County cricket – as it happened

Morning all

10.29am: Welcome back to the County cricket live blog, where the sun is hesitatingly making itself known across the country. We have Mark Pennell reporting from Surrey v Lancashire at Guildford, Ed Malyon at Uxbridge for Middlesex v Nottinghamshire plus Richard Rae at Edgbaston for Warwickshire v Sussex.

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10.52am: Well aren't we lucky? After somehow evading the rain until late yesterday evening we now have a beautiful day at Uxbridge and while the Duke was here overnight we are all set for an 11am start, as scheduled, writes Ed Malyon. A bit more of a crowd expected today, with optimism reaching such heights that there is an ice-cream van here, flogging his best in frozen dairy and fruit products.

Notts will resume in a strong position and with the wicket drying out and minimal cloud cover Middlesex will once more be cursing the bad luck that has plagued them all season. The weather is, of course, changeable, we are still in England after all, but the visitors should be looking to post a lead of at least 100 by the end of their first innings. Anything north of 150 should win them this match.

11.28am: Surrey's decision not to take the new ball immediately on day two in Guildford has reaped early rewards with the prized scalp of Lancashire' s South Africa Test batsman Ashwell Prince, writes Mark Pennell.

The left-hander had moved his score on to 34 before attempting to counter- attack against the spin of Murali Kartik. Advancing down the pitch, Prince was bamboozled by flight and spin and dragged his shot to deep mid-wicket where Zander de Bruyn ran in to pocket a comfortable catch.

It is a beautiful morning in the county town of Surrey and another decent crowd at Woodbridge Road will be anticipating a rare Surrey batting performance from Kevin Pietersen, who will be looking to find form ahead of the forthcoming Test series against his native South Africa.

11.41am: A full day's play is on the cards for Richard Rae at Edgbaston, where Warwickshire - a point behind league leaders Notts with a game in hand going into this round of matches - face mid-table Sussex.

Which is remarkable in itself, given last night's CB40 game between the sides had to be called off at 4.30pm: so much water has fallen on the outfield in the last five weeks, it's got to the point where it's struggling to soak up any more. In that respect, constant use of the blotter hasn't really helped - apparently it tends to compact the turf, thus making it less absorbent. A net has been set up on one side of the square, and it didn't take long for the bowlers to start leaving black footmarks.

The schedule remained unchanged, however - the game starts at noon - and Ashley Giles tells readers of this morning's Birmingham Mail the league table means nothing in July: the Bears coach wants his batsmen to give their formidable seam attack a bit more to bowl at in the second half of the season. With Ian Westwood, Will Porterfield, Jim Troughton and Tim Ambrose yet to score a century he has a sort of point, but conditions have hardly helped. Batsmen are struggling everywhere in this benighted summer, and will continue to do so. Looking at the top run scorers, other than Nick Compton, and with honourable mentions for the likes of Michael Lumb, Ashwell Prince, Chris Rogers, Chris Nash, James Hildreth and Joe Denly, no-one is exactly piling up runs.

The toss is taking place as I write, Troughton in his immaculate whites, Mike Yardy in T-shirt and shorts: Troughton wins it and signals the Bears will bat.

Teams: Warwicks are Chopra, Porterfield, Bell, Maddy, Troughton (his injured back is OK again), Ambrose, Clarke, Woakes, Barker, Patel and Chris Wright (Westwood missing out for Bell) and Sussex play Nash, Joyce, Goodwin, Prior, Wells, Luke Wright, Yardy, Naved Arif, Magoffin, Anyon and Panesar.

11.44am: So Ian Bell's request to play for Warwickshire against Sussex was granted. As Andy Wilson reported yesterday, Andy Flower spoke gushingly of the Midlands maestro:

I think we should respect the way he has grown as a player and rejoice in it. He is a lovely player to watch for all cricket lovers.

Below the line, Ed Malyon has noted a touch of inconsistency regarding England players who have been made available for county selection:

Apparently Eoin Morgan also asked to play yesterday but the ECB said no. Angus Fraser said that it's best not to have players hurtling down the motorway late at night after playing until 10.30pm - yet Samit is on the Notts side.

So there you have it.

11.53am: It's a slow fifty from Michael Lumb, but a fifty nonetheless, and unlike Andrew Strauss yesterday his teammates have decided to stick around and bat with him instead of dreamily wafting at deliveries outside off-stump, writes Ed Malyon.

In the first hour of play yesterday we had five wickets but today under the
warming sun it looks unlikely we'll get any, and Andrew Strauss put down
Adam Voges in the only chance of this morning. Notts rumble on to 144/4.

Ed adds, below the line:

The curse strikes again! I had just filed how there had been no wickets in the first hour here and didn't look like being and then Tim Murtagh teases a nick out of Michael Lumb and Simpson takes a marvellous left-handed catch diving all the way in front of second slip.

