THE prospect of a heavyweight clash on a glorious opening day of the season lured more than 3,000 spectators to the Oval yesterday. They were treated to some high-quality batting by Lancashire on a superb pitch that may be just too flat to yield a result from this match. A draw already looks odds-on.

Not that Mal Loye will mind. On his Lancashire debut, he helped himself to what he might call an “ugly” hundred in 210 balls. His reaction on reaching it — an animated leap and punch of the air — showed what it meant to the former Northamptonshire player. Stuart Law’s typically elegant century, his third for Lancashire, was a much more fluent innings, full of handsome cover and straight drives as well as brilliantly executed sweeps.

Bowlers had to work hard for the merest assistance while batsmen could just sit back and wait for some width or balls of errant length. With a 55-yard boundary on one side, and a glass-like outfield, it was even harder for Adam Holliake to stem the flow of runs. All he could do was wait for mistakes, but few came.

Seldom can a mid-April championship start at the Oval have been imbued with such an atmosphere of expectation. The weather and the Bank Holiday played their part, of course, but so did Surrey’s laudable idea to reduce admission to £5 (with accompanied under-17s allowed in free). About half the crowd paid at the gate.

It must soon have become apparent to the home support, however, that Surrey were destined for a hard day in the field. There was no virtually no movement with the new ball in the first hour, during which time Alex Tudor and Tim Murtagh beat the bat on only three occasions. Murtagh found Iain Sutcliffe’s edge but the ball did not reach first slip, such was the low carry.

Sutcliffe, also making his debut, began with a beautifully timed square drive off Murtagh for the first of 12 fours and underlined what an excellent signing he is. With Martin Bicknell injured, Murtagh was preferred to James Ormond after being Surrey’s best bowler in pre-season in Hollioake’s view, but he was hit for four off-side fours in his opening spell by the former Leicestershire left-hander.

After a slow start, Alec Swann cast off his shackles to play some crisp strokes, including three fours in one over from Saqlain Mushtaq, who, uncharacteristically, often dropped short. Loye used his feet especially well to hit him straight or over mid-wicket for three of his 14 fours. Eventually, the Pakistani left the field for treatment after falling on the ball.

The fall of a wicket seemed most unlikely until Sutcliffe sent Swann back after being called for a single, Tudor’s throw to the bowler’s end from short fine leg just beating Swann. The opening stand was worth 108 in 28 overs.

Sutcliffe was looking immovable when he paid the penalty for getting no more than a half-stride down the pitch. Saqlain bowls unusually close to the stumps when coming round the wicket, and Neil Mallender, the umpire, decided that Sutcliffe had been hit in line by a ball that went straight on. His 70 occupied only 118 balls.

Law gave Loye a 26-run start when he joined him at 2.30pm but the Queenslander comfortably outpaced him to three figures, reaching the mark in 154 balls. By the time stumps were mercifully drawn for Surrey, the third-wicket stand was worth an unbroken 222 in 59 overs.