Zaib savours 'very special' century as he secures Surrey stalemate for Northants

The Northants left-hander scored the second first-class ton of his career, hitting 124 from 204 balls to ensure the County made 426 all out in their second innings to close out a hard-earned draw.

Day four had started with all results possible, with Northants only 127 in front with five wickets in hand, but Zaib and Ricardo Vasconcelos, who made 79 from 138 balls, steered the home side away from danger.

There were also valuable knocks from Lizaad Williams (30) and James Sales (22) as Surrey were batted out of the game, and they were 48 for one when the skippers shook on a draw at 4.30pm.

The result means Northants remain fifth in the table, 32 points clear of second-from-bottom Warwickshire with just two matches of the season remaining.

"It’s a very valuable extra eight points and I thought we fought very hard," said Zaib.

“It was tough coming into the final day. To come across one of the best sides in the country and come out with these points shows the depth and the fight that we have.

"We went with a gameplan to just try and bat and take time out of the game."

Zaib was playing his first Championship match since May, and he admitted: “It was important to take my chance back in the side.

"I’ve struggled a little bit with Championship cricket. So it was nice to contribute in the way that I did and hopefully I can make a big impact in the last two games.

“Surrey are arguably the best side in the country with some of the best bowlers, so this will be very special to me.”

Northants are back in action next Tuesday when they take on seventh-placed Somerset at Taunton, before wrapping up the season with a home date against Essex that starts on September 26.