Westley century leads Essex to draw with Surrey

Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Kia Oval (day four)

Essex 409: Walter 101 & 302-2 dec: Westley 136, Elgar 107*; Atkinson 1-12

Surrey 472: Lawrence 125, Sibley 101; Harmer 3-69

Essex (12 pts) draw with Surrey (12 pts)

Match scorecard

Essex captain Tom Westley hit two sixes and 22 fours in a powerful 136 to lead his side to a comfortably-achieved draw against Surrey at the Kia Oval.

Westley was joined in a second wicket stand of 197 by former South Africa Test opener Dean Elgar, who was unbeaten on 107 as Essex finished a run-filled County Championship contest by reaching 302-2 declared in their second innings.

It was the 55th first-class hundred of Elgar's long and distinguished career, in which the 38-year-old played 86 Tests and also captained his country.

Essex were 239 runs to the good by the end of a match that was watched by more than 15,000, a record Championship attendance at the Oval this century – beating the 14,982 who came to the corresponding fixture last season.

Both sides take 12 points from a game in which only 22 wickets fell across four days while 1,183 runs were scored on a placid, slow surface and under blue skies throughout. The game ended with Ben Foakes taking the second new ball for three overs in tandem with Rory Burns, as Jordan Clark kept wicket.

Starting the final day on 19 without loss, still 44 runs behind, Essex lost their first innings centurion Paul Walter for just three in the second over of the morning.

Walter was adjudged leg-before to Gus Atkinson, although it looked a questionable decision with the England paceman bowling from around the wicket to the giant Essex left-hander.

At 22-1 there might have been a wobble but Westley and Elgar were helped by two missed chances at short mid-wicket – Westley clipping off his pads both times.

The first chance was a difficult one but in the second one, off Matt Fisher, the ball looked to slip clean through Dom Sibley's hands as he stooped to his right to take the catch.

Essex were 92-1 at lunch and in mid-afternoon Westley, 37, accelerated superbly to his 33rd first-class hundred with an eye-catching assault on both Tom Lawes and Fisher.

Lawes, in his third over, was pulled for six and three balls later thrashed through extra cover for four as Westley went to 83.

He then raced into the 90s by pulling Fisher twice for four and reached three figures by flicking Lawes off his pads wide of mid on for another boundary.

By contrast, Elgar was playing the anchor role to perfection, although he did once advance down the pitch to hit Dan Lawrence's off spin back over his head for six to go to 64.

In the previous over Elgar had watched Westley play the same lofted straight drive – for the same result – off Lawrence, but the bowler did at least then have Westley caught brilliantly by a diving Sibley at deep mid wicket in the 60th over.

Charlie Allison was 35 not out at the end, adding a further 83 with Elgar who batted for five and a half hours and faced 238 balls.

Surrey have now drawn their first three matches of the season, all high-scoring affairs, but they (and England) will be pleased with the form of Atkinson following a long lay-off with a hamstring complaint.

Atkinson bowled with good pace in his first match since last winter's Boxing Day Ashes Test against Australia, and in Essex's second innings finished with figures of 11-3-12-1 while looking threatening throughout despite the sluggish pitch.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.

Surrey head coach Gareth Batty:

"We are certainly getting back to the standards we have set ourselves with the ball but we still need to find the ways to take enough wickets to win games. It's proving incredibly difficult at the minute.

"We will study the footage of this game and come up with some plans for the next match but I was very happy with the way we bowled in their second innings.

"I'm not sure we could have done much more in this match, apart from perhaps pushing a bit harder in our innings to get another batting point or so."

Essex captain Tom Westley:

"It's been an incredibly hard four days but a very evenly-contested game and a draw is a decent result against a great team with a great record on their home ground.

"I wanted to play in our last game but the finger was not quite ready. It usually takes 4-6 weeks to get over a fractured finger but I was back in just over three so that is pleasing and I am glad I did play here.

"Dean Elgar also played really well and to get a 90 and then 107 not out in this second innings shows just what a fine player he is.

"He's been a little bit short of runs so far this season so this game is great for him and really sets him up for the rest of the summer."