AFTER underperforming against Derbyshire in their opening match, Surrey have played some hard-nosed cricket in this game, which they should now win. Although they took only one wicket in the 80 minutes they gave themselves at their opponents, a dry, abrasive pitch should allow their bowlers to obtain some reverse swing today.

Leicestershire badly needed early wickets yesterday morning after conceding a first- innings lead of 126 on a surface prone to some uneven bounce. The home attack failed to use the new ball well, however, and were punished by Scott Newman and Jonathan Batty in an opening partnership of 113 in 31 overs. Only when the ball started to reverse swing after lunch did Leicestershire’s bowling at last threaten.

Stronger though they of course are, Surrey have also benefited from a much better pre-season than Leicestershire. Moreover, while their match against Durham UCCE in mid-April was not rain-affected, Leicestershire’s game against Loughborough UCCE last week was washed out without a ball being bowled. Mark Ramprakash also felt that the fact that Surrey had two full innings against Derbyshire in the last round of matches, not at Derby, as was originally scheduled, but at the Oval enabled the top order to get into some form. “That definitely helped us here,” he said.

Newman certainly looked in very good form yesterday while making a typically positive 75. In each of the past two seasons he has passed 1,000 first-class runs, and if he maintains that consistency, the England selectors must surely take note. Although he is 26, he did not begin his county career in earnest until 2004 because of the strength of Surrey’s batting.

Ironically, his only national recognition so far was in the winter of 2003-4 when he was picked for the ECB Academy winter intake.

A fine player of pace, Newman needs to improve his game against spin. If he is better suited to bouncier surfaces such as the Oval, he showed some awareness of the need to work the ball around more on a slow, low pitch like this one. He commented that he has learnt in this respect from Mark Butcher, whose second fifty of the match yesterday was another reminder of his quality. His unbeaten 85 from 136 balls was his highest championship score for two years after his wrist injury.

Butcher’s left-handedness was a useful defence against the reverse swing that helped to account for Surrey’s wobble in mid-afternoon. When Ramprakash was bowled by a shooter, they slipped from the 156 for two to 187 for seven in the space of 11 overs. It was no coincidence that order was then restored when another left-hander, Tim Murtagh, joined Butcher. The pair added exactly 100 to put the game beyond Leicestershire.