Strauss slices Middlesex on top

Middlesex 257 for 5 (Strauss 92*, Weekes 50) lead Lancashire 236 by 21 runs
Scorecard

Today was a pleasing performance for Middlesex, who triumphed with the bat on a day that began so gloomily that most of the MCC members had retreated into the long room, taking full advantage of their brand new see-through sightscreen. They finished with a first innings lead of 21, and five wickets still in hand.

There was much unintentional comedy in the morning as bad light and drizzle played merry hell with the over count. At 11.45am the players and umpires emerged from the pavilion, got as far as the gates, poked their heads tentatively out from under the balcony then disappeared back inside. At 12.40 they made it all the way to the middle, and Glen Chapple even bowled two balls before they beat another retreat; then at 2.25pm play restarted with a wicket from Chapple's fourth delivery, and the games began.

The afternoon revolved around an ongoing confrontation between Andrew Strauss and the short ball. Chapple and Dominic Cork both dug the ball in to get the maximum effect out of the damp pitch and Strauss, perhaps still under the influence of the Caribbean, or the Caribbean rum, was keen to show off his pulling technique. Unfortunately it wasn't much to shout about and Cork forced several miscues, none of which, unfortunately for him, went anywhere near a fielder.

Still, Strauss proved that he is a master of the cut, slicing anything that sat up outside off stump. And with Paul Weekes, his partner-in-arms, he neatly evaded the snorters of Sajid Mahmood et al; he even took a six off Gary Keedy over long-on and a century seemed certain, had it not been for that dratted bad light. Chapple and Cork had to be content with only three wickets in return for their afternoon's hostilities, Owais Shah defending poorly, Ed Joyce driving loosely, and Weekes pulling out of a hook shot prematurely, giving Carl Hooper the chance to show off his sprint with a running, diving catch behind the slips.

Emma John is deputy editor of The Wisden Cricketer