Champions facing an uphill struggle -

THE Lord's Taverners' Trophy will be presented to new county champions Yorkshire next Wednesday during the lunch interval on the opening day of their last game of the season against Essex at Scarborough.

But casual observers at The Oval yesterday could have been forgiven for thinking for much of the time that it was Surrey who were the top team of the summer with Yorkshire the side fighting for Division One survival instead of the other way round.

Surrey stretched their first innings to 516 for 9 before declaring with a lead of 281 but their march towards an anticipated victory was suddenly held up by Michael Vaughan and Anthony McGrath with a dashing unbroken stand of 106 for the third wicket.

Both batsmen completed their half-centuries just before the close when Yorkshire were 171 for 2 and still needing a further 110 runs today to make their opponents bat again.

As expected, it was a tiring morning for Yorkshire as Mark Ramprakash and Ben Hollioake piled on the runs in a 215 stand for the sixth wicket which lasted until the last ball before the interval when Ramprakash was bowled by Andy Gray for a commanding 131 off 217 balls with 17 fours.

This was Ramprakash's fifth century against Yorkshire, the four others being with Middlesex, and he was equally at home against pace and spin alike, being particularly strong through the covers.

But Ramprakash had to share the limelight with the younger of the Hollioake brothers who also rapped out a century, surprisingly his first in the Championship after five years of trying.

Hollioake reached the landmark off the ball before Ramprakash's dismissal and he moved on to 118 in the afternoon before Anthony McGrath came on and trapped him lbw offering no stroke at his first ball.

Like Ramprakash, Hollioake was in punishing form, hitting 16 powerful boundaries and three sixes off the 171 balls he received.

The innings was beefed up still further by Martin Bicknell who thumped 36 from 50 balls with five fours and a six before having his off-stump flattened by Matthew Hoggard, and Surrey decided to call it a day when Steven Kirby flung out an arm to hold a return catch from Ian Salisbury.

The wicket came just too late to earn Yorkshire a third bowling bonus point, making it only the second time in 32 matches that they have failed to claim a maximum haul.

Matthew Wood played a couple of nice off-drives against Ed Giddins when he began the Yorkshire reply with Chris Taylor who settled down after a cautious start and the pair had laid a 57 foundation in 18 overs when Saqlain had Taylor caught off bat and pad.

Wood was bowled by Bicknell for 27 trying to run one to third man and Yorkshire looked vulnerable at 65 for 2, but McGrath came in to set a dashing pace with Michael Vaughan, despite fading light.

They had rattled up 73 together in 13 overs when the gloomy conditions caused a six-over stoppage but the skies lifted enough for the adventurous pair to go on to their half-centuries, Vaughan's coming off 68 balls with seven fours while McGrath used up 63 deliveries and punched eight boundaries.

Although Yorkshire receive the Champions' trophy next week, they will not be handed the Championship pennant, currently flying at The Oval, until the December meeting of the First Class Forum.