Substance over style works for Dernbach

Middlesex 161 for 9 (Dernbach 3-59, Batty 2-23) trail Surrey 338 (Murtagh 3-54, Collymore 3-72) by 177
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On a day where the sun shone bright and the sky remained spotless, Middlesex produced an inept batting display to leave themselves with one first innings wicket remaining and a deficit of 177 runs.

Collectively, the Surrey bowling unit operated with a determined nature that would have buoyed Graeme Smith. It must be said Smith rotated them well - Chris Tremlett in particular responding positively to the four over shifts he was given - but Middlesex will know their own batting sold them short. Many have championed their bowling attack but there was undoubtedly going to be games where the batsmen would be needed to make something happen. This is one of them.

Zander de Bruyn started the morning with the bat and showed good intent to push Surrey on, as Tim Murtagh swung a delivery past Steven Davies' inside edge and rapped him on the pads, in front of middle and off, to send him on his way. Murtagh was reliable as ever, but Steven Finn was off-colour, seemingly concentrating solely on pace; the giveaway being a handful of leg side wides. His third and final wide, before he was taken out of the attack, was particularly unbecoming of a Test bowler.

Pennies for the thoughts of Andy Flower and David Saker; both present at Lord's today, surely running the rule over the four international quicks present, past and future. Toby Roland-Jones represents the latter and he was more convincing today, claiming his first wicket of the match with a devilish back of a length ball that made a play for de Bruyn's shoulder, but made do with the thumb of his glove.

Surrey will know they left runs in the track as Corey Collymore, an international of the past, and Paul Stirling shared the last four wickets. Head coach Chris Adams preaches "hard cricket" and he will not be happy that the last six wickets only added 71 runs, but what he can't fault is the response with the ball.

Middlesex's innings started at a greater pace to Surrey's dreary first go, but where the visiting side left well - particularly day one centurion Rory Burns - the hosts found themselves falling for temptation. Chris Rogers took a brace of fours off Jade Dernbach before he chased a wide, full length delivery from de Bruyn and only succeeded in diverting it rather violently onto his middle stump. His replacement Joe Denly also seemed nonplussed by Dernbach until he made one just duck in, which the batsman - head falling to the offside - could only meet with pad.

One of England's preliminary 30 for the ICC Champions Trophy, Dernbach failed to make the whittled down 15 as Ashley Giles went for substance above style. There's no doubting his talents; his armoury of slower balls, cutters and back-of-the-handers seems both a gift and a curse. His slower-ball did make an appearance and had Dawid Malan baffled briefly before the ball dipped just wide of his toes and onto his bat.

But Dernbach has shown this season that he has a clear appreciation of the sub-plots of long-form bowling. After Robson was squared up neatly by de Bruyn and Malan unluckily adjudged lbw to Gareth Batty's first ball when it seemed there was bat involved, Dernbach produced a mini-spell of pressure which pressed home Surrey's advantage.

Neil Dexter edged him to Vikram Solanki in the slips before Dernbach produced an in-swinging yorker to greet Paul Stirling on his County Championship debut. Regardless of how many more times Stirling dons the whites in county cricket, he'll struggle to face a better ball - especially first-up.

Roland-Jones swatted two fours before giving Tremlett a return catch for his first wicket, while Simpson's chip to mid-on should rightly earn him some blank stares and coarse words from anyone with Middlesex's best interest at heart.

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Pakistan regroup for Champions Trophy camp

Pakistan's six-day conditioning camp ahead of the Champions Trophy began on Friday in Abbottabad. On the opening day at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, the team had a two-hour session, spending most of it in physical and fielding drills.

The stadium is at an altitude of 1260 metres above sea level, surrounded by hills, and the players wanted to ensure they acclimatised themselves with the conditions first. The forecast suggests that temperature will stay pleasant through the day, but could drop to single figures at night.

"The mood is pretty good here," Dav Whatmore, the Pakistan head coach, told reporters. "We are very keen to extract as much as we can in the six days by training in the conditions, which are similar to where we are going to play much of our cricket in the next two months.

"We decided to come to Abbottabad, with its obviously cooler conditions, as it's very warm in Lahore at the moment. We have also prepared pitches with grass on them to try and simulate conditions like those in England. While one cannot recreate it exactly, this is the best we have."

