England reject Thorpe finds form

County Championship D1, Guildford, day one (stumps):
Surrey 394-5 v Kent

Scorecard

Thorpe bounced back in style from his England snub

Graham Thorpe took his frustration at being overlooked for the first Ashes Test out on Kent as Surrey made 394-5 on day one of their Championship game.

Captain Jonathan Batty (50) and Mark Ramprakash steadied the home side after the early loss of Richard Clinton.

After Batty's dismissal, Thorpe added 131 with Ramprakash (97) before Simon Cook had the latter caught behind.

Thorpe continued the onslaught with Ali Brown (101no) but he too was denied a ton when Min Patel bowled him for 95.

Even still, it was still 35-year-old left-hander Thorpe's highest score of the season and the perfect response after England opted for the youth of Kevin Pietersen.

His well-crafted innings was watched by England selector Geoff Miller, who would have been impressed as Thorpe smashed Amjad Khan over square-leg for six and hit two fours in the same over.

Ramprakash and Brown, who made his third century of the campaign, also enjoyed themselves against some poor bowling.