Rogers hails Trescothick as sides end even

When the start of play was delayed to remove a pigeon's dirty protest to the side of the pitch, you wondered if that was a sign of things to come. In the end, both Surrey and Somerset played some impressive cricket even if it was to no avail. Had rain, snow, sleet and avian intervention not taken time out of this game, both teams would have been able to state their cases for a win.

The match went as far as 5.45pm, at which point hands were shaken and a draw was officially called. That option was available to Gareth Batty from 5pm but, with Somerset 54 for 3 and no intention of chasing their target of 292, the Surrey captain sensed a collapse might be forthcoming. Only one more wicket would fall as composed knocks from James Hildreth and Peter Trego saw Somerset through to safety.

The evening session and Somerset's chase had started with Ravi Rampaul dismissing Tom Abell at the end of the second over, with no run scored, for the West Indian's 14th wicket of the season. Zafar Ansari then accounted for the other three to fall. Along with his wicket in Somerset's first innings and 67 runs in the match, Ansari put in a tidy shift in the field which was capped off with a stunning catch to remove Craig Overton off Rampaul on day three. It was a quietly impressive return to first-team action.

Earlier on, both sides had shown a willingness to move the game along but it was the timing of wickets that prevented both from following through.

For Surrey, any impetus for quick runs was curtailed at regular intervals. The loss of Rory Burns and Arun Harinath in the space of six balls, caught behind off Overton and Lewis Gregory respectively, meant Kumar Sangakkara and Steven Davies had to rebuild. After one run in his first 21 balls, Davies hit three fours in his next six before his wings were clipped for 26 - stumped off Jack Leach.

Even Jason Roy, whose default is to press fast-forward, was unable to get going. Chris Rogers took a smart low catch at cover to give Leach a second wicket to remove him and it was only when Sangakkara fell for 71 - his fifty coming off 86 balls - that others tried to get the scoreboard moving along. With Batty's dismissal came the declaration, which asked Somerset to get 292 in 42 overs.

At stumps, Batty ceded that their original plan had been quashed by a disciplined Somerset bowling effort. "The perfect scenario would have been that we would have got into a better position quicker," he said. "Somerset put up a real fight this morning, making it real tough for us to score."

He was also mindful of leaving Somerset too much time, referencing Surrey's match with Leicestershire in May of last season. On that occasion the hosts, on a pitch not too dissimilar to this one, which took a bit of turn and was away to the side of the square nearest the Archbishop Tenison's School, chased down 216 inside 22 overs to snatch the game at the death. With Somerset possessing big hitters such as first-innings centurion Marcus Trescothick, Peter Trego, Gregory and Overton, he didn't want to risk it.

"It was respect to them more than anything," Batty said. "We were always very confident but we felt like we played a lot of good cricket in the game and we didn't want to put ourselves in a compromising position against some very dangerous players."

Somerset, on the other hand, couldn't quite get enough wickets at a rate that would have provided them with an appropriate target and ample time to chase. Gregory and Overton shared three wickets each - the former in particular exhibiting good control while the latter tested outside off stump, then ripped out middle when he yorked Tom Curran.

While Somerset's nerves were tested in the final session, they survived to register a second draw on the road this season.

"It was pretty tough out there, actually," said Rogers, who was impressed with his side's scrapping throughout the match. It was his decision to call for the toss in the hope that Somerset would benefit from batting first and bowling last on what turned out to be a decent wicket for both disciplines. From the point they had lost the toss, Somerset were always behind in the game but performed admirably to not crumble in the face of Surrey's first-innings 463 and then hold their own at the end.

He did, however, deride his side's inability to take their chances, particularly against Sangakkara, who he believed benefited from "four chances over two innings". That really hurt us and I think he was the difference." He highlighted that lack of ruthlessness in the field as something that needed to be addressed.

Both sides, after two matches, are winless.