11.58am: Ravi Bopara is considered the favourite to bat at 6 for England against South Africa next week (presuming no last-minute David Beasant style injuries). Other candidates include Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow. On the latter, LongHop comments:

Bairstow makes his case for the England #6 position well by edging behind to Bates for a Golden Duck.

12.05pm: Surrey's Zander de Bruyn continues to hold centre stage in terms of the second day action at Guildford having played a part in both Lancashire wickets to fall, writes Mark Pennell.

The South African took the catch to send his countryman Ashwell Prince packing in the fifth over of the day and it was de Bruyn's athletic fielding that has just accounted for Tom Smith.

Playing his first championship innings since May 5 owing to a hamstring injury Smith, an all-rounder who bats left-handed yet bowls with his right, pushed a firm drive toward wide mid-off and set off expecting the stroke to reap at least one run. However, de Bruyn had other ideas and wheeled away to his right, swooped and threw in one movement and plucked out middle stump with his direct hit to defeat Smith's full-length dive for the crease.

With their score on 279 for five, Lancashire are in danger of rapidly undoing their good, stoical work with the bat of the opening day.

12.20pm: Lancashire's second day demise continues in Guildford and at this rate Kevin Pietersen could be batting soon after lunch, writes Mark Pennell.

The visitors lost their third wicket of the morning session with their score on 298 when Gareth Cross departed for 13 after playing a major part in his own demise. Aiming to short-arm pull a shortish ball from Stuart Meaker, Cross looked incredulously to the skies after he picked out the fielder at square leg, Zafar Ansari, and was forced to trudge off toward the opinion.

Lancashire raised their 300 in Meaker's next over for a third batting bonus points, but the visitors will be disappointed by their morning's work thus far.

12.46pm: Mark Pennell has posted this update below the line:

"Glen Chapple has just shown Gareth Cross what he should have done earlier. Instead of the half-hearted jab that led to Cross's demise and a catch to square leg, Chapple gave a similar delivery from Stuart Meaker the full treatment for six into the seats on the Woodbridge Road side of the ground. Incredibly, for this compact outground, it was for first six of the game and it came after 100 overs."

12.50pm: Richard Rae comments on a steady start for Warwickshire:

"Warwicks 18-0 at Edgbaston. A little movement in the air for Magoffin and Anyon, nothing off what looks a pretty good pitch. it should be, it was set aside for the abandoned one-dayer between England and Australia."

12.53pm: With the weather forecast as it is, Middlesex have a far better chance of not losing this game than they deserve, writes Ed Malyon.

Nottinghamshire are making hay (runs, to you and me) while the sun shines as some pretty uninspiring bowling from Corey Collymore and Toby Roland-Jones has allowed them to amass a lead that is now 100 and heading well north of that.

The tall but inexperienced Roland-Jones has failed to find his length and both his half-trackers and his half-volleys have found the ropes from the receptive visiting batsmen.

Middlesex haven't helped themselves in the field either, having dropped four catches in this innings while Notts held on to all of theirs.

198/5 at the moment.

1.10pm: Lancashire's seventh wicket partners Glen Chapple and Steven Croft have just marched in to their lunch break having helped restore the equilibrium here at Guildford, writes Mark Pennell.

The pair rattled their way to a 50 stand in 10.1 overs to help the visitors reach 356 for six at the interval and wrestle the initiative from Surrey, who had taken three wickets earlier in the session. Croft posted a workmanlike half-century from 94 balls when he leg-glanced a Stuart Meaker full-toss for his seventh boundary of the stay, while Chapple showed his attacking intent by pulling a flat six into the public seating at deep mid-wicket.

1.12pm: "And that, Gentlemen, is lunch" says umpire Shelley, and Nottinghamshire will feast on their midday platters in the knowledge that they are taking the game away from Middlesex, writes Ed Malyon.

A morning session in which they added 95 runs for the loss of only one wicket - Michael Lumb for 50 - has given them a lead of 111 and Adam Voges brough up his own half-century just minutes before the break.

Andrew Strauss, fielding at mid-wicket towards the later part of the morning session, looked on as the bowlers toiled away on the flattening wicket - offering only a fraction of the assistance that it had done when he was batting yesterday morning.

That is the nature of the game though, and the rain can still save Middlesex if they put up enough of a fight.

Nottinghamshire 209/5 at lunch.

2.12pm: Some updates below the line courtesy of Richard Rae in Birmingham. Good news for Bell fans:

Breakthrough at Edgbaston - Porterfield out leg before on back foot to Monty, looked pretty plumb. In comes Ian Bell and clips his first ball from Monty for a couple. Warwicks now 68-1, Porterfield out for 43.

