Cricket: Warne Bids to Contain Shah

Of all Shane Warne's many cricketing qualities perhaps one of the most endearing is his refusal to cede the initiative to the opposition under any circumstances.

On a day and wicket when many county captains would have quickly gone on the defensive, the remarkable Australian simply never gave the Middlesex batsmen, or his own team-mates for that matter, a moment's peace. As bowler or captain he never stopped trying to make something happen. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not, but either way it made for a genuinely fascinating day's cricket.

Some of his ideas verged on the outlandish. Dimitri Mascarenhas had dismissed Ed Smith, caught behind off a delivery that moved fractionally away, and Nick Compton, lbw shouldering arms, before the Middlesex score had reached 50. But Ed Joyce and Owais Shah had taken the score into the 80s when Warne posted two third men 10 yards inside the boundary, a deepish gully, cover halfway back to the boundary, deep square leg and midwicket, and told Sean Ervine to feed Joyce a series of off-side bouncers.

Joyce was having none of it, but shortly after driving Shaun Udal through the covers to bring up his half-century, the Dubliner had his off-stump knocked back by Dominic Thornely's looping slower ball. Jamie Dalrymple came within a fraction of suffering the same fate when Thornely tried it again with his next delivery.

Shah, however, was playing quite beautifully. Unhappy with his form this season, he is making a conscious effort to be more positive early in his innings, and it paid dividends yesterday. His driving, particularly on the on-side, was of the highest class.

Dalrymple was equally determined not to be tied down, especially by Warne, but having repeatedly swept off the straight, paid the inevitable price when he missed a low full toss. Shah was joined by Scott Styris, who Warne was convinced could be dismissed hooking. Again he set the field accordingly, but with the wicket flattening out in the sun, Styris readily accepted the challenge; 19 came off one James Bruce over, including a flat six, as Middlesex moved towards 300.

In the end Warne did the job himself. Styris, dropped by Adams off Mascarenhas on 56, had added only seven more runs when he was hit on the pad and given out lbw sweeping, and having looked a certainty to score his second hundred of the season, Shah followed pushing forward uncertainly at a delivery which held its line. Perhaps he was still thinking about the two shortish midwickets Warne had set when he was facing Mascarenhas in the previous over. Paul Weekes and Ben Scott, not without alarm, saw Middlesex through to the close.