CRICKETING karma seemed to demand that Surrey should collapse in a heap yesterday, but their players were having none of it. Docked eight championship points on Friday for twice lifting the quarter-seam during their game with Nottinghamshire earlier this month, they began the day facing the prospect of leaving Kent with two fewer points than when they arrived.

But Scott Newman and Richard Clinton responded to their chief executive Paul Sheldon’s plea to put the controversy behind them by adding 280 for the first wicket on a placid Nevill Ground pitch, and Surrey emerged instead two points in credit. With a little more adventure, they might even have won.

The club’s own investigation into the ball-tampering incident failed to unearth any culprits, but at least the players’ refusal to break ranks suggests that the dressing-room spirit can’t be too bad. Set 406 to win, they reduced the equation to 125 in 16 overs, only to call off the chase with 73 needed from 45 balls. With six wickets still in hand, it was a decision that fitted in with the conservatism of Tunbridge Wells.

“It was a very strange thing to do,” said Kent captain David Fulton. “If I’d been in their position I’d have taken it through to six wickets down.”

Surrey’s best chance of pulling off a remarkable win went when they failed to step on the gas in the hour before tea. Newman and Clinton had virtually ensured their survival on a strip that was more first-day than fourth, and big-hitters such as Ali Brown, James Benning and Rikki Clarke lay in wait. But Clinton is not one of county cricket’s dashers, and by the time he chipped Andrew Hall to short mid-wicket for 105, his first championship century, he had eaten up 285 balls. Brown cracked 29 in 21 deliveries before he was stumped off Min Patel, and Benning was promoted for a slog, but when they fell in quick succession, Surrey decided enough was enough. At the close, Kent were the more relieved.

Surrey had resumed on 11 without loss, and for most of the day played with a draw in mind. The openers extended their stand to 104 by lunch and 201 by tea, and batted with ease on a pitch that eventually yielded 763 runs on the last two days for the loss of just seven wickets.

Kent’s frustration at their lack of penetration was compounded when Robert Key was struck on the right wrist by a fierce Newman sweep while fielding and was taken to hospital for a precautionary X-ray. Newman made a superb 167, his third championship hundred in four innings, but when he skied Martin Saggers to deep extra cover, Surrey’s hopes dwindled.

They could have done with a bit of long handle from Azhar Mahmood, but the Pakistan allrounder has been out of action since the first game of the season with injury, and Surrey are looking into the possibility of finding an overseas replacement. His identity could depend on the fate of Harbhajan Singh, who is waiting for the International Cricket Council to approve his action before he gets the green light to head for The Oval. The club are hoping for a decision later this week.