Surrey are notoriously slow starters in the County Championship. Admittedly, in recent years they have tended to start slowly and get slower, but there are a number of positives that Rory Hamilton-Brown's young charges can draw from this encounter. Hamilton-Brown's touch with the bat, Zander de Bruyn's ability to pace an innings, Tim Linley's superb display of seam bowling on day two and Stuart Meaker's ferocious pace, which, at one stage yesterday looked as though it would hasten the Oval outfit to victory. But then Andrew Hall and Niall O'Brien dug in, putting on an unbeaten 43 for Northamptonshire's sixth wicket to ensure the match ended, much as it had been throughout, with honours even. It now means Surrey have only recorded one win in 15 championship curtain-raisers.

Having been set a very tempting 289 in a minimum of 66 overs, Northants lost Stephen Peters five overs into their chase, when Stuart Meaker beat the former Essex and Worcestershire man for pace. But the visitors made light of the setback and, with Mal Loye and Rob White joining forces, might have been entertaining thoughts of a dramatic victory during the pair's enterprising second wicket stand of 77, which ended when White was leg before, attempting to sweep Chris Schofield, in the 22nd over.

Alex Wakely brought the hundred up for Northants by dancing down the pitch and despatching Schofield to the rope at extra cover. Shortly before tea, Loye moved to his first half-century of the new campaign, which included a straight six off Gareth Batty, with a drive through extra cover for four. It had taken the 38-year-old 101 deliveries.

Northants went into the final session requiring 167 in 32 overs. But Loye departed to the seventh ball after the break when, looking to drive Schofield through cover, he too was adjudged lbw. David Sales got himself off a pair with a swept four. Two balls later, Sales slog swept Schofield into the Wedlake Bell Family Enclosure for six.

In the next over, Wakely lifted Batty into the pavilion for a maximum, a shot he repeated off Schofield five overs later; immediately before driving the 32-year-old straight up the ground for four to make it 166-3. But Northants' positive intent evaporated when Meaker parted Sales's middle and leg stumps and, two overs later, plucked out Wakely's middle pole.

Going into the final hour, which began with Surrey's over-rate at plus ten, the visitors needed 104 with five wickets remaining, but the last word belonged to bad light and light rain, which arrived at 5.42pm.

Earlier, Surrey made full use of the morning session by adding 160 to their overnight total. Zander De Bruyn on drove the second ball of the day for four and swept James Middlebrook to the square leg boundary four overs later.

But then the hosts lost their nightwatchman Tim Linley to White's googly. That brought Tom Maynard to the crease. The Welshman proceeded to put on 69 in fifteen overs for the sixth wicket in tandem with de Bruyn, making a bright and breezy 40 in process.

Maynard perished in the 90th over, losing his middle stump to Lee Daggett in an attempt to force the 28-year-old through mid-off, though not before de Bruyn had deposited Chaminda Vaas straight back over his head for six.

Schofield showed that his pre-season form with the bat was no flash in the pan by treating the crowd to a wonderfully entertaining 37 in 23 deliveries, which included two successive maximums followed by an exquisite cover drive for four off Andrew Hall as Surrey collected 34 runs off the last two overs before lunch.

At the interval, de Bruyn had progressed his score to 91 off 178 balls, but the South African had to forego the chance of registering his first hundred at the Oval, as well as for Surrey, who opted to give themselves two entire sessions to force a result.

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