Warwickshire have been crowned as the 2004 County Champions, after Sussex – the previous title-holders and the only team that could have caught them – slumped to defeat in a topsy-turvy encounter against Middlesex.Victory was the last thing on Middlesex’s minds, after they had been bundled out for 135 in their first innings, but although Sussex helped themselves to a useful 142-run lead, they were powerless second-time around, and themselves slipped to 141 all out, after losing two wickets for no runs in the first over.Mushtaq Ahmed, the man whose 100-wicket haul sealed the Championship last year, did his utmost to salvage the situation. He smacked 49 not out from No. 9, and followed up with three wickets, but Middlesex powered to victory, thanks to a century from their former captain, Owais Shah, and 50 not out from Paul Weekes.It was an important win for Middlesex, who have eased their relegation fears, while plunging Sussex right back into the mire. They now face a crucial battle against Gloucestershire, while Worcestershire – who currently occupy the third relegation spot – take on Lancashire, who are seemingly doomed.Elsewhere, Northamptonshire moved ever closer to the drop, as their dismal season continued with a 194-run defeat against Kent at Canterbury. Needing an improbable 582 for victory, they put up a fight through the efforts of Jeff Cook (114) and David Sales, who made 92 as the tail folded around him. Kent’s star bowler was their Under-19 international, Simon Cusden, who took four wickets.In the second division, Somerset completed a convincing rout of Nottinghamshire, who were off the boil for a change, having already secured their return to the top flight. It was left to a man who might have been featuring in the Champions Trophy, Ian Blackwell, to apply the coup de grace, picking up 7 for 90.

County Championship Division One

Middlesex 135 and 285 for 5 (Shah 108, Weekes 50*) beat Sussex 277 and 141 by five wickets
Scorecard
Kent 414 for 8 dec and 318 for 5 dec (Smith 156) beat Northamptonshire 151 and 387 (Cook 114, Sales 92) by 194 runs at Canterbury
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Day 1 report: Key century leads Kent run-feast – The Times

County Championship Division Two

Somerset 654 for 8 dec (Cox 250, Wood 113, Hildreth 108) and 1 for 0 beat Nottinghamshire 337 and 317 (Bicknell 142, Blackwell 7-90) by 10 wickets at Trent Bridge
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Day 1 report: Ealham keeps Notts on course – The Times

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West Indies 269 for 3 (Gayle 99, Hinds 82) beat Bangladesh 131 (Khaled Mahmud 34*, Dillon 5-29) by 138 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Another day, another mismatch. The good news is that the minnow element has now been fished out of the Champions Trophy: the bad news is that another paltry crowd watched another one-sided encounter at the Rose Bowl today. West Indies, put in, overcame a lively pitch to score 269 for 3, but Bangladesh had more difficulty. Only some tailend resistance took them into three figures, and West Indies coasted home by 138 runs in the end.It was a second chastening experience for Bangladesh, who were rolled over for 93 by South Africa in their first match. They were never in the hunt today, after a combination of bad luck and shoddy fielding let Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds pile on 192 for West Indies’ first wicket.Gayle became the 22nd player to be dismissed for 99 in an ODI, while Hinds fired 82 on his return from injury. Their stand, a record for any wicket against Bangladesh in ODIs, started with a bang – they reached 50 in the first 10 overs. Hinds smacked Mohammad Rafique for two big sixes, but Gayle was uncharacteristically restrained – he hit only six fours in all – but applied himself well on the testing Rose Bowl pitch.Both openers could count themselves lucky to survive early on, as Bangladesh spurned chance after chance. And when Khaled Mashud, the wicketkeeper, finally did hold on to one – a clear edge from Hinds off Khaled Mahmud – a confident appeal was surprisingly rejected by Jeremy Lloyds, whose new earpiece to the stump mike presumably let him down.The hapless Mahmud, though, only had himself to blame with the next chance, when Gayle smashed a full-blooded straight-drive back into his shins. Gayle also survived a stumping chance, when he danced down the track and whiffled a big drive which he completely missed. But Mashud, who never looked comfortable, fluffed this opportunity as well, and then put down a healthy outside edge, this time from Hinds off Mahmud. He floored another one, late on, when Shivnarine Chanderpaul tested him with a difficult edge.Bangladesh eventually broke the deadlock in the 40th over, as Hinds came down the wicket to Tapash Baisya but failed to clear Nazmul Hossain at long-off (192 for 1). Gayle fell shortly afterwards. He was frustrated at times: there were only three fours in his half-century. But it wasn’t for want of trying – he had tried to bludgeon as usual but failed to connect properly. The ultimate frustration came when he edged Tapash, to be stranded one short of his 10th ODI century (201 for 2).

