Notts defy the weather

In a week when the weather thwarted any chance of positive results, Nottinghamshire strengthened their grip at the top of Division One by securing maximum bonus points at home to Middlesex. Michael Lumb's 162 helped them to reach 400 in the first innings but it was the visitors' spinner/all-rounder Ollie Rayner who proved a real thorn in their side, with five wickets and an unbeaten 143, his highest score in a six-year career. Andrew Strauss scraped a few runs on the final day. Not ideal preparation for the First Test but he didn't have to play for Somerset this year! Talking of the Cidermen, they has the better of their exchanges with Durham, but play was possible only on the first and fourth days, and both would have required at least four sweaters. And that's just for the spectators! With a very inexperienced team, Somerset fared better than might have been expected. Indeed, Craig Meschede combined six wickets with a rapid 62, although Craig Kieswetter ran out of partners on 96. At a newly dried-out New Road, Worcestershire forced Surrey to follow on yet in the end struggled to avoid defeat. Four of Surrey's top six were dismissed for a duck in the first innings but at the second time of asking, two of them, Rory Hamilton-Brown and Tom Maynard hit centuries. In his annual outing in the Championship, even Kevin Pietersen weighed in with a 69. With Meaker and Dernbach roaring for the Lions, it was much to Surrey's credit that their bowlers reduced Worcester to 150-8 by the close. At Hove, three days were lost to rain so the most significant aspects of the game were Ajmal Shahzad's three wickets (all LBW) for new county Lancashire and Matt Prior's 80-ball 86 for Sussex. Warwickshire must be delighted to remain second in the table despite having two games in hand of Notts who now have a week off while Jim Troughton's team are at home to the struggling champions. In Division Two, Derbyshire may reflect on a missed opportunity to beat Hampshire, although it would have required a captain's agreement to turn the game into effeectively a single-innings contest having surrendered the first two days to the weather at Southampton. Jimmy Adams, Wes Durston and Dan Redfern each reached three figures as the game wandered wearily into an inevitable draw. However, Derbyshire stand top of the table, level with Yorkshire who were the only county to win this week, at Bristol. After forfeiting their first innings, the Tykes were set 400 to win by Gloucestershire in just over a day. This they achieved thanks largely to centuries from Phil Jaques and Gary Ballance. There was no chance of a result at Chelmsford, although the fact that Kent reached even 50 in total was down to Darren Stevens and Geraint Jones. Their sixth wicket partnership of 194 represented almost 90% of their entire innings! Bowling performance of the match was Mark Davies' 4-20 in 24.4 overs but Essex number four Mark Pettini kept him at bay with a solid 92. Over at Grace Road, Andrew Hall and Matthew Hoggard created final day excitement with some co-operative declarations on day three, leaving Leicestershire a target of 341. While Ramnesh Sarwan and Joshua Cobb were at the crease, that looked a possibility. However, they sank from 240-4 to 268-9 before White and Hoggard hung on for the draw. Next week sees a top v bottom clash between Derbyshire and Glamorgan, while Hampshire visit Yorkshire. Difficult to forecast the results because, once again, it is the weather forecast of further rain which is likely to have the greatest say in the outcomes. Victories are likely to depend on further co-operation between skippers.