SURREY denied Muttiah Muralitharan to send Lancashire crashing to a second consecutive championship defeat at the Oval today.

Darren Bicknell and Jonathan Batty knocked off the 36 runs they needed for victory at the start of the last day in 24 tense overs without losing a wicket.

Muralitharan and Gary Keedy had teamed up to share six wickets yesterday and give Lancashire hopes of an unlikely victory.

But they couldn't make the breakthrough that was desperately needed today leaving Murali with figures of 4-67 - completing 10 in the match, and taking his tally of wickets to 24 in four innings.

But he is still to play on the winning side for Lancashire.

Keedy ended with 2-62 to add to the three he picked up in the first innings.

Yesterday Warren Hegg hit a superb 94 to give the spinners something to defend but in the end it wasn't enough.

Lancashire were made to pay for the failure of their batsmen with only Mike Atherton managing a half century.

Hegg's 94 yesterday, which came from 169 balls with 12 fours and a flat pulled six off Alex Tudor, steered Lancashire from 120-6 to a second innings total of 260, and a lead of 156.

The partnerships came with Peter Martin, who had 18 in a stand of 63 in 27 overs for the eighth wicket, and Gary Keedy, who ended on three not out after helping Hegg add another 40 in 13 overs for the last wicket.

It was a timely innings for Hegg, who also hit a defiant half century in Lancashire's defeat by Warwickshire at Southport last week.

After the World Cup, it is easy to forget that he is England's incumbent Test wicket keeper after playing against Australia in Melbourne and Sydney last winter.

But Notts youngster Chris Read strengthened his claim with his first century earlier this week. Murali again showed his class by picking up four of the first six Surrey wickets to give him 10 in the match for the second game in succession, after his 14-wicket bowling debut at Southport.

Surrey's openers Mark Butcher and Ian Ward put on 78, virtually half of their modest target, but then Murali had Butcher caught at slip and Alec Stewart lbw in the space of four balls.

Keedy offered solid support and took the next two wickets, of Graham Thorpe and Alistair Brown, before Murali sent back Ward and Ben Hollioake just before the close of the third day.

But there was no early joy today as Darren Bicknell and Jeremy Batty edged within 20 of their victory target.

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