The day started with fielding drills as Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq had a rigorous slip-catching session while rest of the players went through regular fielding practice. There wasn't much bowling as the groundstaff worked on preparing the centre pitches for batting practice on Saturday.

Except Junaid Khan, all players picked for the Champions Trophy arrived for the camp, while five emerging fast bowlers were also called in to train with the national squad. Junaid, who lives in Swabi, about two hours away from Abbottabad, is expected to join the squad on Saturday.

Thirty minutes into the camp, Javed Miandad made an appearance. He said he was there to motivate players and had come on the request of the PCB chairman.

One of the sidelights of the day was the race between Nasir Jamshed and Saeed Ajmal. The usual sprinting drill was amusingly converted to a competition between the two, with the 35-year-old Ajmal beating the 23-year-old Jamshed by a big distance, leaving the latter out of breath.

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Dougie Brown berates Hove wicket

Sussex 416 for 7 (Wells 96, Brown 82*, Rankin 3-60) trail Warwickshire 453 by 37 runs
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This is a hard-fought game between two excellent sides. The prospect of a fourth day in glorious conditions at Hove should inspire excitement. If it does not, it is no reflection on the players.

"For people who maybe don't quite understand the game, they're probably wondering why we're bleating on about the pitch and stuff but in fairness: is that a first-class pitch? I would doubt it to be honest. We always thought the pitch would at some stage deteriorate. That might be at some time next month," Warwickshire coach Dougie Brown said.

"It just killed the game completely. There's nothing in there for anybody, batters included. Speaking to our batters it's actually almost impossible to get the ball off the square. How you're ever going to get a result on surfaces like this I just do not know, particularly when you use a heavy roller as well and deaden it even further.

"I just feel sorry for the people who've come to watch two very, very strong sides playing. What's happened is the conditions haven't really allowed for entertaining cricket.

"It'd be a bit like, in football terms, going out to watch some of the best teams playing and playing on grass that was a foot long. You can't apply your skills like you could do on any normal occasion so that's been disappointing. I don't know about docking points or whatever, that's not for me to say."

And it was hard to argue with Brown's assessment at the end of another day that, despite the high calibre of players on display, seldom rose above the turgid. It was just as well that the beer festival brought over 20 different ales - more than the 17 wickets to fall so far - to enjoy.

The only bowler to rise above the conditions was Boyd Rankin. While Chris Wright displayed perseverance, and Chris Woakes parsimony, Rankin was comfortably the most threatening of Warwickshire's quick bowlers and deserved more than the three wickets he snared.

During one over in the morning session, he might have had a hat-trick. Luke Wells was denied a century by a yorker that made a wreckage of the stumps he protects with such care; Matt Prior was beaten for pace and could have fallen lbw first ball; and Ed Joyce was dropped by Tim Ambrose from a legside bouncer.

Rankin retired from Ireland duty last year and has declared his ambition to try and pursue a Test career with England. That must be considered very unlikely - he is nearly 29 and has a bad record with injuries (he was here returning from ten weeks out with a stress reaction in his foot) - but when he bowls with the hostility and searing bounce he showed here, it doesn't seem inconceivable that England could show interest in Rankin as a reserve, tall impact quick bowler, behind Steven Finn and Chris Tremlett.

Brown certainly thinks it is possible: "Obviously going out to Australia, the conditions out there would suit him immensely. He's a big tall lad - 6ft 8in - he bowls very fast, he bowls aggressively and when he's on form there's very few bounce bowlers in world cricket better than him."

Rankin can do subtlety too, varying his angle by switching between over and around the wicket and using his yorker as an occasional weapon of destruction, as Wells could attest to.

After his early morning spell, it fell to Matt Prior to awaken spectators from their happy slumbers in the deckchairs. Three crunching drives off four Wright deliveries oozed purpose, but Wright soon had Prior caught by his friend and onetime Sussex colleague Tim Ambrose to a ball that moved late. And, to judge by the quality with which Ben Brown cut the ball in his unbeaten 82, another Sussex wicket keeper could one day also interest the ECB.

For now, their attentions are better turned to the merits of reinstating the heavy roller - a measure designed to mimic Test match conditions but one that risks undermining the pleasures of picturesque county grounds like Hove.

