Hodge makes a strong point

Lancashire 359 for 5 (Hodge 161, Chilton 93, Sutton 24*, Hogg 5*) v Middlesex
Scorecard

Brad Hodge led a strong Lancashire batting display at Lord's © Getty Images

After this current round of Championship there will be a mass exodus of Australian cricketers from English shores as they head for the more exotic surroundings of Cairns and Darwin for the Top End 'A' series. But they are intent on leaving their mark and none more so that Brad Hodge, at Lancashire, who started his final match before departure with an elegant 161 at Lord's.

Mix a hungry Australian batsman who wants his Test place back with a flat pitch and the bowlers are in for a tough time. Hodge is still seething at his omission from the Australian team following a double century against South Africa, at Perth, in December. He has stated that he would have preferred a full season at Old Trafford but realises he has to keep himself at the forefront of the selectors' minds.

"I was hoping to play pretty much a full season here, win a few things and go back to Australia with 1500 runs under my belt," he said recently, "but that is not going to be the case now. This is a tournament that I have to do well in for my future as a Test cricketer."

He will certainly be travelling back Down Under with impressive form in the bag; the century against Middlesex - his second Championship hundred in five matches - has carried him to 372 runs at 74. It was measured innings full of crisp driving, powerful pulling and well-timed cuts. Three figures came off 137 balls although he was rarely extended by the Middlesex attack.

Chris Silverwood has been a man reborn since his winter move from Yorkshire and bowled at a decent lick - especially with the second new ball - but the pitch is true in pace and bounce, which allowed Hodge to bide his time and wait for the loose deliveries. His most dismissive shots were the front-foot pulls when the pacemen dropped short and they highlighted the comfortable conditions. There were only the occasional alarms - mostly against the impressive Silverwood - and Middlesex will be rueing Eoin Morgan's missed shy at the stumps when Hodge had 19.

Mark Chilton, the Lancashire captain, was the other mainstay of their innings with an adhesive 93. Chilton is rarely the most fluent of batsmen to watch, but his 201-ball effort laid a solid foundation and he also has a particular liking for Middlesex bowlers. In 2003 and 2004 he scored centuries and appeared set to make it three in three matches until Silverwood surprised him with some extra bounce, Owais Shah pouching a neat catch, low, at first slip ending a stand of 118 with Hodge.

There was precious little available for the Middlesex attack and wickets were hard graft. Scott Styris claimed the first when Iain Sutcliffe was taken at slip and was rewarded for his nagging accuracy when Stuart Law played an uncharacteristically limp pull to find deep square-leg. Johann Louw also chipped in as Mal Loye was squared up and taken at second slip on the last ball before lunch.

However, Hodge proved much harder to shift. He eased past his previous Championship best for Lancashire of 115 and it needed a second glace to confirm that Mohammad Ali squeezed one through a flat-footed drive four overs before the close. But, as Hodge prepares to head home and prove some points, he has already made a very clear statement.