Boyd Rankin renewed Warwickshire's hopes of beating Surrey with three wickets in an over on the third evening of the LV= County Championship match at Guildford.
Rankin, who only joined the game today after being released from England's one-day squad, removed Zander de Bruyn, nightwatchman Stuart Meaker and Gary Wilson with the second, fourth and sixth balls of his seventh over as Surrey responded to Warwickshire's mammoth 631 for nine declared.
The hosts’ plight worsened in the final over when Jason Roy drove to cover and fell victim to an excellent diving catch from Jim Troughton. Surrey therefore closed on 269 for seven, 362 behind and needing 213 more to avoid the follow-on after losing four wickets for seven runs in five overs.
Their best hope appears to lie with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who finished unbeaten on 50.
Rankin, pictured below with Keith Barker, had looked innocuous in his first five overs, which cost 35, but returned to the attack to devastating effect.
De Bruyn was bowled off his pads for 17, Meaker spectacularly yorked for a duck and Wilson fell leg before to a ball which swung in late.
With a day to go and the pitch still playing relatively well, Surrey should be able to escape with a draw but much will depend on Ponting, who looked in the mood to make another big contribution after scoring 192 on debut against Derbyshire last week.
Coming in after Vikram Solanki had become off-spinner Ateeq Javid's first victim to the last ball before tea, Ponting began by hitting Javid out of the attack with two successive fours followed by a six over wide long-on. There were four other boundaries in an 84-ball half-century that arrived shortly before stumps.
Until Rankin's dramatic burst, Warwickshire's attack had stuck gamely to their task after the start was delayed until 2.30pm because of showers, with 37 overs lost.
Barker got a ball to rear up off a length and it brought him reward when Rory Burns edged to second slip after putting on 69 for the first wicket with Arun Harinath.
Solanki was soon going through the gears, reaching his second championship half-century since his move from Worcestershire off 53 balls with 11 fours, the majority eased effortlessly through the off side over a fast outfield.
He added three more boundaries and it was a surprise when he fell lbw to Javid's arm ball after helping Arun Harinath put on 100 in 22 overs for Surrey's second wicket.
Harinath played with far more caution and had a couple of escapes as he tried to up the tempo. On 36, he took on Patel's arm at backward square-leg looking to pinch a single and would have been run out by a direct hit.
He then had to dive to make his ground taking another risky run and collided with Patel, who was backing up. Both players needed treatment before they could continue.
Nonetheless, Harinath passed 50 for the fourth time this season and looked capable of following up his 154 against Derbyshire last week before driving the first ball of Rikki Clarke's second spell to point.
