Surrey and Essex play out a draw

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO, Guildford:
Essex 401 & 201-3 drew with Surrey 352-8 (Essex 10pts, Surrey 11pts)

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Chopra hit 14 fours on his way to an impressive 85

Varun Chopra (85) and Hashim Amla (81 not out) starred for Essex on the final day against Surrey at Guilford, but a draw was inevitable from the start.

Resuming on 288-4, the hosts declared on 352-8 with captain Stewart Walters eventually caught by Matt Walker off the bowling of David Masters for 142.

Essex soon lost the wicket of John Maunders, who failed to score before being trapped lbw by Jade Dernbach.

But Chopra and Amla helped the visitors to a comfortable 201-3 by the close.

By that point a power cut had knocked out both electronic scoreboards, and with the light fading fast, the umpires called a halt after Essex captain Mark Pettini was hit in the chest ducking into a Tim Linley bouncer.