An explosive cameo from Brian Lara, who fired 20 from seven balls before he was run out, propelled West Indies towards a handy total of 269. Bangladesh desperately needed a good start – but Merv Dillon made sure they didn’t get one. He exploited some extra bounce, and Bangladesh crumpled to 24 for 5.Javed Omar (2) was the first to go, when Dillon angled in a good-length delivery which squared him up, and he could only fend it limply to gully, where Darren Sammy pulled off a tremendous catch, diving full stretch to his left, and knocking the ball up with his fingertips before finally clinging on (13 for 1).Ian Bradshaw struck at the other end as Mohammad Ashraful pulled straight to Dillon on the fine-leg boundary. Dillon continued his bowling demolition: another well-pitched-up one moved off the seam and shatter Nafis Iqbal’s stumps. The captain, Rajin Saleh, pitched in with 7, before Dillon removed his off stump (24 for 4).Khaled Mashud, before he had scored, edged a regulation catch to first slip for what should have been Dillon’s fourth wicket. Gayle floored that one, but Mahmud’s luck ran out just one ball later as Sammy made no mistake in the covers. Bangladesh had lost three wickets for three runs, and were floundering again.Aftab Ahmed and Mushfiqur Rahman, who both made 21, repaired some of the damage with a stand of 45, but the game was as good as over. Dillon returned to claim his third wicket, as Rafique provided Sammy with a third catch (94 for 8). Mahmud hung around for 34 not out from 51 balls, but Gayle rounded off a good day – and wrapped up the Man of the Match award – with the last two wickets as Bangladesh folded for 131, less than halfway to West Indies’ total.And so Bangladesh’s Tigers slunk off to lick their wounds again. But this West Indies team – with Hinds and Dillon back, and a new wicketkeeper – were a different proposition to the sad bunch who slumped to four straight Test defeats in England. They have their tails up for their winner-takes-all clash against South Africa at The Oval on Saturday.Jenny Thompson is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

Pakistan’s selectors have left out Moin Khan and Rashid Latif from the 25-man preliminary squad for the forthcoming tour of Australia. The news seems to signal the end of both men’s international careers.Neither player, both of whom have previously captained the side, was included in the group that will meet in Lahore for fitness trials before the final squad is announced. Only one specialist keeper, Kamran Akmal, was included in the list, although a board spokesman said that others could be drafted in if the need arose. Akmal replaced Moin for the second Test against Sri Lanka last month.”Akmal will be the only wicketkeeper on the Australian tour because Inzamam-ul-Haq is satisfied with his performance,” Wasim Bari, the chief selector, told reporters. “Since we are looking to the future we must try him on this tough tour.”Three uncapped players – batsman Aamir Bashir, opener Ashar Zaidi and left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Khalil – were included.And Bari added that six promising fast bowlers – Wasim Khan, Mohammad Irshad, Iftikhar Anjum, Mohammad Asif, Yasir Ali and Abdul Rauf – would join the squad to give them more experience.Pakistan squad: Salman Butt, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Shabbir Ahmed, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved, Shahid Afridi, Asim Kamal, Aamer Bashir, Riaz Afridi, Bazid Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Ashar Zaidi, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Faisal Athar, Mohammad Khalil.

