Day 1: Lara hits a breezy 38 before holing out
By Charles Randall at the Oval
First day of four: Warwicks 102-4 v Surrey
BRIAN LARA has not started his season at Warwickshire with a string of hundreds as he did last time he descended on to the county circuit, but his batting is still worth savouring in shorter doses as he showed while making 38 at the Oval in the one session allowed by rain yesterday.
As captain, he had put himself in at No 3 in the order and for the third time in three Warwickshire innings the Trinidadian entered the fray in the first over of another dank morning. Dominic Ostler made his third consecutive duck as a trial opener. This time he played on from a Martin Bicknell delivery, gloving the day's fifth ball on to his off-stump as he pushed forward.
The bowlers were leaving run-up footmarks in the soft turf within a few overs and the outfield was lush, allowing only middled strokes or fast edges to register four. Lara played himself in briefly before finding the gaps, once taking 10 off an over from Joey Benjamin, including a trademark pull off his hip. He seemed set for an enjoyable day, but Surrey had other ideas.
Ian Salisbury was pushed out deep to the square-leg boundary, mainly to cut off a scoring avenue, and Lara obligingly holed out with a pick-up stroke off Mark Butcher whose wobbling seamers demanded respect.
Butcher gave up regular seam-bowling three years ago to ease a sore hip but, if yesterday signalled a revival, his England career should benefit. His other victim was Nick Knight, well beaten for an lbw decision.
Warwickshire faltered as David Hemp departed to a low gully catch by Adam Hollioake, to be followed by Lara. Butcher then dropped an awkard slip catch offered by Dougie Brown.
Ben Hollioake, who faces a heavy bowling work-load in place of the departed Chris Lewis, might have had Knight with his first delivery - a rash pull looped over the slips - and also had a reasonable lbw shout in the same over against Lara.
Day 2: Plain sailing for artful Salisbury
By Charles Randall at the Oval
Second day of four: Surrey (162) trail Warwicks (207) by 45 runs
IAN SALISBURY picked up four wickets for Surrey at a paltry cost at the Oval yesterday, the first dividend from a winter's cricket for no pay, mixing with what he termed the leg-spin 'brotherhood'in Australia.
His investment at the age of 28 gave him access to talk the spinner's art with experts Shane Warne and Terry Jenner, a leading coach, who is due to arrive for a coaching spell at Surrey and Sussex next month.
After his success, Warwickshire could contemplate a thrashing when Jason Ratcliffe and Mark Butcher made the pitch look very placid in the evening sunshine, galloping along at almost four runs an over with few scares and upstaging Dougie Brown's admirable rescue act earlier in the day.
Salisbury's return of four for seven in 11.3 overs was encouraging, though it did no more than hint at a pinnacle this summer, because his victims were lower middle-order, though not including the in-form Neil Smith, beaten by a classic googly.
The benefit in Australia for the England leg-spinner was the mental and tactical side of bowling more than action refinements, though his arm looked slightly lower and more whippy than last season, which produced only 30 championship wickets.
Warwickshire seemed bemused. Trevor Penney played all round a flighted delivery after a dour 2.5 hours, Smith was well beaten, Keith Piper edged a cut three balls later and Tim Munton offered himself up as the bonus.
Day 3: Thorpe prepares base for a solid challenge
By Charles Randall at the Oval
GRAHAM THORPE'S magnificent 114 yesterday ensured Brian Lara and his Warwickshire team had another bad day wearing their mantle of championship favourites at the Oval.
Warwickshire should draw this match easily enough, but they were outplayed to an embarrassing degree in a day halved by rain, and none of their bowlers looked like causing much damage, admittedly on a placid pitch.
So often in the West Indies could Lara call on the likes of Curtly Ambrose when something needed to happen, but not in rainy ol' London as Surrey closed on 405 for six in reply to Warwickshire's 207. Lara had Ed Giddins, who was too often wayward, Dougie Brown, an all-rounder, Tim Munton, innocuous off six paces, plus some variable back-up bowling.
Neil Smith captured five wickets with his off-spin - at Harrods prices - though he did take three in four balls, including Ben Hollioake, bowled on the forward defence first ball.
