Darren Lehmann and Michael Lumb rallied Yorkshire with a sparkling unbroken stand of 137 in only 28 overs at Guildford yesterday to wipe out a first innings arrears of 210 against Championship leaders Surrey.

Yorkshire were 254 for three at the close with Lumb on 68 and his captain 55 after two hours of breezy batting together put their side 44 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand.

There were few signs that Yorkshire were overawed by the task ahead of them when they began their second innings and Matthew Wood at last found some sort of form with the bat during an opening stand of 83 with Vic Craven.

But with Wood on 43, his highest score of the season, he groped forward at Ed Giddins and became the first of three consecutive victims behind the stumps for Jon Batty.

A stylish cut for four against James Ormond brought Craven his 50 off 100 balls with ten boundaries before Yorkshire suffered a double setback with the score on 117. McGrath looked astonished and aggrieved to be given caught behind off Giddins while Craven blotted his clean copybook by sparring at Ormond. There was still plenty of time left for Yorkshire to have disintegrated into a two-day defeat, but the left-handed combination of Lehmann and Lumb transformed the situation with adventurous strokeplay.

Yorkshire had started the second day brightly with Hollioake following a ball from Ryan Sidebottom in the left-armer's first over and being caught behind.

Opener Batty moved on smoothly from his overnight 82 until he was one short of his century when he agonisingly played Silverwood into his off-stump.

Surrey were 250 for seven but Clarke suddenly stunned Yorkshire with some ferocious hitting.

The precocious 20-year-old all-rounder raced to his 50 off only 44 balls, but on 56 he was undone by an unlikely yorker from McGrath.

The onslaught was not over, however, as Ormond and Saqlain both took up the challenge; Ormond blazing his way to 39 from 22 balls. Saqlain and last man Giddins continued to bother Yorkshire either side of lunch and Saqlain drove David Wigley for a straight six into the sightscreen before becoming Wigley's first victim in first class cricket, caught by Craven at mid-off for 44.

* Yorkshire's new chief executive is 47-year-old Alex Keay, a former captain of Saracens, who has been Manchester Rugby Union's supremo for the last six years.