ScorecardChris Gaffaney has long promised big scores for Otago, and when it came it was well worth the wait, as Auckland found to their dismay after putting Otago in at the Outer Oval today. Gaffaney, playing his 80th domestic one-day game, put together 145 for the first wicket with Craig Cumming, a record opening partnership for Otago.The pitch for this match was the same one used for the one-day international against Sri Lanka on Boxing Day. It had been taken from the main ground and dropped into the Outer Oval, and it provided a superb batting surface.Gaffaney and Cumming scored consistently at five runs an over through their stand and gave their side a fine foundation. Cumming scored 73, before falling victim to Tama Canning, who threatened an Auckland revival by then removing Gareth Hopkins first ball. Hopkins was out to the last ball of the over, which meant that Canning had to wait to attempt a hat-trick, but in the meantime, Otago lost Aaron Redmond to a run-out in the next over. Canning failed to gethis hat-trick, but he did add Mohammad Wasim to his list of scalps.But just when Auckland thought they were back in the game, Jeff Wilson struck 50 off 33 balls. With Gaffaney still going strong to finish on 101, Otago ended with their highest one-day score of 295 for 7. Gaffaney made his highest score as well, going past his previous best of 79 not out.James McMillan then rocked Auckland’s batsmen from theoutset, before Wilson joined in with the ball. Both took three wickets each to have Auckland struggling at 67 for 7. They finally limped to 143 all out.
ScorecardBoth Canterbury and Wellington were bolstered by the return of their international stars, but Stephen Fleming couldn’t do much for Wellington’s cause as they were thrashed by 92 runs at Timaru’s Aorangi Park. Nathan Astle’s presence helped Michael Papps play his way out of a form slump, as he registered his second one-day century for Canterbury, finishing on an unbeaten 129 not out.Stephen Fleming asked Canterbury to bat first, but he must have had immediate doubts about his decision when Astle and Papps launched into an assault. They had put on 168 before Astle was prised out, when a top-edged pull shot flew to midwicket. Their stand was a Canterbury record for the first wicket, beating the 151 Papps shared with Shanan Stewart last year.Craig McMillan then blasted 30 off 24 balls, and Brendon McCullum, coming in after Chris Cairns was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Ash Turner, hit 43 off 24 balls. Canterbury finished on 307 for 3.Wellington struggled in reply, losing Fleming to a stunning catch by McMillan for 5. Chris Nevin attempted to provide the anchor Wellington so sorely needed, but he was out for 45, by which time none of the batsmen with him had been able to dig in. James Franklin made 46, but with no one to support him, Wellington went down tamely in the end.
ScorecardThis rain-affected match provided far more drama than would have been expected after Northern Districts were dismissed for only 100 at Taupo. Andrew Schwass, playing his 36th one-day match for Central Districts, took 5 for 22 in 5.4overs, his career-best figures. Jacob Oram took 2 for 10from the five overs he bowled while Ewen Thompson, who wasforced to leave the field due a hamstring strain, took 2 for 7 from 5.1 overs.Daryl Tuffey then produced another of his first-over tricks by having Jamie How out third ball and with Craig Spearman and Jarrod Englefield following quickly, CD were 6 for 3. Jacob Oram and Glen Sulzberger battled through raininterruptions and a recalculation of the target under theDuckworth/Lewis system, to give some solidity to the effort.Sulzberger scored a patient 29 off 63 balls and was thepenultimate wicket to fall, with one run needed.The combined impetus by Thomson, who hit 15 off 19 balls, and Michael Mason, who scored 18 off 32, allowed CD to squeak through in the second thriller that these two sides have played out in the last fortnight.

