Yorkshire let the advantage slip away from them in their crunch Championship battle at Scarborough yesterday and table-toppers Surrey closed on a commanding 330 for eight after being put in to bat on a green-looking pitch.

It turned into a disappointing day for the 6,000 crowd and Yorkshire need to do something extraordinary today if they are to stay in the race for the title.

David Byas was back to lead Yorkshire after a month's absence recovering from knee surgery and he gave a first class debut to 20-year-old paceman Greg Lambert who claimed Alistair Brown as his maiden victim but spoiled his performance overall by being too erratic.

Lambert was not the only culprit, however, and both Chris Silverwood and Matthew Hoggard strayed quite often with the new ball, enabling Mark Butcher and Ian Ward to settle in comfortably.

Ward should have gone for 12 with the score on 26 but his edge at Silverwood was put down at third slip by Gavin Hamilton who made amends when he replaced Hoggard and Butcher gave wicketkeeper Simon Guy the first of his four catches.

Lambert's first ball for Yorkshire was cut for four by Nadeem Shahid who batted brightly in a stand of 64 with Ward before Gary Fellows came on and trapped him lbw for 29.

Captain Adam Hollioake pulled Silverwood to the boundary to raise three figures and Surrey stayed in control as Ward moved to his half-century but, having advanced to 59 off 112 balls with seven fours, he was beautifully dismissed by Hoggard during an 11-over spell which produced the best bowling of the day.

After moving one in to beat Ward over the top of the stumps, Hoggard's next ball was fuller and slower and it surprised Ward enough for him to jab a catch to Simon Widdup who dived forward to hold on at mid-wicket.

Adam Hollioake exchanged a few words with Hoggard after the bowler had attempted to throw down the stumps from a defensive push only to hit Hollioake on the back of the leg.

Hoggard's response was a bouncer which prompted further dialogue and an excellent delivery which curved away from the bat.

Lambert returned for a second spell and was showered with congratulations when Brown could not remove his bat in time and Hoggard then ended his duel with Hollioake who pushed at one which left him for Guy to hold the catch.

Ben Hollioake looked less than pleased when he was given out caught behind off a bottom edge against Fellows, who had taken two wickets in an innings for the first time, and Gary Butcher's cover catch off Hamilton reduced Surrey to 197 for seven.

But with Yorkshire's attack beginning to flag and the decision to leave out left-arm spinner Ian Fisher looking questionable, Jon Batty and Ian Salisbury became increasingley adventurous in a reviving eighth wicket stand.

They rattled up 78 before Batty drove Darren Lehmann to mid-off for 47 off 100 balls but that was not the end of Yorkshire's discomforture because Salisbury and Alex Tudor then forged out an unbroken 55 together in 12 overs, Yorkshire being unable to part the pair even when they took the new ball at 330 for eight.

PICTURE: MAKING HIS MARK: Yorkshire bowler Gavin Hamilton celebrates the wicket of Surrey batsman Mark Butcher, caught by wicket keeper Simon Guy at Scarborough yesterday. Celebrating with Guy are slips Anthony McGrath and David Byas

SCOREBOARD

PPP Healthcare County Championship

Yorkshire v Surrey

at Scarborough

(Day 2 of 4)

Surrey First Innings

Butcher c Guy b Hamilton 8

Ward c Widdup b Hoggard 59

Shahid lbw b Fellows 29

A Hollioake c Guy b Hoggard 37

Brown c Guy b Lambert 2

Butcher c Lehmann b Hamilton 27

B Hollioake c Guy b Fellows 4

Batty c Hamilton b Lehmann 47

Salisbury not out 47

Tudor not out 23

Extras b14 lb15 w6 nb12 47

Total 8 wkts (104 overs) 330

Fall: 1-29 2-93 3-147 4-158 5-168 6-185 7-197 8-275.

Division Two

Southend: Essex 292 (R C Irani 95, S G Law 70, J S Foster 52), Glamorgan 40-1

Northampton: Northamptonshire 282-5 (R J Warren 61, D J G Sales 55) v Gloucestershire

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 336-8 (D J Bicknell 139 no, P R Reiffel 74, J D Lewry 4-85) v Sussex

Edgbaston: Worcestershire 263 (V S Solanki 71, A A Donald 4-69), Warwickshire 28-0

Third NatWest Under-19 Test

New Road: England Under-19 112 (W C A Ganegama 6-43) & 154 (W C A Ganegama 4-44), Sri Lanka Under-19 158 (J E Bishop 7-42) & 57-5