COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO, The Oval:
Surrey 386 and 170-3 drew with Kent 509-5 (Kent 12pts, Surrey 9pts)
10-13 July 2009

Kemp struck 22 fours and three sixes in his 261-ball 183

Kent temporarily top the County Championship Division Two table despite not being able to force victory on the final day against Surrey at The Oval.

Resuming their second innings on 509-5, Kent declared on 620-7, with Justin Kemp eventually dismissed for 183.

Needing 234 to avoid an innings defeat, Surrey lost Jon Batty, Michael Brown and Mark Ramprakash to slip to 104-3.

But Mark Butcher (60) and Usman Afzaal (24) combined to take them to 170-3 when a draw was agreed at 1700 BST.

The 12 points earned by Kent takes them above Gloucestershire and Derbyshire, who have played two days of their game at Cheltenham.

Beginning the day on 121, Kemp shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 123 with James Tredwell (60) before Tredwell was caught by Stewart Walters off the bowling of Murtaza Hussain.

When Kemp was also undone by the combination of Hussain and Walters half-an-hour before lunch, just five short of a career best, it signalled the Kent declaration.

Surrey, needing to survive a minimum of 72 overs, lost three wickets in the afternoon session.

Brown and Ramprakash were caught by Rob Key off the bowling of Tredwell and Batty (48) was bowled by Ryan McLaren.

But Butcher, in obvious discomfort from a long-term knee injury, struck 11 fours in his 132-ball effort to guide Surrey to their sixth draw in eight games this season.

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