Mark Ramprakash appeared to have mellowed on the way to 100 first-class hundreds but he faces disciplinary action after showing a flash of the temper that once earned him the nickname “Bloodaxe” before completing his 102nd century - and his tenth against Sussex - in the LV County Championship first division match at the Brit Oval yesterday.

The Surrey batsman had scored 95 when he became involved in such a furious row with Murray Goodwin, Sussex's former Zimbabwe batsman, after allegedly being accused of cheating by roughing up the pitch, that the umpires had to calm him down before he reached his hundred off 173 balls with a six and 13 fours.

That red-mist episode apart, it had been another consummate performance by Ramprakash, who has been back to his best since it took him three months and ten innings to move from 99 hundreds to 100. He got there with 112 not out against Yorkshire at Headingley Carnegie, followed that with 200 not against Somerset at Taunton and last night was still unbeaten on 133 when bad light brought an early close.

Jonathan Batty, who has been granted a benefit next season, was also undefeated on 96 after joining Ramprakash in a third-wicket partnership of 216 that has given beleaguered Surrey, bottom of the first division without a win in 11 games, some respite.

They have so underperformed this season that Roger Harman, the chairman of their cricket committee, felt the need to apologise this week. “I deeply regret that we have not fulfilled the expectations of our members and supporters,” he wrote. “Our performances have not been acceptable.”

The inclusion of Alex Tudor, the former England fast bowler they released in 2004, after he rejoined them on loan from Essex, was hardly the solution they were looking for and there were more murmurs of discontent when they made another poor start. Stewart Walters seemed to be in Twenty20 mode when he was caught at second slip in Jason Lewry's third over but Scott Newman did get a good ball from Lewry that lifted and left him to have him caught behind.

Sussex, missing Chris Adams and Mushtaq Ahmed, might have had a third wicket when Batty edged Ollie Rayner to slip but Carl Hopkinson could not hold a sharp chance. After that, it was another Ramprakash masterclass with Batty in loyal support.

Scoreboard

Surrey: First Innings
S A Newman c Hodd b Lewry 18
S J Walters c Rayner b Lewry 0
*M R Ramprakash not out 133
J N Batty not out 96
Extras (lb 6, w 1, nb 2) 9

Total (2 wkts, 88.5 overs) 256

U Afzaal, J G E Benning, M J Nicholson, A J Tudor, Saqlain Mushtaq, J W Dernbach and Murtaza Hussain to bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-40.

Bowling: Lewry 17.5-3-57-2; Collymore 15-4-49-0; Martin-Jenkins 15-2-35-0; Rayner 26-4-53-0; Thornely 4-0-25-0; Hamilton-Brown 4-0-14-0; Yardy 7-1-17-0.

Sussex: *M H Yardy, C D Nash, M A Thornely, M W Goodwin, C D Hopkinson, R J Hamilton-Brown, A J Hodd, R S C Martin-Jenkins, O P Rayner, C D Collymore, J D Lewry.

Umpires: R J Bailey and J F Steele.