Bell and Prior chatting away to each other after a Monty over which saw Bell use his feet to get down the wicket three balls out of six. Looks absolutely brimful of confidence.

2.17pm: Ed Malyon was asked by one of our regular commenters not to post any more updates from Uxbridge lest they jinx Notts' reply, but he's bravely taken to the comments and writes:

100 partnership here and Rogers responds by bringing on Malan to bowl. Make of that what you will.

3.01pm: Surrey have struck again at Guildford to break a stubborn seventh- wicket stand worth 121 between Steven Croft and Glen Chapple, writes Mark Pennell.

Jonathan Lewis, with his first wicket of the game, broke Lancastrian resolve by trapping Chapple leg before for 46 as the right-hander worked across the line. In the meantime Croft has become the second visiting batsman to score a hundred here at Woodbridge Road by following in the footsteps of opening day century-maker Paul Horton.

Croft moved to three figures in style with a sweetly timed drive through extra cover against Stuart Meaker to reach the landmark from 160 balls and with a dozen boundaries.

Drizzle is starting to fall, however, and the expectation of watching Kevin Pietersen bat for Surrey this afternoon is beginning to recede.

3.07pm: The applause and cheers when Middlesex finally did get another wicket were verging on the ironic, writes Ed Malyon. A typically unorthodox Chris Read innings was ended on 71 by a Toby Roland-Jones ball that stopped on him slightly, and unable to adjust, Read simply looped it back to the bowler who gratefully clutched on.

The lead is 190 for Notts and with Adam Voges unbeaten on 94 at the other end the punishment could go on for some time longer. 294/6 now, and starting to get a bit greyer.

3.10pm: Richard Rae has news of a wicket at Edgbaston:

Monty strikes again, third ball after lunch Chopra pushes forward and is fired out leg before by umpire Steve Gale. Chopra unimpressed but while he was well forward, Hawkeye has changed the game in that respect. Warwicks 77-2. Monty now 2 for 14, in his 11th over.

3.38pm: Sounds like an excellent contest between Monty Panesar and Ian Bell at Birmingham. Graem comments:

Panesar v Bell must surely be the contest of the day. I wish I was there.

Richard Rae replies:

Long may it last because it's genuinely outstanding stuff. Bell won latest round - first taking two steps down and hitting Monty over mid-on, then rocking back and lashing him past cover point. It brought up the 50 partnership with Troughton, Bell's share 36.

3.51pm: Tea was taken ever-so-slightly early as Nottinghamshire were all out for 329 runs, writes Ed Malyon.

Tim Murtagh ended up with four richly-deserved wickets and was certainly the best bowler for the hosts while Toby Roland-Jones also ended with four having improved in his last spell and mopped up the tail. Andrew Strauss was straight in and got his pads on to open with Sam Robson but along came the rain and we are currently without play.

Whether this will be the end of the day is not yet clear but if it is then it's another day where Notts have had the better of things, the main question will be whether they batted too long given the supposedly worsening weather tomorrow and Saturday.

4.08pm: Tea has been taken but we may yet be done for the day at a distinctly soggy Guildford, writes Mark Pennell.

The players have yet to appear since they scurried for cover at 3pm with Lancashire in good shape at 425 for seven. The rain has intensified since and the skies have darkened, leaving the groundstaff with little choice but to cover the entire square as well as the bowlers' run ups.

At least the rain has helped bolster attendances at the book launch for Stephen Chalke's latest cricket book on Micky Stewart. which is being held in one of the corporate marquees at the Woodbridge Road ground. Entitled 'The changing face of cricket', there can be no doubt that the game has changes greatly since Micky's days – we just wish this summer's inclement weather would as well.

4.12pm: Take down the bunting, Ian Bell is out. Richard Rae:

"I don't believe it - Bell's out! Ball after stroking Magoffin through extra cover for his tenth boundary, he mis-times a pull and gives Chris Nash a simple catch at midwicket. 157-3."

4.37pm: Play abandoned for the day here and after one innings apiece, Nottinghamshire have amassed 231 more runs than Middlesex, writes Ed Malyon. Andrew Strauss is next in should they get out tomorrow, however the forecast is not terrific. Farewell from Uxbridge.

4.38pm: The rain has also arrived in Surrey. Mark Pennell comments:

It's off for the day at Guildford after umpires Peter Hartley and Neil Mallender declared there would be no further play due ro heavy rain. Lancashire had reached 425 for seven when the heavens opened at 3pm with Steven Croft unbeaten on 104, his second century of the season.

5.19pm: There is scant likelihood of further play at Birmingham. Richard Rae comments:

Tea at Edgbaston, Warwickshire 175-3, but it's raining. I'm afraid I would not be entirely surprised if we don't get back on.