A MATCH that featured cricket of compelling interest over the first two days was ultimately wrecked by the weather. No play was possible on Friday and what play there was yesterday took place only in spasmodic bursts. Surrey had all too little time in which to attempt to leave Middlesex some kind of target.

Even at the outset yesterday, there was scant prospect of a positive result. There were three stoppages for rain, which was always in the air, and, for that matter, the pitch was as intrinsically sound as is customarily the case at Woodbridge Road. Such interest in the remaining three sessions of the match centred on whether David Nash would reach his century.

The Middlesex wicketkeeper had made 69 overnight or, rather, two days before. It was a question of whether either of the remaining tailenders, Simon Cook or Chad Keegan, would remain with him. Neither could do so: Martin Bicknell, who so often excels on this, his home ground, had Cook leg-before and bowled Keegan.

Nash by then was four runs short of a century, having faced 178 balls, and hit 10 fours. He is not the first Middlesex cricketer to come from Surrey, be it the county or the team, and, at the age of 25, is still eminently young enough to be a part of what could well be the county champions of the near future. He has made 279 runs in his past four innings without being dismissed once.

Surrey, then, had a first innings lead of 26 and not a great deal of time in which to build on it. There was still less when Jon Batty took his eye off successive balls from Ashley Noffke, neither of which bounced higher than waist height, and twice was hit on the helmet. This necessitated an eight-minute delay while his headgear was changed twice.

It is not being unfair to say that, in the pre-helmet era, a batsman would not have taken his eye off the ball to that extent, particularly when there was no apparent indication of it being excessively short-pitched; but the bouncer, of course, is far more prevalent in the game now.

Batty, who had a bruise on his head, did not resume after lunch. In his place, Mark Ramprakash did not make a run off 30 balls in between his first and second scoring shots, which told of his side’s lack of positive intent. His last act was to leave the field fuming over being hit on the helmet by Ed Joyce, a part-time bowler not known for any searing pace.

To be fair to Ramprakash, he did unfurl some drives and cuts that were easy on the eye, as is always the case with him. Ian Ward, in his more pulverising way, struck five fours in his unbeaten 33. When the rain came for a third time, tea was taken, and both continued until the abandonment was made.