Thanks to the enterprise of both captains, Derbyshire and Surrey gave the 2006 season a rousing send-off by opening up a match that could quite easily have been allowed to peter out into a meaningless draw. With captain Mark Butcher scrambling a bye off the last ball of the campaign his side, who were already assured of the Division Two title going into the contest at Derby, managed to set a new points record for a 16-game championship season, beating the 257 collected by Sussex in 2003 to end up with 262.

In the hope of registering victories over all eight of their divisional opponents, the Brown Caps' first act of the last day was to draw a line under their first innings - despite being 110 runs in arrears - and allow their spinners to go to work on what proved to be a helpful surface. But Steve Stubbings's declaration at 2.30pm appeared to put the game just beyond the compass of a Surrey batting line-up that was missing Mark Ramprakash and Rikki Clarke.

Nevertheless, needing to score 273 off a minimum of 40 overs, the visitors signalled their intentions by promoting James Benning and Alistair Brown up the order. Benning announced himself by collecting three successive off-side boundaries off Wayne White. With Scott Newman throwing his bat in the 21-year-old's second over and then taking Steffan Jones for three fours, the Brown Caps had fifty on the board as early as in the fifth over.

Benning pulled Graham Wagg for two boundaries in three balls before falling to a catch at short mid-wicket. After tea, Brown was bowled trying to force Ant Botha off the back foot. But with Stewart Walters joining forces with Newman the prospect of an exciting finish was kept alive as a further 57 runs were added in nine overs for the third wicket.

Newman, who survived a caught and bowled chance on 78, holed out to long-off upon the introduction of Greg Smith's off-spin in the 22nd over. But on Surrey marched with Mark Butcher, recovered from his stiff neck, and Walters combining for 60 in eight overs.

Walters's departure, caught behind off White for a 44-ball 41 left the Brown Caps needing 67 off the last ten. With Jonathan Batty perishing at deep cover in the 35th over, all eyes turned to Butcher as the asking rate increased to nine an over. However, a decisive cameo from Ian Salisbury, who had earlier taken four for 53 with the ball, brought the scores level with two deliveries to go.

Earlier in the day, Stubbings fell to the third ball of the innings for the second time in the match when Nigel Cowley ruled that the stand-in Derbyshire skipper was lbw to Tim Murtagh. Chris Taylor, who opened his account immediately by flicking Murtagh off his pads four, fell to a catch cover point four overs later.

But then Paul Borrington and Hassan Adnan put on 57 in fifteen overs for the hosts' third wicket, despite spin being introduced at both ends after the twelfth over. Borrington, who was wrapped on the glove by a rising delivery from Neil Saker, held firm, however Salisbury found himself on a hat-trick when Adnan gave a catch to slip and Smith padded up to a googly first ball.

Nayan Doshi picked up his fiftieth first-class wicket of the summer courtesy of a superb reflex catch low to Chris Schofield at silly point, which sent Botha back without scoring. Borrington was caught behind off Salisbury for a mature 38 and Wagg fell to another great catch before Jones pushed Salisbury straight into the hands of the man at silly point.

But then Lee Goddard and Wayne White added 41 In sixteen overs to lay down the challenge. Goddard, showing proficiency on the leg-side, played another assured innings for someone holding with a P45 and finished with an unbeaten 43 off 86 balls when Stubbings called his batsmen in.

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