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Vince ton smashes Essex

Hampshire 254 for 1 (Vince 129*, Carberry 65) beat Essex 244 for 7 (Quiney 71, Napier 50) by 9 wickets
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A magnificent century from James Vince carried Hampshire to a crushing nine wicket victory over Essex in the opening Yorkshire Bank 40 match of the new season at Chelmsford.

Vince smashed an unbeaten 129 from 93 deliveries and shared in an opening partnership of 156 in only 17 overs with Michael Carberry as the visitors surpassed the target with 10.2 overs to spare.

Their blitz on the Essex bowlers saw them raise the 100 in a mere 9.2 overs with Reece Topley and Sajid Mahmood suffering most. Mahmood, making his first appearance for the county following his move from Lancashire, conceded 34 runs in his first two overs while Topley went for 26.

Vince needed just 27 deliveries to record his half-century and a further 44 to move into three figures with the help of 15 fours and a six. By then, he had lost Carberry for 65 made off 51 balls and containing eight fours and a six. He departed when giving a return catch to Graham Napier but that proved Essex's solitary success as Jimmy Adams, with an unbeaten 29, helped Vince to see them home. In all, Vince hit 17 fours and a six and was just two runs short of equaling his competition best.

Hampshire's triumph came after a late surge from Napier and Greg Smith had led Essex to what appeared a challenging total. They added 93 in 51 deliveries for the sixth wicket after coming together in the 31st over with the total on 143.

Napier, fresh from his heroics in the Championship victory two days earlier when he scored an unbeaten 78, made 50 from 29 balls before he was caught on the boundary from the last ball of the innings. Napier's effort contained two sixes and five fours while Smith made 43, which included a six and six fours from 33 deliveries until he was bowled by Chris Wood..

Earlier Australian left-hander Bobby Quiney struck a fluent 71 from 87 balls with the help of six fours and a six. His effort ended when he was bowled by Hamza Riazuddin after sharing in half-century stands with fellow opener Tom Westley (34) and Mark Pettini.

But there was no joy for Ravi Bopara who had hoped to celebrate his inclusion in England's Champions Trophy squad. He was bowled attempting to attack left-arm spinner Danny Briggs, a dismissal that completed a miserable week for him with the bat. In the Championship match against Hampshire, he failed to reach double figures in either innings and in eight trips to the middle this season, he has only once topped fifty.

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Gidman and Howell set up victory chance

Gloucestershire 280 and 16 for 0 need 172 more runs to beat Leicestershire 250 and 217
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Gloucestershire looked on course for their first win of the season at the end of the third day against Leicestershire at Grace Road. They bowled out the hosts for 217 in their second innings to leave a victory target of 188, and had reached 16 without loss off seven overs by the close.

Will Gidman took 4 for 39 and Benny Howell 3 for 39 as Leicestershire limped along at just over two runs an over throughout the day. Ned Eckersley top scored with 45 and there were only two partnerships 50 or better, with the home side completely shackled by an accurate Gloucestershire attack on a slow paced pitch. The result was that Leicestershire added only 185 runs in 87 overs to their overnight 32 for 2, falling well short of the sort of target they hoped to set Gloucestershire.

It did not take Gidman long to make the first breakthrough of the day when he had nightwatchman Ollie Freckingham lbw in his second over of the morning. That brought in Ramnaresh Sarwan, and he survived a sharp chance to wicketkeeper Cameron Herring off Howell when he had made 9.

But Eckersley, having added 25 to his overnight 20, was not so fortunate against the same bowler, beaten by a swinging delivery that clipped the off stump. At 69 for 4 it was an uphill battle for Leicestershire but Sarwan and Josh Cobb buckled down to share a stand of 76 for the fifth wicket.

Cobb occasionally chanced his arm and, having just cleared mid-off with one shot, followed it up by taking successive boundaries off Craig Miles to raise the half-century partnership. But just when it seemed Leicestershire had steered their way out of trouble they hit the buffers again, with three wickets falling for 12 runs in seven overs.

Cobb was the first of them, caught low down at midwicket off Howell for 43 and Sarwan followed in the seamer's next over. The Leicestershire captain was bowled off an inside edge after scoring 44 off 141 balls with six boundaries.

Shiv Thakor was bowled round his legs by Jack Taylor before Matt Boyce and Jigar Naik shared a stand of 50 to take Leicestershire past the 200 mark. But the second new ball brought a quick end to the innings as Gidman and Miles put the finishing touches to an impressive Gloucestershire bowling performance.

