Surrey meander to a draw

The day began with Surrey pressing on, losing nightwatchman Ian Salisbury almost immediately for four and Ward, Brown, Stewart and Tudor then each lost his wicket assaulting the Somerset attack, who, Bulbeck aside, were less threatening than in the first innings. Sadly for the sake of the game wickets came in the wrong numbers and at the wrong times for either side to force the issue. When Martin Bicknell began his innings in defensive mode it became clear that the home side had given up on persuit of a victory. Blackwell bowled tidily for his wickets and Parsons last spell of the game was his best - good news for Somerset who will be without their main strike bowler for most of the Summer.

For Somerset Caddick was warned for running on the wicket (something Salisbury and Saqlain would presumably have applauded more than his own batsmen) and consistantly overstepped when delivering his effort ball. The wickets of Salisbury, Ward, Stewart, Brown and Tudor were due at least in part to forcing shots, but they were taken nonetheless, had a couple more awkward catching chances been held onto then a target might have been on for the visitors, however the field was never overly attacking and it was clear that after the first hour's play a draw was the visitor's preferred result.

Surrey could, and perhaps should have tried to make more of the game, especially since, as both Dutch and Blackwell enjoyed some success, their own spinners would probably have presented Somerset with troubles aplenty, had the upper order managed to generate another thirty or forty runs in their early attack - or indeed been bowled out cheaply, an exciting finish would have been the result. In the end the loss of four sessions and two sides more eager to preserve their unbeaten status than charge after an improbable victory killed the game.

Somerset's brief innings saw James Ormond handed the new ball, and unfortunately use it to produce the two worst overs I have seen him deliver, the no-ball and three easy four balls that were capitalised on by the Somerset openers could easily have been accompanied by two or three wides given and a couple more boundaries, before he found his length and line and began to trouble the batsmen. At the other end a classic confrontation between Alex Tudor and Marcus Trescothick in particular who struck him for two fine boundaries before being undone by a magnificent ball across him from the tall londoner. After that though both Cox and Burns failed to connect with the edge for the balls that beat them and middle those that didn't so the game petered out.