Having just turned 18, Ravi Bopara batted for more than six hours over the course of two gutsy innings to upstage the more illustrious names in the Essex team and deny Middlesex victory at HQ.

With the top order failing in both innings, it depended on Bopara and the tail to stave off defeat.

Batting probably too low at seven, he was last man out for 48 in the first innings before finishing unbeaten on 40 in the second dig.

Middlesex, whose progress was slowed by rain during the first and third day's play, would still have expected to win when reducing the visitors to 75-4 well before lunch.

But Paul Grayson (69) began the recovery and everyone else in the lower order did their bit.

Bopara and Jamie Middlebrook (52) put on 100 for the eighth-wicket finally to snuff out the home team's chances of victory.

Middlesex: A J Strauss (Capt), S G Koenig, O A Shah, D C Nash, E C Joyce, Abdul Razzaq, P N Weekes, B L Hutton, S J Cook A A Noffke, C B Keegan.

Essex: D D J Robinson, W I Jefferson, A P Grayson (Capt), A Flower, A Habib, J S Foster, R S Bopara, J M Dakin, J D Middlebrook, G R Napier, S A Brant.