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Goodwin shores up Glamorgan advantage

Lancashire 123 and 104 for 4 (Hogan 3-29) trail Glamorgan 242 (Goodwin 69, Kerrigan 4-48, Anderson 3-63) by 15 runs
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As part of Glamorgan's community programme, schoolchildren from Ysgol Llandrillo yn Rhos and Ysgol Llangelynnin were invited to the Rhos-on-Sea ground on the second day of this match. They provided a guard of honour and played games of Kwik Cricket in the lunch interval. For the rest of the time they watched the two teams compete at a rather slower tempo as they fought for dominance in this excellent advertisement for Division Two cricket.

One hopes that the young enthusiasts learned that this game does not have to be played at a helter-skelter pace in order to be absorbing. Maybe one or two of them understood the value of Murray Goodwin's 69 in Glamorgan's first innings total of 242, which gave the home side a lead of 119. Whatever their national loyalties, one hopes that they appreciated the skills exhibited by James Anderson in taking 3 for 63 and Simon Kerrigan in bagging 4 for 48 to limit that advantage. Finally, one or two may have stayed behind as Ashwell Prince and Simon Katich defied the Welsh side's attack for well over an hour to give Lancashire supporters hope that they may yet turn around a match in which they have been more or less second best throughout.

For while this day's play was not "cricket for the connoisseur", a phrase implying very specialist knowledge that has nothing but mere alliteration in its favour, it was cricket for those who realise that there is more to the modern game than a free hit and a freebie. By the close of play Lancashire had scrapped their way to 104 for 4 and were still 15 runs behind. Yet for all that the late dismissal of Prince turned the match significantly in Glamorgan's favour, it is still by no means clear what the outcome will be or even when that outcome will be reached. Excellent.

Cricket is settling into its charming rhythms and this was also a Thursday to sharpen the appetite for the next five months - and for the English summer too. "The trees are coming into leaf / Like something almost being said," wrote Philip Larkin in one of the late Peter Roebuck's favourite poems. As this match's beguiling architecture subtly changed, the pleasure and involvement of the good crowd was almost palpable as they accustomed themselves to what, for many of them, will be a glad season indeed.

For example, it is difficult to think that many sessions of Championship cricket will be more tenaciously fought than was this second morning. Every hard-won run was treasured by Glamorgan's batsmen and Kerrigan's successes could not have been more warmly greeted had they been vital breakthroughs in the business end of the summer. Standing firm against Anderson, who left not an ounce of effort in his England kitbag, was Murray Goodwin, squat, pugnacious and skilled. Glamorgan's decision to sign the Zimbabwean after he had racked up just 360 first-class runs for Sussex in 2012 may yet come to be seen as one of the coups of the summer.

Just when Glamorgan's superiority threatened to become dominance, Kerrigan had a driving Jim Allenby pouched at midwicket for 46. Three more wickets left Glamorgan eight down with a lead of 70 at lunch, by which time the spectators needed a break almost as much as the players. Goodwin reached his fifty soon after the resumption and was last out, attempting to work Hogg through third man. He had batted 206 minutes and faced 134 balls. It was a noble effort, the type of innings the professionals admire.

The one certainty about Lancashire's second innings was that it needed to be a better, ballsier effort than their first. Even in conditions which assisted swing bowlers, that 123 was not really halfway towards a par score and for all that the Red Rose have achieved two substantial first-innings leads this season, their top order is pretty flaky. So it proved again. Michael Hogan caught the edge of Luke Procter's bat with the final ball of the fifth over and brought one back off the seam to pluck out Karl Brown's middle pole. In between, Mike Reed, 6ft 4in tall and exhibiting plenty of well-directed aggression, had Paul Horton taken by Wallace. That left Lancashire on 49 for 3 and there were still 25 overs left in the day.

Katich and Prince approached their task in the manner of international cricketers who have proved themselves in the fire. They mastered Wallace's bowlers even if they did not bully them, and it seemed they would both survive to face another morning. Then Prince padded up to the third ball of Hogan's final over and Tim Robinson raised his finger. Nightwatchman Anderson helped Katich ensure that there were no further losses before the close. The crowd trooped homewards.

