Ramprakash Hurtles Past 2000

The shot was a flowing drive through extra cover off the bowling of Nadeem Malik. It was a poised and stylish stroke but no more so than a few dozen Mark Ramprakash had already played and the crowd, along with the Surrey dressing room, looked on in numb admiration.

Then it was announced. On the ninth day of August, this astonishing player had passed 2,000 runs for the season. He is the first English player to reach the target since county cricket split into two divisions, though Australia's Mike Hussey got there in 2001. Ramprakash has achieved the feat once before, in 1995.

It was the 87th first-class century of his career - sneaking past Garry Sobers, Rohan Kanhai and Bill Edrich - and his eighth this season. It was the fifth time in as many matches that he has passed 150.

The century was his eighth against Worcestershire but, surprisingly, his first at Worcester, home of that other great unfulfilled talent, Graeme Hick. And it followed on the heels of his career-best unbeaten 301 against Northamptonshire last week. Keith Booth, the Surrey scorer, whirred with industry and information. The afternoon was fast becoming a fest of statistics, especially when Ali Brown thumped a century of his own from only 107 deliveries.

Ramprakash said afterwards: "I'm a very happy man. It's still important for me to do well at domestic level because the England level has gone now." The sadness, of course, is that he has scored only two hundreds for England. He played the last of his 52 Tests in 2001 but since then England have not played a technically more accomplished batsman.

Only four wickets fell all day. Surrey resumed on 42 without loss and ended the second day on 496 for four, a lead of 192. Their openers Scott Newman and Jonathan Batty put on 109, their fifth century stand of the season, before Newman skied to midwicket. Then Batty and Ramprakash added 157 for the second wicket.

Batty had just completed his hundred when he edged Roger Sillence to Ben Smith, at first slip. A run later Mark Butcher, playing away from his body, was caught behind off Zaheer Khan having failed to score. Finally, with five balls remaining, Ramprakash was caught at slip, attempting a sweep for the boundary that would have completed his second hundred and Surrey's fifth.