Star Turns From Surrey Spinners

In sultry sunshine, Surrey languidly took charge of the game. It was a sweaty day of shirtsleeves, floppy hats and drinks intervals. Despite middle-order resistance from the visitors, Surrey inexorably dominated. They bowled Sussex out for 307, a lead of 173, which was extended by 22 at the close. They may not be have been at their sharpest in the unaccustomed heat and Martin Bicknell tweaked his hamstring, but they have probably done enough already to win this game.

Surrey are unbeaten in all competitions. The staggering depth of their squad will gradually come into play. They could easily achieve the clean sweep, though we have no indication yet how they are going to approach Twenty20 cricket (Alec Stewart will be fresh and available).

In this game Mark Butcher and Stewart are absent at the behest of England, Alex Tudor is still not fit - though there is no guarantee that he gets in the best side - and most disappointingly Rikki Clarke, who was called into England's one-day squad last week, is omitted. It is by no means obvious who he should replace.

One of their strengths is that they have no non-batsmen. Yesterday morning Saqlain Mushtaq and Ian Salisbury, already a centurion this season, batted like pros to stretch the total to 480. Bowling on a benign straw-colored pitch was a chastening experience for the potential England debutant, James Kirtley. He scurried in for six overs, which yielded 33 runs, a dropped catch - Matt Prior the culprit - and a six from Saqlain that startled the members in front of the dressing rooms.

Salisbury soon dispatched Mushtaq Ahmed for two sixes as well and if this pair had not been intent on rapid runs they could have batted out the morning. Instead they succumbed to ambitious shots, which left Sussex an uncomfortable 55 minutes batting before lunch. And they made a terrible hash of it.

Richard Montgomerie once could be relied upon as one of the few remaining arch blockers of the first-class game. Here he pulled Ormond for a sweet boundary, unaccountably tried the same shot to the next ball and skied to cover. That Michael Vaughan, craftsman turned cavalier, has a lot to answer for. Michael Yardy prodded and was caught at third slip, whereupon Chris Adams aped Montgomerie and skied to the keeper. Sussex were 24 for three on a belting Oval pitch.

They rallied after lunch. Murray Goodwin hit a fluent 60, 56 of which were gleaned from boundaries, before he was duped by the artist, Saqlain. The little Pakistani varies everything: the angle of his run-up, the direction of his spin and the pace of the ball. It was the pace that undermined Goodwin, who was bowled by a quicker delivery.

There followed an enchanting spell of cricket between the Surrey spinners and Tim Ambrose and Robin Martin-Jenkins. RMJ, as you would expect, was inclined to attack; so were the spinners. Leg before shouts were declined; drives flowed to the boundary. Adam Hollioake, with so many runs to play with, was unperturbed. So was Salisbury. The former Sussex wrist spinner looked content in his work.

The agonizing of his England days has gone. He spreads his field - he likes to protect the boundaries - and there are no cries of derision from the press box. The leg-spinner still turns and they still fail to spot the googly. Martin-Jenkins was duped by that googly a couple of times, but in between he drove sweetly on either side of the wicket. He progressed mostly in boundaries past his fifty.

Hollioake had to recall a quicker bowler. He chose Azhar Mahmood, for whom these conditions were familiar (hot sun, flat pitch and a ball that was starting to reverse-swing). After the statutory bouncer, Martin-Jenkins was jammed back on the stumps and adjudged leg before. With a brief, polite glare he departed. Prior soon followed him, bowled through the gate by Saqlain.

Ambrose, neat and dapper, dealt with the spinners effectively - James Ormond had to be summoned to remove him. Mushtaq was briefly belligerent, but after his flurry Ormond and a deft piece of fielding by Hollioake polished off the tail. Surrey are on track to extend their lead in the Championship.