Surrey on brink of relegation

Surrey 59 for 2 (Styris 1-6) trail Middlesex 404 for 5 dec (Styris 100*, Joyce 90, Hutton 79, Shah 58) by 345 runs
Scorecard

Ed Joyce's knock of 90 was in the Graham Thorpe mould © Getty Images

Surrey slumped to the brink of relegation on the opening day at The Oval, on a day where their performance lurched from the mediocre to the abysmal.

A match that could have gone down to the wire will become academic when Surrey lose their third wicket - unless by some freak of nature they reach 400 for 2. From next summer the Championship is changing to a two-up, two-down format and, on the evidence of this performance, Surrey are going to have a tough job climbing back up.

Middlesex's declaration on 404 for 5 - taking advantage of the bonus point system and rubbing more salt into Surrey's wounds - left their London rivals needing to gain full batting points for less than three wickets to maintain any hope of maintaining their first division status.

Surrey lost their quota of wickets before the close as, needing a faultless effort from their top order, they got off to shocking start when Mark Butcher was brilliantly run out by Jamie Dalrymple from backward point (7 for 1). It has been a desperate summer for Butcher, only making his belated comeback from injury in late August and then proving powerless to halt Surrey's demise. Rikki Clarke was then trapped lbw, leaving Mark Ramprakash at the helm. At least he made his former club wait until tomorrow morning.

The foundations for next season are already being put in place with the news that Mark's father, Alan, has taken charge of the first team with immediate effect - a strange state of affairs considering that Steve Rixon, the previous incumbent, is still around the team. The strange timing of the announcement was played down by the club as just "the logical move" but Butcher would have been struggling to see the merit of it as he realised the size of the task in front of him.

The current state of Surrey cricket is highlight by the fact that only one of their players - Clarke - will be involved with the England set-up in any form this winter. Clarke has secured an Academy spot but today his bowling performance was dire as he sent down three overs for 30 runs and was not trusted with another spell. He is a talented cricketer but Duncan Fletcher is big on attitude and Clarke's will need to improve if he is to add to his international honours. On the other hand Middlesex's batting order consists of three potential England stars and two of them played their part in taking Surrey to the cleaners.

But the contributions of Owais Shah and Ed Joyce were contrasting, which gave some indication of how the two players feel about their winter rewards. Shah was widely tipped to gain a spot in at least one of the tour squads to Pakistan after topping 1600 runs. He has had to be content with an Academy spot and while the player himself has not made any comment to suggest he is unhappy, his innings suggested a certain amount of frustration.

There were a couple of uncontrolled heaves that betrayed an eagerness to make a point, but then his strokeplay returned to the crispness that has characterised his summer. He reached his fifty from 87 balls and was in no trouble against pace or spin - not that there was much to worry him in the fare that was offered. It was a surprise when Saqlain Mushtaq found a touch of extra bounce and Shah steered the ball into the hands of Scott Newman at short-leg (172 for 2).

Ben Hutton also tucked into the loose offerings with as much timing as Shah; a rush of blood caused him to charge at Saqlain, missing the ball by miles, and got comfortably stumped (199 for 3). When Dalrymple edged his third ball to slip, Surrey were suddenly back in the match, a position that their bowling performance barely merited (200 for 4).

But Joyce was already creating a feeling of permanency in the middle while Scott Styris was also into his stride quickly. While Shah may have wanted to prove a point about only making the Academy, Joyce's stint at Loughborough - and a probable tour to the West Indies - will enable him to enhance his reputation. Throughout the summer he has been touted as a like-for-like replacement for Graham Thorpe - and on Thorpe's home ground produced an innings right out of the same mould.

Surrey's plight was summed up shortly before Middlesex reached their 400 when Saqlain bowled Paul Weekes off a no-ball. In the next over Weekes swept a boundary to complete a full hand of batting points meaning a declaration would deprive Surrey two bowling points. There was one final matter to consider though, with Scott Styris unbeaten on 99. He was given the chance to reach his first century for Middlesex and duly obliged by working a single from the next ball - and promptly marching off to the pavilion.

For Middlesex the day could not have gone any better, while Surrey will be scouring the tourist guides of Derby, Northampton and Bristol. It may be a father and son team taking this Surrey side into the future, but they are a long way away from making it a happy family at The Oval.