A record partnership between Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence saw Surrey safely to a draw after Warwickshire had dominated much of their County Championship fixture at Edgbaston.
Smith struck a polished 132 from 261 balls and Lawrence an equally assured unbeaten 161 off 258 in a stand of 217 in 64 overs as Surrey batted through the final day to reach 447-4.
The implacable fourth-wicket pair took full advantage of a pitch that just got better and better for batting.
There was little that Ed Barnard, in his first match as Warwickshire captain, could do but rotate his array of seamers in the hope of inducing errors.
It proved a forlorn hope as Surrey erased their first-innings deficit of 216 and then batted on to secure a draw with which they will be very happy, having been in disarray at 65-6 on the first afternoon.
Surrey resumed on the final morning on 169-3, still 47 behind, way behind in the game but in conditions which offered them a way out of trouble if they batted with the required diligence.
They did so, as Smith and Lawrence knuckled down to add 105 from 31 overs in the morning session.
Warwickshire’s seamers persevered nobly, with Ethan Bamber and Beau Webster most threatening, but the fourth-wicket pair batted with solid technique and total concentration.
The session yielded just two half-chances, both offered by Smith. On 60 he edged Chris Woakes high past the shoulder of Sam Hain at slip and on 76, he drove Jordan Thompson to extra cover where Webster got a hand to a difficult chance but couldn’t hold on.
The batters advanced relentlessly to their centuries in the afternoon, Smith’s arriving from 199 balls and Lawrence’s from 152, before becoming the third and fourth members of the team to put their names in the record books during this match.
In the first innings, Ben Foakes and Tom Lawes broke a 120-year-old record for Surrey’s seventh wicket against Warwickshire.
Three days later, Smith and Larwence matched the achievement, their 217 partnership surpassing the county’s previous fourth-wicket best against the Bears – 213 by Tom Hayward and Edwin Goatley at The Oval in 1906.
The alliance when Smith lifted Rob Yates to long on. His job was done, though, and all that remained was a final session of Lawrence and Ben Foakes (36*) enjoying a gentle outdoor net against the spin of Yates and Dan Mousley.
It was a low-key end to a match which contained some excellent, competitive cricket and from which both sides will take plenty of positive.
Surrey, having copped the worst of the conditions early in the match, showed the fortitude and skill not to lose it. Warwickshire, their top order all showing promising early-season form, were well on top against strong opposition for much of the game.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.