Surrey suggested why, even at this early stage, they had an excellent chance of their first championship title since 1971, not least because of what was not on show against Warwickshire.
Saqlain Mushtaq is due back for the next four-dayer after breaking his off-spin finger, and he is surely due for a big bag of wickets if the Oval pitch turns as it did yesterday.
Though England could strip Surrey of their international batting, their bowling should remain intact, notably Martin Bicknell, with the new ball, and Ian Salisbury, leg-spin, with Saqlain and big Alex Tudor still to emerge from the top-hat.
Thorpe cruised to his third consecutive fifty off 82 balls, and Nadeem Shahid made a fine 90, though to his disappointment he hit only one four off Giddins, his partner in a Christmas-tree business.
Shahid played some resourceful strokes, notably a reverse sweep boundary off Smith over a long, slow outfield, before he holed out eventually in an unselfish afternoon scramble for runs.
Thorpe motored on to his 32nd first-class hundred and then drove Smith for a long-on six into the Bedser Stand, with a bolt of lightning adding a theatrical embellishment. Next ball the left-hander attempted a repeat with no lightning and Trevor Penney held the catch at second attempt.
Jason Ratcliffe, who had resumed on 85, drove Smith for a straight six and perished next ball at short-leg, a couple of hits short of what would have been a deserved hundred. Mark Butcher, who made 72 without playing especially well, drove loosely to cover in the next over.
Day 4: Hollioake gains the Lara seal of approval
By Charles Randall at the Oval
Surrey (405-6) bt Warwickshire (207 & 149) by an innings & 49 runs
SURREY'S startling demolition of Warwickshire enhanced Adam Hollioake's stature as a captain and won him another admirer in Brian Lara yesterday.
One can bet against Hollioake only after due thought these days, and it will be surprising if Ladbrokes' early-season championship odds - Warwickshire 9-2, Surrey 10-1 - are not rapidly exchanged.
Lara had the better of Hollioake as opposing captain during England's one-day series in the West Indies, but he remained impressed by the Surrey man's qualities, especially after Warwickshire's deflating visit to the Oval, where they had not won a championship match since 1975.
``He looks like a leader,'' Lara acknowledged, ``and, if he is capable of giving the performances you need from a leader at the highest level, that's good. I think he is capable of it.''
Not that England will benefit for the time being, Hollioake having ruled himself out of immediate contention for captaincy, precisely because of the ``if'' Lara was referring to.
Warwickshire failed to show enough verve in pursuit of a reasonably modest 198-run target to make Surrey bat again. Lara, with a quick 57, showed what could be done but his colleagues crumbled around him, the end arriving with a session to spare.
Hollioake said: ``It's nice to get maximum points and, when it's a win against a team as good as Warwickshire, it's extra nice. Maybe they did not take the aggressive option as I expected them to do. If you go and play shots, the runs flow. If not, the Oval is a fantastic place to screw down an advantage.''
Though the Oval strip has grown more placid over the past few seasons, there is still bounce to encourage all types of bowler and the close catchers.
Martin Bicknell produced some testing swing and seam, which earned him five wickets for 27.
His penetration was crucial for Surrey, and Lara did well to see off his first spell on his way to a graceful 66-ball fifty.
Mark Butcher, who missed the morning's first half-hour to recover from migraine, made the decisive intervention when he had Lara caught behind as he attempted a leg glance.
It was the second time in the match Butcher had claimed the big prize with his little seamers, reminiscent of that old piano tuition advert, which could be adapted to: ``When they threw him the ball, everyone laughed, but when he began to bowl . . .''
Nick Knight could not open, hoping to shake off back trouble, but Warwickshire's first pair of Dominic Ostler and Keith Piper were not the ones to compensate for this disruption.
Lara and David Hemp repaired some of the damage with a stand of 79 at around five runs an over, but Lara fell just before lunch and Hemp misjudged a full-length ball from Bicknell.
Trevor Penney sliced a cut to first slip, where Graham Thorpe held a sharp one-handed catch, and nobody could halt the domino effect.