Rain leaves Strauss waiting

England Test captain Andrew Strauss was still waiting for the opportunity to play himself back into form after rain and bad light wiped out all but 10.1 overs of the second day of the County Championship match between Middlesex and Gloucestershire at Uxbridge.

Strauss has scored two centuries for Middlesex this season - 151 in the opening match of the Sri Lanka tour at Uxbridge and 103 in a Championship game against Glamorgan at Lord's - but he made only 27 runs in four innings in the Test series against Sri Lanka.

He did not help his cause when he dropped Ian Cockbain at first slip on Monday when he had scored eight because Cockbain went on to make his maiden first-class century and was still there at stumps with 121 of Gloucestershire's 402 for 7.

Cockbain, who has so far faced 221 balls and hit 15 fours and a six, and Jon Lewis, who is unbeaten on 41, added 34 in three brief sessions, two before lunch, one after tea, to take their unbroken eighth-wicket stand to 72 and give Gloucestershire maximum batting points.