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Crook steals lead after Peters ton

Kent 271 and 6 for 0 trail Northamptonshire 303 (Peters 106, Crook 62, Shreck 4-80) by 26 runs
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Northamptonshire may not be Division Two leaders straight out of left-field, to slip into baseball parlance, but their hot streak has caught plenty by surprise. A century from their captain, Stephen Peters, and a by-now-familiar flick of the tail helped them to a slim advantage at the halfway point of a keenly contested match against Kent, as they pursue a third win out of four that would only fuel promotion talk on the bleachers.

Northants have been here before and, having missed out by a single point in 2009 and 2011, they might be forgiven for fearing what Yogi Berra, the marvellously muddled former Major League catcher, once called "déjà vu all over again". David Ripley, who succeeded David Capel as coach last year, was involved with the club on those previous occasions but said "choking" was not a problem he is worried about this time around.

"Promotion is a target we think is achievable, especially with the start we've made," he said. "The belief is there that we can do it. I'm confident we can. It's partly a relief to come out and play well, when you've put the work in. Having got those wins in the bank, got ourselves at the top of the table, that's great - we didn't envisage being where we are but we'll take it because we've played well."

Ironically, Northamptonshire's preparations for the season focused on improving a disappointing recent record in one-day cricket - an area in which Ripley felt they "had the most to gain" - and one of the signings who has done so much to help them top the table, Steven Crook, was brought in with that aim in mind. Here, Crook hit 63, his third half-century in four innings since returning from Middlesex, to go with three wickets on the first day, as Northamptonshire recovered from 150 for 6 to post 303.

"It ain't over, til it's over," is another Berra aphorism and one the Northamptonshire lower order appear to have taken to heart. In four first innings, their last four wickets have added 648 runs - more than doubling the score on two occasions - although the picture at Canterbury was distorted slightly by Rob Newton batting at No. 11 after suffering a groin strain while fielding on Wednesday. That meant they fielded a last man with an average of 38.95, rather than the usual 21.07 of Trent Copeland.

Crook's contribution was second only to Peters, who recorded his 30th first-class century and the first by any Northamptonshire player this season. While their bowling attack has regularly treated the opposition like skittles, top-order runs have been a little less forthcoming. In April in England, that is not altogether unsurprising but this was the third time Peters has passed fifty and his batting, as well as his leadership, is likely to be crucial if Northants are to stay the course.

"He's been outstanding, he really has," Ripley said of Peters, who is in his first season as captain. "His example batting, you've only got to see how dearly he sells himself in games like we've seen today. He's steely, competitive, loves it when it's tough. He's spoken very well with the team, tactically he's been very good and a lot of the impetus we've built, he's helped us get it going."

The engine required a little turning over at the start of the day and it would be inaccurate to say that the morning session took place under a blanket of cloud only in that a blanket suggests a degree of warmth. That didn't stop Peters from batting in shirt sleeves and, if the goose pimples helped focus the mind, it certainly wasn't a bad idea.

Peters was involved in the two most substantial stands of the innings - putting on 63 with both David Sales and Crook - but it was his temperament and focus in the face of testing spells from Kent's raggedy old stagers, Charlie Shreck and Mark Davies, that really set the tone.

Ripley said Northants had expected a tough encounter and an important test of their credentials in this fixture and, by the time the sun finally came out in the late afternoon, they had stolen a few more bases. "We've always had good four-day skills," he said. "We've been there and gone close before and there's a feeling that we can be there again."

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McCullum, Taylor leave IPL early

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum and his predecessor Ross Taylor have been released early by their IPL franchises and will join the tour of England ahead of schedule.

Neither player has had much involvement in the IPL with McCullum playing one match for Kolkata Knight Riders, after recovering from the hamstring injury he picked up in the final Test against England in Auckland, and although Ross Taylor has appeared five times for Pune Warriors he has made just 63 runs at a strike-rate under 100.

McCullum is due to arrive in England on Friday so could yet be available for the opening tour match against Derbyshire, which starts on Saturday, while Taylor is expected over the weekend. Both players were previously set to arrive shortly before the match against England Lions at Grace Road next week. Kane Williamson was due to the lead the team in McCullum's absence.