Memories of Sri Lanka’s cricket in 2004 will fade quickly, though not because the year was uneventful. On the contrary it was an important and progressive year, but the tragic events on Boxing Day leave everything other than life and death seeming so meaningless. But if you can shake off your tsunami-inspired depression for a moment, you’ll look back on a year of more triumph than disappointment, and a team that has grown visibly in stature since Marvan Atapattu took full charge of the leadership.It all started badly, though, with Sri Lanka’s first-ever home whitewash, against Australia. The final 3-0 scoreline hid the true competitiveness between the two sides, but it also accurately reflected Sri Lanka’s weaknesses during crucial match-turning passages of play. Amazingly, Sri Lanka secured first-innings leads in all three games, but Australia’s spirit and resolve was far stronger, and they slowly but surely grasped control of each game and then ruthlessly applied the killer blow. At Kandy, powered by Sanath Jayasuriya at his adrenaline-fuelled best, Sri Lanka came within a whisker of levelling the series but were ultimately outsmarted on the final morning.The defeat left a bitter aftertaste, especially because Sri Lankans had expected their team to fare better after their rain-soaked series win in 1999 against Steve Waugh’s team. Knives were being sharpened and Hashan Tillakaratne, the Test captain, was the natural fall guy. He resigned at the press conference that followed the final game. The decision to appoint Tillakaratne as a caretaker leader proved as misguided at the end as it seemed at the outset. Although he was an extremely determined batsman (and at 37 he is still searching for one final comeback), Tillakaratne was an insecure and uninspiring leader and the team stagnated under his charge.So there was a silver lining to the humiliating whitewash. Atapattu’s accession to the throne could be delayed no longer, and the team started to rebuild in Zimbabwe. A new approach was agreed upon that encouraged players to take greater responsibility for their preparation. The Tillakaratne focus on results, particularly the avoidance of defeat, was reduced and a lighter, more relaxed mood was encouraged. Practice sessions, for example, were snappier but more intense.It took Atapattu just a handful of weeks, with back-up from his deputy Mahela Jayawardene, who gelled together the younger elements of the team well, and coach John Dyson, who was starting to win over those sceptical about his lack of top-class coaching experience, to pull together the team and reverse the decline. Atapattu may have developed a reputation for being shy and mild-mannered, but he proved to be a strong, clear-headed and straight-talking captain. There were no favourites in the dressing-room and all the players knew exactly what was required of them. A new togetherness soon became evident.

Zimbabwe, missing most of their senior players, provided predictably weak resistance and Sri Lanka duly held together their focus long enough to win the five one-dayers and two Tests with ease. But the tour will be remembered less for the quiet revival in the dressing-room, or the silverware won against schoolboys, and more for the chucking storm that had engulfed Muttiah Muralitharan and marred what should have been his proudest day, when he overtook Courtney Walsh’s 519-wicket world record.Chris Broad, the match referee, had waited for the last day of the last Test against Australia to report Murali’s doosra as suspect. The decision created a furore in Sri Lanka, where there was disbelief that a third chucking controversy was now threatening Murali’s career. The debate was emotional and, at times, regrettably racially tinged. But the biomechanical boffins at the University of Western Australia vindicated Broad’s decision in the end, discovering an elbow bend far in excess of the permitted levels of tolerance.But while Murali’s detractors gloated “I told you so” with some glee, the situation was not so clear-cut. Murali’s doosra may have been technically illegal, but there was a growing body of experts warning that the ICC’s permitted tolerance levels were flawed. As the ICC Champions Trophy was to reveal later in the year, Murali was one of many bowlers, including those previously believed to have pure textbook actions, who were exceeding tolerance levels. In fact, Murali turned out to be one of the lesser offenders. The emotional doosra debate rumbled on for months, and only started to calm when the ICC agreed to a thorough review of the current laws.Murali was so upset by the whole controversy, and so angered by the comments of Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard, who labelled him a chucker, that he opted out of a two-Test tour to Darwin and Cairns in northern Australia in July. Sri Lanka struggled in his absence in the first Test, mainly because of the green seamer-friendly surface at Darwin, which suited Australia. However, helped by some fiery bowling from rookie Lasith Malinga, who caused a sensation with his weird round-arm action, they fought bravely for a draw in the second Test, a match that proved to be a turning point for the team in the year.The Sri Lankans were forced to rush back quickly for the Asia Cup, the first such tournament for four years. The rapprochement between India and Pakistan created a window of opportunity for the Asian Cricket Council and a six-nation tournament was squeezed into an already congested summer. Thanks to a misconceived tournament structure the Sri Lankans were at least able to workout their jet-lag during a first round that mattered little. But after a rusty performance against an impressively spirited and well-organised UAE team, Sri Lanka hit a rich vein of form. India, the pre-tournament favourites, were struggling to regain their early-year form after a layoff and Sri Lanka seized the initiative. Murali had returned but his performances were overshadowed by the journeymen bowlers, Nuwan Zoysa and Upul Chandana, who helped Murali and Chaminda Vaas form a genuinely strong attack. With Sanath Jayasuriya finding one-day form after a lean run, Sri Lanka lifted the trophy.By now, all was rosy in the Sri Lanka camp. The atmosphere was open and upbeat and in complete contrast to the guarded and introverted feel of a few months earlier. Even the board was starting to recover from an embarrassing start to the year when its president, Thilanga Sumathipala, was thrown behind bars after becoming embroiled in an immigration-fraud case. The new provincial tournament had been a success, providing a solid basis for lifting the standards of domestic cricket, and a new super-intensive programme for the A team ensured more exposure for upcoming players. The board was also able to safeguard its financial future, which had been imperilled by an ongoing legal dispute with WSG Nimbus, when Taj Television signed a new four-year deal worth $50 million.

