Surrey fought back defiantly in their CricInfo Championship game at The Oval today, frustrating second-placed Lancashire with valuable eighth and ninth-wicket stands.

Thanks to Alex Tudor, Martin Bicknell and Ian Salisbury, Surrey achieved some respectability, reaching 248 all out after slumping to 141-7.

Bicknell was last out for a painstaking 50, bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan who finished with 5-81.

It was an intriguing first day between the teams who have finished top and runners-up in the Championship for the past two years.

Muralitharan produced another marathon spell of 39.4 overs and, as well as Bicknell's three-hour half-century, there was a superb 59 from Mark Ramprakash, who is among the candidates to replace Graham Thorpe if he fails to recover from a calf injury in time for the first Ashes Test next Thursday.

Lancashire's seamers made early inroads after Adam Hollioake had won the toss and, when Murali sent back Ali Brown, Surrey were in trouble at 91-4. Ramprakash pulled Murali for a six on the way to his 50, but the Sri Lankan was his usual persistent, probing self and was to have the last say.

In between his successes, however, Surrey hauled their way from the edge of disaster with Tudor and Bicknell chiselling out 34 for the eighth wicket. Then Bicknell and Salisbury stacked up 62 for the ninth.

Lancashire were running out of ideas but Murali switched ends and dismissed them both in the closing minutes.

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