THE OVAL (final day of four): Surrey 400-1 (12pts) drew with Warwickshire 329 & 5-0 (7pts)

If any doubts remained over how reliant Warwickshire are on Dale Steyn it came in his absence.

Steyn only bowled a handful of overs on the last day at The Brit Oval as his captain preserved him for battles ahead. Without him the attack performed tidily, but not for a moment did they look as if they might take a wicket. They remain decent and hard working and are becoming increasingly consistent. But Steyn provides the cutting edge that makes the whole machine work. Saturday provided a disconcerting peak into the future.

To be fair, this was a very flat wicket. Surrey batted with skill and commitment, producing what Darren Maddy described as a "backlash" to their dreadful start to the season.

Mark Ramprakash (228 balls, 17 fours), who recorded the 90th first-class century of his career, remains a fine player and now averages 100 for Surrey against Warwickshire. In all it was the seventh first-class century he has plundered from their bowling and the fifth for Surrey.

Jonathan Batty (357 balls, 17 fours and a six)

impressed, too. He is, perhaps, the only wick-etkeeper in the country who is capable of batting in the top six in Test cricket and averages 40 in the championship since 2001.

The pair's unbroken stand of 283 in 76 overs for the second wicket was a record between these sides at The Brit Oval. It overtook the previous mark of 231 set in 1931 by Andrew Ducat - who also captained Aston Villa in the FA Cup winning side of 1920 - and Jack Hobbs.

Steyn looked dangerous every time he had the ball. Twice he beat Ramprakash for pace, with one edge flying through the vacant third skip region. Batty, not a fellow prone to hyperbole, said Steyn's bowling with the first new ball was "as good a spell as I have ever faced." High praise, indeed.

It is also worth noting that, when asked which other keepers Batty rated, Tim Ambrose was first on the list.

The game ended farcically. After a two-hour rain delay, the players emerged for just over eight overs in which time Surrey claimed a fifth batting point, declared and rushed through a couple of overs in order to avoid a point penalty for a slow over-rate. Still, it was worth two points to the hosts and, come the end of the season, these things can make all the difference. Just ask Nottinghamshire, who were relegated by a single point last year.

Could Warwickshire have done any more to earn a breakthrough? Not much. Had Batty been caught, by Maddy, when he had just 31 on

the third day, things might have been different, but apart from long-distance run out opportunities, there were no other clear chances.

Perhaps it was a mistake to open the bowling on the fourth day with Jonathan Trott and Maddy. With the new ball only seven overs away Maddy was keen to keep his faster bowlers back, but life was a little too comfortable for batsmen playing themselves in again.

Perhaps Paul Harris might have made a difference. The left-arm spinner, who is due to arrive at the start of June, will certainly boost an attack that looks thin in that area. Alex Loudon is improving but would be the first to admit that he is still learning his trade. His talent suggests he is worth perseverance.

How Warwickshire could do with Steyn and Harris, however. It seems that once they plug one hole another area springs a leak.

Naqaash Tahir was excellent with the ball and, more surprisingly, in the field. He gave away nothing and moved the ball both ways. Some of his sliding stops on the cover boundary were reminiscent of Derek Randall; not a phrase I thought I'd ever write.

Jimmy Anyon bowled better than his figures suggest, too. No one is harder on themselves than the 24-year-old and there was no margin for error on this pitch. Though there were times his line and length could have been tighter, he lost little in comparison to Heath Streak and will rarely come across a batsman as good as Ramprakash with the conditions so loaded in the batsman's favour. Indeed some of

Ramprakash's batting was simply magnificent.

While a glance at the scoreboard might suggest Warwickshire were awful, they will bowl worse than this and dismiss sides for 200.

It is hard to think of a county bowling attack that would have performed much better. It was their batsmen, Maddy excepted, who underperformed in this game.