Trott and Hain punish Northants

Warwickshire 413 for 3 (Hain 148*, Trott 128*, Chopra 53) lead Northamptonshire 273 by 140 runs
Scorecard

Jonathan Trott reached a new milestone in his rehabilitation as Warwickshire stepped up their challenge for LV= County Championship prize money on the second day against Division One stragglers Northamptonshire at Edgbaston.

A typically proficient innings took the England batsman to his first hundred on his home ground since he was forced to leave the Ashes tour last winter through a stress-related illness.

Sam Hain, Warwickshire's 19-year-old batting discovery, also completed a near-flawless fourth Championship century in his debut season and at the halfway stage in the contest the most likely outcome is an 11th defeat for Northamptonshire.

For the 11th match out of 14 this season they conceded at least one individual century as Warwickshire cruised past the visitors' total of 273 and opened up a lead of 140 on closing at 413 for 3.

With the fourth-wicket stand so far worth 271, Trott has collected 17 fours and a six in his 128 not out and Hain, who made his maiden century against Northants in June, accelerated in the final session to an unbeaten 148 having hit 20 fours and a six.

In a matter of weeks Trott has again become the run-hungry batsman who took county attacks apart until his move into the international arena curtailed his service to Warwickshire.

Having scored two one-day hundreds in a season for the first time since 2008, he has now hit two Championship centuries in a summer for the first time since making his Test debut against Australia five years ago.

In many ways the day was the story of Northants' unhappy season in the top-flight. Having been reasonably competitive in restricting Warwickshire to 76 for 2 in the morning session, they inevitably felt the pressure of being a bowler down.

A back problem kept David Willey off the field all day and in his absence the attack was gradually ripped apart by a team chasing a performance-related pot of cash.

The difference between third, their position now, and second, currently occupied by Nottinghamshire, is more than £100,000.

When Warwickshire resumed at 79 for 1, Varun Chopra got to 53 with his ninth four but this proved to be his last scoring shot before Neil Wagner got one to bounce and leave the home skipper for a routine catch by Adam Rossington.

William Porterfield, meanwhile, was almost becalmed, contributing only 17 in 21 overs before he was lbw for 46, a deserved success for offspinner James Middlebrook in a 20-over stint.

From that point, the closest Northants came to a wicket was when Trott, on 48, chanced a single to mid-on and received the benefit in a close call when Kyle Coetzer's throw hit the stumps.

In a sign of maturity, Hain was content to take 34 balls to get off the mark, but once under way he matched his partner - they are lookalikes in their style and mannerisms - in setting a new fourth-wicket record for this fixture.

Their hundreds came up in successive overs. Trott pinged his 13th four through midwicket from the 173rd ball he faced and Hain got there in two fewer deliveries when quietly pushing a single to mid-on.