Pietersen fails as Sussex fightback

Sussex 252 and 101 for 2 (Ward 58*) lead Hampshire 280 (Pothas 84, Kirtley 4-54) by 73 runs
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This rollercoaster of a match continued at Hove as Sussex worked themselves into a promising position after Hampshire only managed to secure a slender first-innings advantage. The much-anticipated appearance of Kevin Pietersen amounted to nothing as he was trapped lbw, playing across the line to James Kirtley, for a duck. When Robin Martin-Jenkins had John Crawley caught behind Hampshire were struggling on 130 for 5 and in danger of not getting up to Sussex's 252. But Nic Pothas held firm and received good attacking support from Sean Ervine and Shane Warne. Pothas ensured a small lead before becoming one of Mushtaq Ahmed's two victims. Chris Tremlett was soon in the wickets again, as Warne snapped up Richard Montgomerie at slip, but a determined half-century from Ian Ward leaves the game finely balanced.

Middlesex 167 for 6 (Joyce 68*) trail Nottinghamshire 546 (Franks 104*, Richardson 7-113) by 379 runs
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A century from Paul Franks and an incisive spell from Greg Smith gave Nottinghamshire complete control at Lord's. Greg Smith struck twice with the new ball, but it was Ryan Sidebottom who claimed the vital wicket of Andrew Strauss, who offered no stroke as Middlesex slumped to 38 for 3, in reply to Nottinghamshire's huge total. The two Ed's - Smith and Joyce - started to rebuild the innings before Smith edged to the wicketkeeper to end a promising start to his Middlesex career. Two wickets for Mark Ealham in the closing overs of the day reinforced the visitor's stranglehold on the game. Resuming in the morning, Nottinghamshire moved passed 500 despite two early strikes from Alan Richardson. Franks, who attended the ECB Academy over the winter, added 95 with Sidebottom, hitting 14 boundaries in his 170 ball innings.

Warwickshire 288 for 7 (Knight 100, Bell 63) trail Kent347 by 59 runs
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Nick Knight's second century of the season - following his 115 against MCC - led the Warwickshire reply to Kent's 347 at Canterbury. However, a persevering spell of left-arm spin from Min Patel meant Kent managed to chip away at a strong batting order and honours were even at the end of an absorbing second day. Ian Bell added 163 with Knight before both batsmen fell within a run of each other. Patel got the better of Knight, shortly after he reached his hundred, while Bell was trapped lbw as Warwickshire slumped from 179 for 1 to 239 for 5. Alex Loudon set about frustrating his former county but he fell to Amjad Khan as last year's champions and runners-up continued the ding-dong battle.