IT SEEMED A crucial toss to lose at Trent Bridge on July 21, 1994. The pitch looked a good'un, but was bare at both ends, hence Nottinghamshire's decision to play three spinners. Little did I know that a record lay ahead for me.

We bowled Notts out for 125 – or more precisely Joey Benjamin bowled Notts out with 6 for 27.

So with an hour to go before tea on the first day, our main objective was to get to the close without undue loss of wickets. We lost Andy Smith, lbw to Chris Lewis, in the second over and `Chalky' ( Graham Thorpe) towards the end of the day (for 70), finishing at 167 for 2, D. J. Bicknell 58 not out.

I am quite lucky at Surrey in that we have a number of very attacking batsmen. This enables me to just play at my own pace, almost in an anchor role. One thing four-day cricket has taught me is that occupation of the crease is so very important.

We were pretty pleased with our day's work. I had played solidly, so I was looking forward to the possibility of a Championship hundred.

Friday dawned warm and sunny, a perfect batting day. Even at 27 years of age and with 23 first-class hundreds under my belt, I still get pretty nervous when approaching the milestone of a hundred. I edged my way to that figure through the morning and had some enjoyment watching Tony Pigott, our nightwatchman, batting at the other end. ` Lester' would no claim to be a stylist, and some of his shots are not out of any textbook.

LONGEST INNINGS IN COUNTY CRICKET

Mins	Score	Player	Match	Date
638	235*	D. J. Bicknell	Surrey v Nottinghamshire at Nottingham	1994
615	267	A. Shrewsbury	Nottinghamshire v Middlesex at Nottingham	1887
606	277*	R. G. Twose	Warwickshire v Glamorgan at Birmingham	1994
598	248	T. S. Curtis	Worcestershire v Somerset at Worcester	1991
585	285	P. Holmes	Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire at Nottingham	1929
570	228*	T. S. Curtis	Worcestershire v Derbyshire at Derby	1992
566	300	R. Subba Row	Northamptonshire v Surrey at The Oval	1958
562	203*	A. J. Moles	Warwickshire v Surrey at Guildford	1994
555	216*	A. A. Metcalfe	Yorkshire v Middlesex at Leeds	1988
555	281*	J. P. Crawley	Lancashire v Somerset at Southport	1994
553	405*	G. A. Hick	Worcestershire v Somerset at Taunton	1988
540	204*	D. Brookes	Northamptonshire v Essex at Northampton	1952
540	221	T. C. Middleton	Hampshire v Surrey at Southampton	1992
530	267	A. Shrewsbury	Nottinghamshire v Sussex at Nottingham	1890
530	186*	T. S. Curtis	Worcestershire v Glamorgan at Cardiff	1991
526	214*	A. Dale	Glamorgan v Middlesex at Cardiff	1993

I had set out my stall to score a century. I'm not a great one for setting myself targets. I just try to score as many as I can. A hundred is the only target I have. I have developed a style of play that I am comfortable with and which has been successful for me. Knowing what you are good at and sticking to it is, I feel, the key to success.

Reaching three figures with a boundary off Andy Pick brought me great relief, and for the next half-hour or so I played with some freedom, striking offspinner Richard Bates for 4, 4, 6 off consecutive balls. I was almost too loose, and nearly lost my wicket. A close escape is always a good reminder to get your head down and get on with the job.

I'd never made a double-hundred, and at this stage I realised that if I took my time and played sensibly, one was there for the taking.

The pitch continued to play well, and certainly did not spin as expected, although being left-handed meant that I had to play many overs from the left-arm spinners Andy Afford and Jimmy Adams over the wicket into the rough.

With Notts not having scored that many runs, their captain Tim Robinson was not free to set really attacking fields, so for most of the time I remember he did not have many close catchers.

I don't mind having close catchers breathing down my neck because it opens up gaps elsewhere to score; but not having them there means the occasional bat-pad is not going to get you out.

 David Ward was playing particularly well down the other end, so I was able to just keep going at my own pace. I knew that if I stayed with Wardy we would post a huge score and I would also reach the treasured 200.

During a long innings you always go through difficult periods when the bowlers bowl well and restrict your scoring opportunities, but I remember going through a period mid-afternoon when I completely lost my timing and fluency. This was the hardest part of the innings.

