Pitch far from perfect as Bears draw comfort

BEN Foakes harvested a career-best unbeaten 174 for champions Surrey as their Rothesay County Championship match with Warwickshire drifted to a draw at Edgbaston.

- By ECB REPORTERS NETWORK

Foakes amassed 174 from 361 balls, the last 107 of them in a tenth-wicket stand of 158 in 58 overs with Matt Fisher (40, 145 balls) as Surrey totalled 504 in reply to Warwickshire's 665 for five.

On a bowlers' graveyard of a pitch, the game's third innings finally began at 3.15pm on the final day.

Surrey, following on, reached 15 without loss before a merciful downpour arrived to wash out a pointless last session.

This was the 172nd County Championship match between these teams and surely the dullest.

The Oval pitch on which they completed an entire game in one day in 1953 (Warwickshire 45 and 52, Surrey 146) may have been a bit too bowler-friendly but this was way too far the other way.