The Oval (day 1 of 4): Warwickshire 221-4 (D L Maddy 133no) v Surrey

Whatever lingering doubts there may have been about Darren Maddy's recruitment must have been dispelled after a century of the highest class lit up a dismal day here.

Maddy was not everyone's idea of a solution to Warwickshire's problems of last year. Though he had impressed with his positive demeanour, doubts remained over his ability to deliver with the bat. A championship average in the mid-20s over the last couple of years was not conclusive evidence of his worth.

There can be no further concerns. For the second time in three days, Maddy scored a superb century to earn Warwickshire a foothold in the match. His century — from only 114 balls — included 19 fours and a six as Surrey were punished for some wayward bowling.

Such was the quality of Maddy's strokeplay that it was hard to believe this was his first championship century since 2004 and his first as opener since 2000. Rarely can a change of county have revitalised a career so rapidly.

"I haven't been at my best as a batsman in the last couple of years," he said afterwards. "But that doesn't make you a bad player.

"Last year, I had a benefit and the year before, I became a dad. I'm not making excuses but these little things can interfere with your mind.

"I missed out in the last couple of games but that can happen. It was just a matter of time. I've never been overly-concerned by my form. Besides, I enjoyed the team success. There's no greater satisfaction than getting a duck but seeing the side win.

"Coming to Warwickshire has rejuvenated me. Every decision has worked out positively. Sure, the captaincy came as a bit of a surprise but I suppose I was the right man in the right place at the right time."

A highlight of this innings was his back-foot play. Crunching cuts and powerful pulls accounted for a large portion of his 25 fours and a six while he also produced some eye-catching sweeps off the left-arm spin of Nayan Doshi.

"What I'm good at is hitting the ball. In the last few years, my head's maybe been a bit cluttered, so I'm trying to get rid of that by relaxing and doing what I do best," said Maddy. "It's something we worked on a lot with [sports psychologist] Dave Hadfield. He hypnotised me on several occasions and taught me how to hypnotise myself. I think all the lads would say he helped clear our minds and we've kept in touch with him via email and Skype. We'll have him back as soon as we can.

"Of course, I still harbour international ambitions. I had a taste of it and I'd love to play again. Realistically, I know my best chance of a way back is through the one-day side or in the Twenty20 World Cup."

Surrey were poor with the new ball. Matt Nicholson's first delivery for his new club was reminiscent of Steve Harmison's first in last winter’s Ashes series while Neil Sakar, failing to maintain a tight-enough length, was driven and cut regularly.

Rikki Clarke started well but was pulled for a six and three fours in two filthy post-lunch overs. The fact that 80 per cent of Maddy's runs have come in boundaries tells its own story.

While Maddy shone, however, his colleagues laboured. On a true pitch, offering some bounce but little pace, a score of 400 is an absolute minimum. There is much hard work ahead for the remaining batsmen.

Though Ian Westwood again saw off the new ball, he failed to capitalise and skied a leading edge to mid-off as he attempted to clip through the leg side.

Ian Bell never settled. Playing his first first-class innings since January 4, he scratched around, edging one boundary through the slips, before playing across a full, swinging, delivery.

With only one more innings to come before the first Test match next week, Bell's lack of match practice again raises questions about the over-use of central contracts. He should surely have played last week at New Road.

Jonathan Trott was far from fluent, either. Lucky to survive his first delivery, a no-ball that bowled him, he was tied down by the spinners and soon cut Doshi to point. Jim Troughton flourished briefly. Skipping down the pitch, he lofted Doshi for six while a cover drive off Sakar hinted at greater things.

In attempting a repeat, he was drawn into a wider delivery and edged to the wicketkeeper; it was a shot he played many times last week with differing results. With Troughton, you must take the rough with the smooth.