Ramprakash teaches Lancashire a lesson

Lancashire 210 and 57 for 3 trail Surrey 525 (Ramprakash 134, Clarke 64, Murtagh 56) by 258 runs
Scorecard

As Mike Watkinson sat on his white garden chair, a drink perched on the plastic table alongside, a blue and white parasol folded neatly above, you could almost imagine he was on holiday. Unfortunately for him, this was turning into the kind of holiday that gets featured on TV programmes presented by Nicky Campbell and Fiona Bruce.

His main source of complaint would have been Mark Ramprakash, who spent the day piling on the runs and taking Lancashire inexorably to the brink of defeat as Surrey put together a first innings of 525. The title-fight that Red Rose fans were hoping for is quickly becoming a scrap to avoid a knockout.

Ramprakash is in sumptuous form at present, and today he racked up his fifth century in seven Championship innings, making 134 with a procession of drives and cuts, as well as the shot he slammed to long-off to bring up his century. In the process of the innings he overtook Ian Bell as the First Division's leading runscorer - and poured soothing unguent on the troubled waters that have threatened to suck Surrey down this season.

"I don't think I've had a run quite like this ... you get in a little bubble and I've stayed in it," said Ramprakash. "What's satisfying from my point of view is that the last three seasons I had before this year at Surrey have all been quite successful in terms of the team playing well. This year has been totally different - the team's been struggling." Ramprakash's purple patch couldn't have come at a better time: "We need quite a big finish because we're in big danger of going down."

But he wasn't the only Surrey player putting a big smile on the crowd's many faces. Tim Murtagh was also in the holiday spirit. Coming to the crease at the fall of the seventh wicket, with the score on 399, Murtagh's approach suggested that Ally Brown had given him a video of his own batting highlights for Christmas.

While Martin Bicknell showed off his collection of drives, reaching 41, Murtagh hit several enormous straight sixes, as well as one that disappeared over the headmaster's tent. When Doshi joined Murtagh for the last wicket stand, the headmaster's guests were in even more danger - the two men fired boundaries at will and their partnership of 60 took less than eight overs. Murtagh's half-century came off only 66 balls.

If that wasn't entertainment enough, three Lancashire wickets in the last hour's play gave any slumbering spectators a wake-up call. Poor Mark Chilton, who managed only 2 in the first innings, had an even more miserable time at the second attempt. He fell to the very first ball of the innings, nudging a ball straight into the hands of Richard Clinton at short leg. If there was anyone happier than Jon Batty in the ground, it could only have been the cheerfully unemployed paramedic slurping a Mr Whippy.

Emma John is deputy editor of The Wisden Cricketer.