New Zealand players have an agreed five-week window where they can appear at the IPL and when Mike Hesson, the coach, was asked about missing two senior players for the start of the trip he even sought to see it in a positive way. "I'm actually quite happy with it because with a squad of 15 it's quite hard to get everyone a game," he said.

It has become a feature of the May Test series England, which clashes with the IPL, that senior players from the visiting team have arrived late. It has previously happened with Sri Lanka and West Indies leaving them precious little time to adjust to the conditions.

McCullum, who took over the captaincy from Taylor late last year, had a productive series against England in March, but Taylor struggled for fluency on his return after opting out of the South Africa tour following the loss of the leadership. During a radio interview after the visit of England he said that he was still not entirely comfortable back in the set up.

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Ashington's Wood returns with success

Nottinghamshire 320 and 145 for 5 (Wood 3 for 36) trail Durham 471 (Smith 153, Wood 58) by six runs
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There was a time when a match-turning contribution from an Ashington fast bowler was commonplace at Durham. Though with Steve Harmison's decline, such days have been had been consigned to the past.

But here Mark Wood, playing only his third Championship match - coincidentally, all have been at Trent Bridge - followed a career-best performance with the bat with a spell of 3 for 11 in 22, with all of his scalps a Test batsman. Describing himself as "a family friend" of Harmison and a product of the same Ashington club, Wood has the rare gift of pace that earmark him as a cricketer of rich potential.

He can bat, too. He defines himself as a bowling allrounder but, earlier in the day, reached his maiden Championship 50 with a pulled six and dominated a last-wicket stand of 71 in only 12.2 overs with Graham Onions. It was a partnership that not only extended Durham's lead to 151 but may well have had a deflating effect on Nottinghamshire's morale.

But on a wicket that has, at times, appeared painfully flat - the return of the heavy roller is far from universally popular among county spectators - it was Wood's incisive bowling that may have had the greatest impact. Wood, by some distance the sharpest bowler on display in this match, belied the easy-paced surface to persuade Ed Cowan to nibble one angled across him, trap James Taylor attempting to play a straight one through square leg, and then, most impressively, have Samit Patel caught off the glove as he tried to deal with a bouncer. It was a spell that cut through the Nottinghamshire top order and provided Durham with an excellent opportunity to claim their second win of the season. Nottinghamshire resume on the final day with half their second-innings batting dismissed and still trailing by six runs.

Such was Wood's contribution, he could well be forgiven for questioning why he has not played more regularly. On his last appearance, here last August, he claimed 5 for 78 to help his team to a 16-run victory, but then found himself dropped for the next game.

"I'm pleased to be here," Wood said afterwards with a smile. "It seems to be the only place a get a game. Of course I was disappointed to be dropped last year. But I understood the reasons. We have a good attack who had done really well so when Ben Stokes came back I missed out. Hopefully this time, if I get a couple more wickets, I can make my case even stronger."

Wood was quick to admit he was building on foundations laid by Will Smith. Smith, who batted for 505 minutes for his 153, blunted the attack at their freshest and the pitch at its most helpful to establish a platform from which the lower-order could build. It paid a higher dividend than even he can have hoped, though, when the last five Durham wickets added 323 runs to the total. He finally fell, caught at mid-on, after he attempted to whip Patel's left-arm spin through midwicket.

"Smith has been the difference between the sides," Wood said. "And he's the reason we're the favourites in this game. He showed great concentration and the work he did made it much easier for me."

While Wood led the way in the last-wicket stand, punching Patel for one lovely four through mid-on and carving Graeme Swann over extra cover for another, Onions also played his part. He thumped one back past Stuart Broad and drove Swann square as Durham kept Nottinghamshire in the field for 157.3 energy-sapping overs.

But it is Wood's bowling that may, in time, be of interest to the national selectors. He is not particularly tall or strong-looking but, from a short, straight run with an unusual start - a pronounced push off his back leg which, he says, is a technique learned from sprinters - he generates impressive, skiddy pace. He can reverse swing the ball, too, and showed an encouraging cricketing brain when talking about his wickets.

"We had just got the ball reversing when Cowan edged that one that left him," he explained. "With Taylor, we put the man behind square for the pull and, when we had him expecting the short ball, I pitched it up. And then with Samit, I hid the ball so he couldn't tell which way it was going to swing and then surprised him by bowling a bouncer."

