RAMPRAKASH
IN SELECT COMPANY by Marcus Hook
Surrey 490 v Middlesex 148-0.
On the day Surrey announced the signing of Younis
Khan, it was another batsman with a career average over fifty who
dominated at the Brit Oval. In notching up a sixteenth
double-century Mark Ramprakash is now joint fifth in the all-time
list of first-class two-hundred-makers, alongside Graeme Hick,
C.B.Fry and one Sir Jack Hobbs. Only on rare occasions was
Ramprakash's 223, which spanned nearly ten hours, attractive, but
given that the next highest score in Surrey's first innings was 62,
it was essential to his team's cause. With Andrew Strauss and Scott
Newman answering with an unbeaten partnership of 148 in 36 overs,
however, this contest is seemingly heading for a dull draw.
Resuming on 286-4, Surrey added just 88 to their
overnight total in the opening session of day two, during which
Ramprakash progressed from 125 to 173. After negotiating a telling
spell from Steven Finn, Matthew Spriegel was caught behind off
Gareth Berg in the fifteenth over of the day; nibbling at a ball
angled across him.
Nine overs before lunch, Gareth Batty was taken
behind off a delivery from Pedro Collins which appeared to keep a
bit low. That brought Gary Wilson, who is making his championship
debut, to the crease. But the 24-year-old played in assured fashion.
In the seventh over after tea, the 135th, he cut Finn for four. In
the next, the Irishman brought up the 400 for Surrey with a deft
flick to the rope at long leg off the bowling of Berg.
Two overs later Ramprakash played a one-handed
slap between the bowler and mid-off that disappeared to the
boundary. In the 141st over, Wilson went to 46 with a beautifully
straight driven four off Tim Murtagh before moving to a 107-ball
half-century three deliveries later. But shortly afterwards, Dawid
Malan drew Wilson into no man's land with a well-flighted ball to
end a partnership of 88 in 26 overs for the seventh wicket.
Ramprakash went to his double hundred by cutting a
short ball from Malan through cover point for four. The 40-year-old,
who made five double centuries for Middlesex - three of them against
Surrey - has now struck eleven double hundreds for the Oval outfit.
Only one batsman has made more for the Brown Caps - Hobbs.
Andre Nel, down and one knee and attempting to
lift Shaun Udal out of the ground, was caught by John Simpson in the
150th over. Ramprakash departed five overs later when failed to
clear the rope at long-on, which could also best describe Chris
Tremlett's demise - Udal finishing with figures of 5-128, the
Middlesex skipper's best of the season to date.
In reply, Andrew Strauss got off the mark in the
fourth over by clipping Tremlett to the fence at deep backward
square leg. Three overs later, with the ground bathed in sunshine
for the first time in the day, Scott Newman despatched Nel through
the off-side for two successive boundaries.
In the eighth over, Jade Dernbach's first, Newman
cut the ball for four and in the twelfth the 30-year-old brought up
the fifty for the visitors by angling Dernbach down to the third man
boundary.
The sixteenth over saw Newman move to 44 with a
slog swept boundary off Batty. At the other end Strauss had just
sixteen to his name, but that soon became 24 when the England
captain despatched Tremlett to the rope at extra cover before
driving him exquisitely down the ground for four.
In the 22nd over, Newman lofted Batty over long-on
for six and, next ball, took a quick single to mid-on to bring up a
79-ball fifty on his old stamping ground. Strauss's half-century,
which came off 86 deliveries, arrived ten overs later. At the close,
Newman had 79 and Strauss 54.
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