen Richard Clinton and Chris Schofield depart after the resumption, which had left Surrey 12 overs to negotiate, Ramprakash was last out, gloving Batty behind for 142.