THE victory that Surrey desperately need to get their season off the ground seemed a long way away last night after first Jim Troughton and Jonathan Trott, then Dougie Brown and Brad Hogg had taken advantage of some indisciplined bowling to put Warwickshire in a strong position on a pitch that is not going to get any easier.

All kinds of reasons have been advanced for Surrey’s wretched start in all competitions but their problem yesterday was a basic one. Five international bowlers did not bowl well enough on a pitch that had already been used for two one-day matches in the past week and offered encouragement to both seam and spin.

James Ormond did make an early breakthrough when he had Mark Wagh caught at second slip for a duck, but Nick Knight and Ian Bell were then allowed to put on 50 for the second wicket and even after Saqlain Mushtaq had taken two wickets in his first six overs, Surrey were unable to take control.

Saqlain was bowling inside the first hour and soon turning the ball sharply enough to have Knight caught behind, yet it was to be another 41 overs before he and Ian Salisbury bowled in tandem. In between times the seamers bowled too short.

Bell had become Saqlain’s second victim when he was well caught by Mark Ramprakash at mid-wicket, but Troughton and Trott survived some early alarms to make Surrey pay with a fourth-wicket partnership of 119 in 33 overs. Trott, who got away with a top-edged hook off Ormond that landed between wicketkeeper and fine leg when he had made 21, played some handsome strokes which had brought him 13 fours in his 61 when he was leg-before to Saqlain.

Troughton, who offered a sharp chance to first slip off Ormond at three, hit 11 fours and once danced down the pitch to drive Salisbury for six before the leg spinner took his revenge by having him stumped for 77.

There was still no respite for Surrey. The redoubtable Brown, who had already helped Troughton to put on 52, had added another 64 with Hogg when he slapped Martin Bicknell to cover point. Hogg ended unbeaten on 68 off 67 balls, with ten fours.