Sri Lanka’s good run continued against South Africa despite a shoulder injury to Murali. Jayawardene piled on the pressure at Galle, batting magnificently, but with Murali obviously struggling with his injury, South Africa escaped. In Colombo, though, this time powered by a brilliant double-century from Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka were more ruthless and South Africa folded. The momentum was retained during the five-match ODI series and by the time the ICC Champions Trophy arrived, Sri Lanka’s confidence was sky-high.But Sri Lanka have never been renowned for their prowess in the freezing cold, and when the English weather turned autumnal their odds lengthened. Had their catching held firm at the Rose Bowl they might well have still prospered. But Jayawardene, ironically Sri Lanka’s best slip catcher, grassed a simple chance off Andrew Flintoff early on, and Sri Lanka eventually lost control. Sri Lanka returned quickly to winning ways, stealing the PakTel Cup from Pakistan, the hosts, despite losses in the first round.Then followed the biggest selection controversy of the year as Ashantha de Mel, the new chairman of an unwieldy seven-man selection committee, shocked the team management with a public attack, accusing them of standing in the way of the development of young players. de Mel, determined that youngsters be blooded, axed Tillakaratne Dilshan from the squad. The move incensed Atapattu, and helped Pakistan level the Test series at Karachi. Ironically, it was the elder statesman, Jayasuriya, who dominated the series in what proved to be one of his best years (1130 runs at 56.5). Jayasuriya was Sri Lanka’s most successful Test batsman of the year, but Sangakkara (1114 runs at 55.7) was close behind, while Atapattu (966 runs at 48.3) and Jayawardene (861 runs at 45.32) also had good years.The curtain fell with a limp performance against New Zealand, but as the Kiwis knocked off a measly target with ease, the giant tsunami reached the east coast of Sri Lanka and circled around the south coast and up the west. Within the space of a few overs more people had been killed than during two decades of civil war. Cricket was suddenly irrelevant, and Sri Lanka’s players naturally wanted to return immediately to join the humanitarian effort. The year 2005 will be dominated by their contributions off the field.

