SURREY seized the initiative with two wickets in the final two overs to leave Kent, the championship leaders, on the ropes, still needing 149 runs to avoid the follow-on. It was another fantastic day for Jonathan Batty, the Surrey captain, who followed his hundred by taking all five wickets caught behind.

Without Robert Key, Kent would be real trouble. The example set by Andrew Strauss at Lord’s should have had a galvanising effect on all county cricketers and Key is working his way to the head of the queue to be the next batsman into the England team. He is 22 short of his fifth first-class hundred of the season in only his ninth innings.

While others had their techniques worked over by Azhar Mahmood, moving the ball both ways in the air and off the pitch from the Pavilion End, Key stood resolute, leaving well and hitting immaculately straight.

Key took 140 balls to reach 50 but the championship leaders will thank him for the sweat. When Michael Carberry was caught down the leg side in the penultimate over of the day, Surrey seized the initiative and rammed it home when Martin Saggers, the nightwatchman, was also caught down the leg side by Batty off Rikki Clarke. It was an exciting end to a turgid final session. Zaheer Khan, the India opening bowler playing his first championship game for Surrey, was steady but unthreatening.

Resuming on 306 for three, Surrey would have been disappointed only to get to 479. Kent bowled well in the morning to remove both the overnight century-makers, Mark Ramprakash and Batty, and then, after lunch, Surrey self-destructed looking for quick runs. Batty added nine to his 120 before he was out in the fourth over. He was finding it so easy against Amjad Khan that he tried an ambitious scoop and hit it straight to mid- wicket.

Khan was allowed to take the new ball, but only for one over as Mohammad Sami was brought into the attack from the Vauxhall Road End. But it was not until Sami was switched to the Pavilion End nine overs later that he was troubling.

It was Sami’s unsettling speed that undid even a well-set Ramprakash, who was nearly flattened by a bouncer from Sami coming round the wicket and next ball was rushed into a pull that he dragged on to his stumps. Sami almost minces to the wicket, elbows bustling — but you would not tell him so if he was bowling to you.

Alistair Brown and Mahmood steadied things. Brown went to his second fifty of the season, but Mahmood played on to the fourth ball after lunch, Martin Bicknell hoicked to mid-wicket and Brown was stumped charging halfway down the wicket, all to the hitherto harmless slow left-arm bowling of Rob Ferley.