 Surrey opener Darren Bicknell, whose 638-minute innings against Nottinghamshire last summer was the longest in the history of the County Championship

There was still a long way to go in the day and I was nowhere near my goal of 200. It would have been easy for me to have tried to blast my way out of this difficult time, so I had to keep telling myself to be patient and my form would come back.

 Wardy was brilliant to bat with at this time, telling me to concentrate, reassuring me that I would get my form back. It was almost like Canterbury in 1990, when we put on 413 together. Sure enough, form returned. Wardy got out just before tea for 81 (351 for 4), but I managed to hang about till the interval.

I remember sitting down at tea feeling pretty tired. It had been a slow session for me. You always feel more tired when you are not scoring. A cup of tea, a few sandwiches and a session under the shower and we were off again.

At this stage, gloves were beginning to be a problem. The three pairs that I had had all been used and were not quite dry again, so I had to make do, which as any batsmen will tell you is not ideal.

Strange as it may seem, this was just about the easiest session I had. I was so focused on reaching 200, and obviously we were getting so far ahead we could not have been in a better position.

 Ally Brown was the next batsman, and anyone who knows Browny knows he is full of beans when he is at the crease. So once again there was no pressure on me to increase the scoring rate. The end of play was only two hours away, so the end was in sight.

It felt as though I'd settled into what I might call pure batting mode. It's difficult to describe, but everything was just flowing, and I did not have to work too hard at concentrating. It just seemed to be happening.

The biggest problem in that final session was that with half-an-hour to go I was on about 180, so should I push on and go for my 200 while I was in good form, or should I wait till tomorrow when I would be starting fresh again, `fresh' hardly being the appropriate word at this particular stage.

Anyway, Browny was going at a hell of a rate, so the deliveries that I faced were in short supply. I figured, therefore, that having come this far I was not going to do anything to throw it away.

A boundary off Adams took me to 192 at the close. I was very pleased to get to the end of the day, although it was not until half-an-hour after the close of play that I began to feel just how tired I was.

It was the third time that I had batted through an entire day, and I was now within reach of my 200, having already beaten my career-best of 190, which I had reached twice before, the second time only two weeks earlier.

I've got to be honest: I did not see 9.30 that night. I was pretty tired both physically and mentally. I did not even manage to get out for a meal, which, as the guys will tell you, is a rare occurrence.

On Saturday I awoke early, and I remember how my forearm muscles and back were stiff and sore. A visit to the physio first thing was most useful, then Grahame Clinton suggested that maybe just a few throwdowns might be useful, and I agreed readily, as running around fielding was not in my plans.

As 11 o'clock approached I was itching to get out there. I forgot all about my tiredness and just could not wait to get on with it.

Being quite superstitious – and I should apologise to my team-mates – I was wearing the same kit that I had worn all the day before. It wasn't pleasant, but I could not change it now!

My bat, however, had given up the ghost. I had stuck with it for the last hour on Friday despite a major death crack on the inside edge. This was near disaster. So when I located the middle of the bat on the first ball of the day, I was pretty pleased, to say the least.

A boundary and a couple of singles took me to 197, then the moment I had waited for arrived: a shin-high full-toss from Andy Afford which I managed to place past extra cover and I was there. It was one of the proudest moments of my career. It was something I had wanted to achieve since I started playing, and I had finally done it!

For the next 40 minutes or so we carried along on our merry way till Thorpey declared at 604 for 4, with me 235 not out (638 minutes, 556 balls, 33 fours, one six; Brown finished 134 not out). There is no better feeling than batting right through an innings.

A couple of the Notts boys had mentioned that I had needed to bat for an extra half-hour or so on that third morning to beat the longest-innings record, but I did not know if they were correct. All I had wanted was 200.

 Notts were demoralised by now and succumbed to the wily old campaigner Tony Pigott (6 for 46) to lose by an innings and 231. The game was all over by the third night, and I had somehow achieved a record of which, until recently, I was blissfully unaware.

 Arthur Shrewsbury'S old record was 615 minutes for his score of 267 for Notts v Middlesex, also at Trent Bridge, in 1887 (see table on page 8).

WCM's Editor is exceptionally pleased to have been able to commission this article from Darren Bicknell, having been a team-mate at Guildford CC when, in 1983, as a 15-year-old tenderfoot, Bicknell scored his maiden century.

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