The organisation was launched in September 2004 seeking to raise the profile of Kenyan Cricket worldwide by providing financial and skilled assistance to Kenyan cricket at all levels in readiness for Kenya to achieve Test status.Among the hundred or more guests at the function were Kenyan sporting heroes from the hockey and cricket teams, Indian cricket legend Farokh Engineer, the current Kenya cricket captain Hitesh Modi, Sam Ochieng of the Kenya Community Support Network, and a host of prominent Kenyan businessmen in the UK.Until Kenya becomes a Test-playing nation, it will not fully partake from the International “pot”. In spite of doing so well in the last World Cup, it does not enjoy sufficient financial support to help develop local cricket. To become a Test-playing nation, it needs a strong cricketing infrastructure. The development of grounds, umpires, scorers and facilities for spectators at grounds and the development of youth and women’s cricket – all need financing. It’s a “chicken-and-egg” situation.In 1999, Kenya played against some of the Lancashire League clubs in their warm-up matches before the World Cup in England. Thanks entirely to the efforts of Surinder Biant of Rochdale, the local Metropolitan Borough Council raised all the money necessary to finance Kenya’s nine-day programme. The idea that Kenya needed Friends overseas like him took root. Harilal Shah, the manager of the team at the time, carried this forward, and Kenya Cricket Association stalwarts Jimmy Rayani and Jasmer Singh supported the idea of forming a body called Friends of Kenya Cricket, to be set up in cricket-playing countries around the world.If you are passionate about cricket, and like the idea of supporting the Kenyan cricket team on tour, or simply want to volunteer your skills, then join Friends of Kenya Cricket UK, and help develop the game in Kenya … make a difference.Benefits

The former Australian batting great Greg Chappell has warned that the dropping of Darren Lehmann may signal the start of a purge of players ahead of the next World Cup, in the West Indies in 2007.Lehmann’s international career seems to be at an end after he was left out of Australia’s one-day squad for next month’s tour of New Zealand next month. At 35, he is only two years older than Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Michael Kasprowicz, while Test stalwarts Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne are also well into their thirties.”I think it just puts everyone on notice,” Chappell, a former Test captain and selector himself, told the Sydney Daily Telegraph. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, it’s all about your performance now and looking to the future. A lot of guys in that squad will be on the wrong side of their thirties by the time the next World Cup rolls around, so there may well be other changes as well. They [selectors] can’t afford to make half-a-dozen changes in one go, so they’ve obviously looked at shoring up some gaps right now, and have got on with it.”The Australian selectors have proved ruthless in recent years, axeing the Waugh twins from the one-day team before the 2003 World Cup, and jettisoning Andy Bichel and Michael Bevan – until recently seen as the world’s best one-day player – before the current season. “History shows that they’ve tapped Allan Border, David Boon, Ian Healy, Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh on the shoulder and have basically told them ‘Right-ho guys, it’s time to move on and let the next generation through’, and I think this is pretty similar,” said Chappell. “You’ve got to freshen up every so often.”

Jeremy Snape, the former England off-spinner, has signed a new three-year deal with Leicestershire. Snape, 31, who played in ten ODI’s from 2001 to 2002, joined Leicestershire in 2003 after playing for Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire.”He is a very valuable and experienced member of our squad,” James Whitaker, their former captain and now director of cricket, told the official club website. Snape will be a busy man this summer; he is continuing his studies for a Masters degree in sports psychology at Loughborough University, and hopes to open up a practice when he retires from cricket.Snape played an important role in Leicestershire’s Twenty20 success last summer, with his flighted off-spin and useful lower-order batting, hitting the winning runs in the final against Surrey at Edgbaston.

Cricket Scotland have announced that former England bowling coach Bob Cottam will be joining their coaching staff in the lead-up to the all important ICC Trophy competition to be held in Ireland in July 2005.Cottam has been in Edinburgh this week working with the Scotland’s players and it has been confirmed that he will spend a further 30 days with the squad both before and during the tournament which will decide qualification for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.In a 13-year first-class career Cottam took over 1000 wickets for Hampshire and Northants and played four Tests taking 14 wickets at an average of 23.35. After retiring he coached Warwickshire and Somerset before becoming England’s bowling coach from 1998 to 2001.Scotland coach Andy Moles said he was delighted at the prospect of teaming up with a former mentor from his days at Warwickshire. "I have personal experience of working with Bob from my playing days, and having spoken to some bowlers with whom he has worked it is clear he will be a valuable asset to the Scotland coaching staff,” he explained. “He has worked with many world class cricketers, and his appointment is further proof that Cricket Scotland is doing everything it can to ensure success in the forthcoming World Cup qualifying tournament".For his part, Cottam was “delighted to be renewing acquaintance with Andy and I have already been extremely impressed with the attitude of the players here in the short time I have spent with them. I am looking forward to helping the team meet their objectives over the coming season".

