THERE was more heat than light being generated in the evening at Lord’s yesterday as the fire brigade arrived after members smelt something funny in the Long Room. It was a false alarm but provided some action after bad light robbed the day of the last 29 overs and probably Surrey of the chance of forcing victory.

A majestic, unbeaten 152 from Alistair Brown and a confident debut by Dominic Thornely, Surrey’s New South Wales recruit, lit up a gloomy day. After a dominant stand of 184 in 41 overs by Brown and Thornely, Surrey would have been disappointed not to have more of a lead than 23 runs.

That they did not was down to Alan Richardson, the 30-year-old former Warwickshire seamer who has been reborn at Middlesex. Richardson finished with six for 106, his third five-wicket haul of the season, to go past Chris Tremlett and Shane Warne as the leading wicket-taker in the championship with 38.

Richardson took two early wickets as Richard Clinton failed to add to his overnight 73 and edged to second slip. Four overs later Jonathan Batty cut to third man. The strain of holding together Middlesex’s mediocre attack is beginning to tell on Richardson, though, but he soldiered on after damaging his right knee in his first spell.

Brown was in one of his moods where anything short, full or of a good length was punished. His first 50 came from 49 balls and took the pressure off Thornely, who drove Middlesex to distraction until Scott Styris got one to crawl along at ankle height.

Thornely had not batted for two months and was fishing back in Albury when Steve Rixon, his former coach, asked him to cover for the injured Azhar Mahmood. He was the only man in the nets at nine yesterday morning.