van Jaarsveld punishes Surrey

Billy Godleman made 45 in Middlesex's 252, comfortably passing Somerset who declared - injudiciously - on 50 for 8 © Martin Williamson

Division One

Kent enjoyed an excellent second day against Surrey at Croydon, dismissing the home side for 166 before Martin van Jaarsveld smashed 127. That Surrey made it past 150 owed much to Matt Nicholson's enterprising 48 from 53 balls as Hall and Yasir Arafat (3 for 49) ran through their middle order. In reply Joe Denly drove his way to 85 but it was van Jaarsveld who took the game away from Surrey in his splendid 175-ball 127 as Kent closed on a healthy 269 for 3.

Stuart Law held firm with a fine 119 in Lancashire's 330 on the second day against Sussex at Hove. Openers Paul Horton and Mark Chilton both fell cheaply and Brad Hodge could only add 43. But Law dropped anchor and at last found support in Luke Sutton (40), the pair putting on 87 for the sixth wicket. Law's hundred came from 141 balls before Rana Naved-ul-Hasan induced a thin edge to the wicketkeeper.

At the end of the second day at Edgbaston, only 50 overs had been bowled in Warwickshire's match against Hampshire with the visitors struggling on 121 for 5. Michael Brown batted combatively for his 39, top-scoring for Hampshire before he fell to Timothy Groenewald. James Anyon picked up the key scalp of John Crawley and finished with tidy figures of 2 for 47.

Justin Langer's decision to declare Somerset's innings on 50 for 8in a bid to expose Middlesex on a damp pitch backfired spectacularly on the second day at Lord's. Resuming on 36 for 4, Somerset immediately lost James Hildreth who was shortly followed by Peter Trego. Their last hope, Ian Blackwell, only added a further four to his overnight 10 and Somerset were facing capitulation - in stark contrast to the last time these two sides met, just over a month ago, when Langer's 315 led Somerset to a Himalayan 850 for 7. Today, expecting his bowlers to wreak havoc on a moist Lord's surface, Langer declared. But Billy Godleman (45) and Nick Compton (47) passed Somerset's total without alarm. Bar Ed Joyce's 42 and Tim Murtagh's 36, there was little of substance from Middlesex yet they still took a first innings lead of 202. At stumps, Somerset were struggling in their second innings on 27 for 2, some 175 runs behind with two days remaining.

Gareth Rees hit his maiden first-class hundred for Glamorgan who were bowled out for 352 on the second day against Essex at Swansea. Rees, resuming on 54, brought up his hundred from 298 balls with ten fours but lost his overnight partner, Mike Powell, early on in proceedings for 62. David Hemp, the Glamorgan captain, glided nine fours in his 52 before becoming one of five victims for Danish Kaneria who ended with 5 for 112 from a marathon 49 overs.

Tom New fought his way to 51 for Leicestershire on the second day at Oakham against Nottinghamshire, but rain cut the amount of play possible to just 43 overs. New lost Darren Robinson, HD Ackerman and Arno Jacobs but found an ally in Paul Nixon with whom he put on 70 for the fourth wicket. New fell to Paul Franks for 51 as Leicestershire went to stumps on 147 for 4.