1st day

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Shane Warne shone with the bat, striking his maiden first-class century from just 72 balls, after Hampshire’s top order had again slumped. Their collapse to 130 for 7 included another failure for Kevin Pietersen, caught at second slip by Martin van Jaarsveld. Simon Katich (56) offered some resistance but it wasn’t until Warne and Tim Burrows, the debutant wicketkeeper, joined forces that Hampshire’s fortunes took an upturn. Burrows was a perfect foil for the flamboyant Warne and they added 131. Warne’s century is the early leader for the fastest hundred of the season and means he is no longer left with a highest first-class score of 99 against New Zealand at Perth. “Now I’ve got the first one out of the way, I am hoping there will be a few more around the corner,” Warne told . “It was an ambition, I’ve got 5000 first-class runs but wondered if this would happen. I was getting very nervous out there.” The Hampshire innings raced along at almost four-and-a-half runs an over and Kent were not much slower. David Fulton led the reply but Sean Ervine bowled Robert Key for 20 to continue a poor day for England batsmen. A wicket apiece for Chris Tremlett and Richard Logan leaves the match evenly balanced.
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Surrey put their horror showing against Nottinghamshire behind them and piled up an imposing total on a run-filled day at The Oval. Alistair Brown capitalised on the solid foundation laid by Scott Newman’s 117 to strike a dashing century of his own at better than a run-a-ball. Newman’s innings was the first time this summer he had managed to convert a solid start into a significant score and showed many of the skills that earned him Academy recognition two winters ago. Rikki Clarke, short of runs so far this summer, was on course for a century until he was caught behind. Glamorgan were hampered by a depleted attack with Darren Thomas able to bowl only three balls before being forced off with a groin injury. Brown and James Benning took advantage and added 114 for the sixth wicket. Benning made his second fifty in two matches and because of Surrey’s pace of scoring the loss of two late wickets did not affect the balance of power.
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Middlesex were indebted to their middle-order as they posted a competitive total at Lord’s. Plenty of batsmen got a start, including Andrew Strauss, who reached 27 before he fell to a miscued pull off Steve Kirby. Owais Shah (63) and Ed Joyce (75) cracked attractive half-centuries – Joyce’s innings continued his prolific start to the season and he has now passed 500 runs in only six innings. But each time a significant stand threatened to develop Gloucestershire struck back. However, Middlesex bat a long way down and this was evident as Paul Weekes and Ben Scott added 119 for the seventh wicket. Jon Lewis returned to mop up the tail and although Middlesex will be disappointed that none of their batsmen converted into three figures they have a useful total to bowl at.2nd day

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Warwickshire’s unbeaten County Championship record – dating back to the start of the 2004 season – is under serious threat after Sussex took control of their meeting at Hove. Some stubborn lower-order resistance propelled Sussex passed 400, although progress was slow with James Kirtley facing 164 balls for 30. A more aggressive contribution came from Johann van der Wath, who struck 34 from 52 balls. The tail was able to take advantage of a Warwickshire attack missing Ashley Giles, who sat out play with a muscle injury in his right leg. It is not thought to be serious but he is awaiting the results of a scan. However, he may bat with a runner and his contributions will be needed after Warwickshire struggled to 141 for 5. Once Sussex had broken the opening stand of 75 they chipped away steadily. Mushtaq Ahmed twirled through 17 overs, claiming Nick Knight and Alex Loudon.