Mal Loye's first County Championship century for two years killed off Surrey's hopes of forcing a win in their high-scoring Division One game against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.

Loye hit three sixes and 21 fours in an unbeaten 167 off 211 balls, steering the home side to safety on 304-1 after the champions had ground on to reach 607 all out for a first-innings lead of 131.

Northants went in again just before lunch, and an early wicket or two could have made it an interesting afternoon. But Loye and Mike Hussey (67) did what they had to do, compiling an opening stand of 189 in 38 overs – a new county record against Surrey.

Hussey fell to Mark Butcher's off-spin, edging to Adam Hollioake at slip, before Loye and Jeff Cook (52 not out) played out time against a nine-man Surrey attack.

Resuming on 547-8, the visitors added 60 more runs before Tony Penberthy tidied up with the wickets of Martin Bicknell (56) and Ian Salisbury (33) in successive overs.

Bicknell and Salisbury had carried their ninth-wicket partnership to 84 until Penberthy flattened Bicknell's off-stump, and then had Salisbury held by Loye at mid-off. Tony Penberthy eventually dismissed them both to return commendably tidy figures of 4-66 from 20.5 overs. Off-spinner Jason Brown fared less well. He conceded 172 runs in the innings – a figure exceeded only five times in Northants' history.

Loye then carried the attack to Surrey and raced to a hundred – his first since the game against Lancashire at Old Trafford in 1999 – to ensure a draw. From there, the match drifted to its inevitable conclusion with Alec Stewart bowling the final over.

© CricInfo