Rampaging form

"I expected him to be my No. 1 banker and he has been, in all ways." So said Surrey's cricket manager Steve Rixon after Mark Ramprakash's princely purple patch in late July and August, when four centuries in consecutive Championship games fell just short of Jack Hobbs's county record of five in 1925.

"He's a true pro and that 161 on a big turner at Northampton was very special," Rixon continues. "Having not seen him play internationally, I keep querying how the best player on the circuit - he has extraordinary ability - never fulfilled himself at Test level. He can be tense but I don't think you can be too eager to succeed, as some have suggested."

Notwithstanding injuries, the absence of any Oval-based bowlers from the leading averages has been the most seismic of this year's shocks, although the heroic Jimmy Ormond had, by August 23, bowled more First Division overs than any other seamer.

One key factor, says Rixon, has been a fallible slip cordon: "Jimmy's figures don't look as good as they should because he's been on the wrong end of a lot of dropped slip catches - we've tried almost everyone, but you can't buy confidence." Which is where a surprise interloper comes in - Alex Tudor. "He took three absolute stunners against Worcestershire," enthuses Rixon. "Very good hands." If only he could bowl regularly with them.