TESSA JOWELL is hardly alone among politicans in discovering a lifelong passion for cricket, but from a Culture Secretary who, like her predecessors, barely mentioned the sport hitherto, such cheek by Jowell would have amused spectators at Edgbaston.

Away from the warm glow of England’s Ashes triumph, a rain-affected match moved to a certain draw by tea yesterday. But until Mark Ramprakash’s 126 made Surrey secure, there was enough in the first two sessions to keep 500 faithful members interested.

Ramprakash was joined by Jon Batty four balls after lunch with six wickets standing, 62 overs left and a precarious Surrey lead of 50 runs. Warwickshire, however, managed to drop three chances in six overs from Makhaya Ntini before Batty had reached 12. The 150-run fifth-wicket stand staved off defeat, but Surrey’s tactically inept batting on Sunday may yet come back to haunt them. By squandering four possible batting points, they enter a relegation decider next Wednesday against Middlesex, the only other team who can still go down, needing not only to win but also to gain one more bonus point than their opponents.

As long as Middlesex are not deemed to have brought the game into disrepute, a tactical declaration at, say, 350 for eight, could deny Surrey that single extra point. Surrey’s declaration here, setting a hypothetical target of 201 in 14 overs, was governed by a need to increase their over-rate and thus avoid a penalty. Matters were not so arcane earlier. With Mark Butcher taken at silly point for 27 and Saqlain Mushtaq, the nightwatchman, out in the first 40 minutes, Surrey, at 70 for three, were still 43 behind.

Rikki Clarke hit 45 before clipping to short mid-wicket and Batty finished unbeaten on 76. When Jim Troughton gained the fifth championship wicket of his career by having Ramprakash caught behind, trying to leg-glance, Surrey immediately closed. It was not cricket for the uninitiated.