Alec Stewart and Alex Tudor neutered a position of some concern for their side when they put on an unbeaten 187 for the seventh wicket. Both batsman finished the day in the nineties which included a career-best Championship score for Tudor that saw the home side needing seven more runs to obtain their full quota of batting bonus points.

Their partnership began with Surrey 206-6 after paceman Ricky Anderson had taken three wickets to boost his tally for the season to 25 but then Stewart and Tudor repaired the damage, displaying little concern for the Essex attack.

Stewart's elaborate strokeplay was matched by his partner's more uncompromising approach to leave their opponents attack dispirited as the home side moved forcibly into a position of some substance.

None of the six bowlers used by Ronnie Irani could unhinge the Surrey pair who moved on relentlessly to reach a new seventh-wicket partnership for the county against Essex, surpassing the previous best of 166 between Andy Ducat and Herbert Strudwick in 1921 at Leyton.

After a bright start when Mark Butcher and Ian Ward put on 76 for the opening wicket, Essex restored some balance to proceedings thanks to Anderson's efforts which included the scalps of Graham Thorpe and Ali Brown in the space of six deliveries to leave the bowler with figures of 3-67 at that stage.

Left-armer Mark Ilott took the 600th wicket of his first-class career when he bowled Mark Ramprakash who played across the line and added to his impressive haul when he later accounted for Ben Holliaoke, just recalled by England for the forthcoming triangular series.

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