Cricket: Strauss Fires Unbeaten Century

Shane Warne, in his first championship match of the season, quite reasonably fancied a two-day finish after Middlesex's first-day capitulation. But the visitors, led by a classy unbeaten 117 from England's Andrew Strauss, had other ideas. The likelihood is still that, weather permitting, Middlesex will lose but at least they have shown much more gumption second time around and Hampshire will want to rid themselves of Strauss quickly today.

The left-hander atoned for his first- innings duck with a chanceless knock full of meaty cover drives and pulls off the seamers and careful, but always positive, judgment against the spinners. He was so successful in his battle with his Ashes foe Warne that just before 6pm he rocked back and lashed the Australian over midwicket to reach three figures in 148 balls.

All that work with the Merlyn bowling machine last summer, after some early embarrassments at Warne's hands, has certainly paid off for Strauss. He can now look ahead to facing Muttiah Muralitharan, should he return from a family bereavement in Sri Lanka, next Thursday with confidence intact again after a difficult winter.

Strauss had begun his innings with Middlesex 328 behind after Hampshire had, at times almost casually, extended their overnight 262-4 to 426 all out, mainly thanks to a century of his own from Nic Pothas, off 177 balls.

The wicketkeeper, with his open, bat-held-aloft stance, will never garner aesthetic marks but he knows his game - based on some solid driving through extra-cover - well enough to notch up his 16th first-class hundred.

He got the jitters on 99 when there were huge shouts for both leg-before and caught behind, before he scrambled a single so sharp that it required an unseemly dive so that he could celebrate.

After Dominic Thornely added seven to his overnight score, there were useful contributions from Dimitri Mascarenhas, Warne and Shaun Udal, but credit must be handed to Middlesex's Johann Louw for his persistence in claiming his first five-wicket haul for his new county, due reward for pitching the ball up much more than his colleagues.

The ECB pitch liaison officer Tony Pigott left the ground after lunch satisfied with the pitch, even praising its consistency of bounce as compared with last season. So there was little rhyme or reason to the rash charge down the pitch by Middlesex's skipper Ben Hutton after an opening partnership of 79 with Strauss. Udal was the beneficiary, reaching the laudable milestone of 700 first-class wickets in the process.