Gareth Breese, who had already contributed a useful 44, followed up with the wicket of Steven Mullaney - surely the only cricketer with Hooters as a bat sponsor - sharply caught off a fine arm ball, while earlier Alex Hales, back when he should have been forward, lost his middle stump.

Michael Lumb, timing his drives sweetly on either side of the wicket, remains and looks in good touch, but he has a great deal of work ahead of him if Nottinghamshire are to salvage a draw from this game.

At least Nottinghamshire had encouraging news of their England players. Broad bowled with increased pace and purpose on the third day. He finished with his third successive four-wicket haul in successive innings and would not have been flattered by a fifth. Just as importantly, he reported no adverse reaction to his 31 overs and confirmed that he would take a full part, with bat, with ball and in the field, in the remainder of the game.

Swann came through unscathed, too. While he finished without a wicket, he did see two chances go down off his bowling - he was the guilty party on one occasion - and was the most economical of the Nottinghamshire bowlers. Perhaps there were a couple more full tosses than we are used to but, bearing in mind it was his first bowl in competitive cricket since the elbow operation, this was a pleasing return.

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Chopra matches Trott's class

Warwickshire 276 for 4 (Chopra 87, Trott 87*) v Sussex
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When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren't enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed, featuring an England spinner with 164 Test wickets against two of the most reassuring sights in England's Test batting line-up - and another man who might, in time, join them there.

Jonathan Trott is often depicted as a dour Mr Dependable, but his unbeaten 87 included several shots that, had they could from any other bat, would have elicited purrs. A respectable off-stump delivery from Andrew Miller was emphatically dispatched over long on for six; the next ball, a refined late cut went to the boundary too. It was not a sight that Sussex's skipper Ed Joyce, who had shelled a hard, but eminently catchable, chance in the slips when Trott had 1, would have relished.

Trott had a familiar ally in a 131-run stand with Ian Bell, who was captaining Warwickshire in place of Jim Troughton, missing with a shoulder injury. Grown men may still have nightmares about Bell's shot first ball in Ahmedabad - caught at mid-off attempting to harrumph the ball out of the ground - but it would seem that Bell is not one of them: he shimmied down the wicket to his seventh ball, from Chris Nash's offspin and lofted him over mid-on for four. There were a few further examples of graceful footwork later against Monty Panesar.

While Bell and Trott are two Test batsmen of the highest order, it was to Varun Chopra's great credit that he looked barely less assured at the crease. Playing attractively, especially on the offside, it was a matter of considerable surprise when Chopra fell for 87 attempting to cut Chris Nash's useful offspin, and was so denied a century to go with his match-saving effort at Taunton last week. But he had still made his mark, becoming the first man to pass 500 runs for the season, and must have eyes on the batting Holy Grail of a thousand before the end of May.

Nick Compton, the man who almost passed that landmark last season, is now an established Test player, and it looks eminently possible that Chopra, 25, will become one too: an extra cover drive off Panesar was timed with the crispness one would associate with an international player. There are legitimate questions over whether elements of Chopra's game - principally his tendency to play with his bat away from his body and occasional dalliances with driving uppishly - would be a hindrance at Test level, but if he continues to score with such proficiency an opportunity will be forthcoming.

While a knee injury cost Sussex their premier fast bowler, Australian Steve Magoffin, Chopra still had to encounter a highly disciplined attack: even on a flat track in near-perfect batting conditions, Sussex limited Warwickshire to under three runs an over.

Panesar was typically probing but endured a disappointing day, seldom threatening his England team-mates and, attempting to find the rough outside legstump, even delivering two leg side wides in one over. He has now claimed only one wicket for 238 runs so far this season.

That Sussex ended on near-parity, despite the serenity with which England's Test batsmen played, owed to Chris Jordan. Jordan may have begun his Sussex career with 6 for 48 at Leeds but, if anything, he was even more admirable here, consistently hostile throughout the day. A fiery spell with the second new ball earned the rare distinction of claiming Bell fending off a short ball and he promptly claimed nightwatchman Chris Wright too. Bell later said "it's certainly a different game if you hit the pitch that bit harder", suggesting that Warwickshire intend to replicate the method that earned Jordan his success.

Jordan should have had another wicket, too, but Mike Yardy shelled Tim Ambrose in the slips in the day's final over. No one begrudged him a quick visit to the beer festival after play.

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