Surrey scored 308 for three on a flat pitch at Whitgift School before bad light and rain brought an early end to the opening day of their LV County Championship match against Derbyshire.

Michael Brown scored 120 and Mark Ramprakash made 80, to pass 1,000 runs for the season, but Derbyshire, who are second in the Second Division, took two wickets in three balls shortly before the close.

Surrey chose to bat and it looked a sound decision as Jonathan Batty and Brown put on 113 for the first wicket.

Batty, who scored 48, was lucky to survive two chances to second slip.

He was on 22 when, in the 10th over, he was dropped by Wayne Madsen off the bowling of Nantie Hayward. Madsen was at fault again when Batty had reached 33, with Tim Groenewald the suffering bowler.

Madsen fumbled the ball high to his left when he might have been better leaving it to first slip.

The ball did swing in the morning but Surrey were 105 without loss at lunch.

Derbyshire eventually broke through in the 36th over when Batty cut Hayward and was caught by Greg Smith on the deep backward point boundary.

But Ramprakash soon settled in and he and Brown took the score to 208 for one after 64 overs at tea.

They did not look in any trouble until Derbyshire took the new ball with the score on 273 and struck twice with the score on 275.

Brown was the first to go when he got a leading edge to Hayward and was caught by Madsen in the covers. He had batted for five hours and 19 minutes, faced 248 deliveries and hit 18 fours.

In the next over Ramprakash, who had looked in no trouble, was surprised by one from Groenewald that moved away and hit the top of his off stump.

The former England batsman had hit 10 fours in his 140-ball innings and batted for three hours and nineteen minutes.

Derbyshire, who are in the race for promotion despite winning just two of their 10 matches this season - they are also second in the Second Division of the Pro40 - were still without wicketkeeper James Pipe, who has an ankle ligament injury. Off-spinner Jake Needham was also missing because of a sore shoulder.