Surrey's toil only highlights the value of Alviro Petersen to Glamorgan

Alviro Petersen's double century looked good at lunchtime, but by stumps it seemed even better. Surrey were still 179 behind them then, and had lost six wickets. Glamorgan's first-innings total of 419 looked a long way off. Petersen mastered the awkward pitch, which was tinged green, but no one in Surrey's top six was able to do likewise. Mark Ramprakash scored an uneasy 67, and Steve Davies made 10 more again, but both fell in the final session. Ramprakash's runs included his 35,000th in first‑class cricket, a landmark he passed with a crisp cover drive for four that rattled into the empty Peter May stand, startling the pigeons and the odd slumbering spectator. Glamorgan's players were gracious enough to applaud him. Perhaps they could afford to – Chris Ashling, a stocky medium-fast seamer playing his fifth first-class match – had already removed both of Surrey's openers. And at the other end the spry and wiry debutant Alex Jones had just taken his first first-class wicket, a return catch off of Zander de Bruyn. Glamorgan's third seamer, Will Owen, had only played six first‑class games, so between them they had all of 10 matches worth of experience. It was Owen who removed Davies, though Ben Wright deserved more of the credit for his outstanding diving catch at slip. Ashling did for Ramprakash, the dismissal all the more surprising because it was a bad shot that did it, a loose drive allowing the ball through the gate. It was still a better piece of batting than Tom Maynard managed an over before the close. He shouldered arms to a straight ball from Owen and lost his off bail. There was a hint that Surrey had hard times ahead when Tim Linley ran through Glamorgan's middle order in the morning session. Petersen was stranded at one end as he took three wickets in as many overs, more than he had managed in his last four championship innings. Dean Cosker held up an end long enough to allow Petersen to reach his 200.