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ScorecardOllie Rayner scored 69 to put his old county under pressure•Getty Images

The pitch was panned by some from south of the river when Surrey were pipped in early season while the victory over Worcestershire only came about after the captains had collaborated following some serious weather interference. But if Middlesex manage to engineer a third championship win from four games at Lord’s this season then it will be all down to their own hard work.Last year’s Division Two champions, tipped by many to make a quick return to the second tier, are currently looking up, rather than down, and success here tomorrow would leave them sitting comfortably in the higher reaches of Division One.A home victory is far from certain and Sussex ought to be able to bat their way out of difficulty, despite surrendering a first innings lead of 208, because there is no real pace or spite in this surface. But Middlesex have given themselves a chance – by doing significant damage with the new ball on the first morning and then, today, battling their way up to within touching distance of 500 despite no batsman reaching three figures.They had not totalled 400, home or away, before this game but when Toby Roland-Jones, batting at No 10, became the fifth member of the line-up to pass 50, Sussex were looking fairly bedraggled. Worse was to come for the visitors with Steve Finn having Ed Joyce caught in the gully shortly before bad light ended play a dozen overs early.Finn, who could resume his Test career next week if England’s selectors decide to rest a bowler or two for the final Test against West Indies, will be keen to put in a big performance tomorrow. But, as has been shown throughout this game, Middlesex are heavy on individuals ready, willing and able to make important contributions for the team.The script for today suggested that Chris Rogers and Eoin Morgan would be the batsmen to take charge. But, despite resuming on 93 and 52 respectively, neither made it to the hundred mark. Rogers was perhaps unlucky to lose a leg before decision to Luke Wright while the second new ball did for Morgan, who edged one from Steve Magoffin that was angled across him.At that stage, Sussex were well in the contest with the scores just about level. But John Simpson was then dropped in the slips by Mike Yardy off James Anyon, who bowled with real fire and precious little luck. That chance was one of five to go begging throughout the innings and Middlesex slowly but surely pulled away.Simpson made only moderate use of his good fortune – having two of his three stumps uprooted by a full, swinging delivery from Naved Arif. But, almost inevitably, Ollie Rayner made life painful for his old county by scoring 69. Rayner bats well (he made an unbeaten 143 against Notts last week after being forced into night-watchman duties), catches flies in the slips and now has the chance to develop as an off-spinner after being second in line at Sussex behind first Mushtaq Ahmed and then Monty Panesar.Here, Rayner and Gareth Berg plundered 41 off seven overs to earn Middlesex a fourth bating point. That was slowcoach stuff, though, compared to the 71 runs taken off 51 balls that made sure the innings finished with a real flourish.Rayner did his bit but it was Roland-Jones who seriously deflated Sussex by biffing 52 off 63 deliveries. The visitors need to pick themselves up tomorrow but the force may be with Middlesex.

ScorecardCharl Willoughby ripped through Kent’s top order in the brief spell of play possible•Getty Images

Age does not weary them, not in these conditions anyway. Essex’s veteran opening attack of David Masters and Charl Willoughby had Kent stumbling to 17 for 5 on a drastically curtailed day.The start was a setback to Kent’s hopes of taking over the lead in Division Two. Whether a mortal blow has been landed might depend on how effectively Essex can rub in their first-day advantage. They have Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara to bat and can be fairly sure that the England men will not be as easy to dislodge as some of today’s victims in the 9.4 overs allowed by the rain.Masters, still very effective at the age of 34, struck with the day’s second delivery when Scott Newman thin-edged a seamer that he should have covered or left, rather than something in between. Willoughby, 37, followed up with some masterly left-arm swing, bursting through the Kent upper order with four wickets for one in nine balls. The England Under-19s left-armer Tymal Mills rocked Glamorgan last week with raw pace; this time Willoughby did the damage with raw subtlety. It is part of cricket’s appeal that there can be many ways of achieving the same outcome, through pace, swing or spin, though there is unlikely to be much of the latter in this game.If the signing of Willoughby from Somerset raised a few eyebrows at the time, they are not raised now, as the slogan might have had it. The South African continued to defy advancing years through fitness and a good, reliable action, quickly exploiting helpful conditions. In his second over he pinned Ben Harmison back on his stumps for an lbw. In his third, he beat Rob Key in front of off stump for another decision and two balls later Michael Powell reached for a drive and snicked a straightforward catch, perhaps expecting the ball to curve into him more than it did. Brendon Nash, the West Indies left-hander, retaliated with a succulent off-drive but when he had his off stump knocked out, Kent were reeling.Cook must have been quietly pleased that his captain, James Foster, won the toss, sparing him a possible ordeal in poor light and soggy conditions. Kent would have done themselves a favour if they had knocked the ball into the wet outfield more often, reducing the swing, but the bat seldom located the right line.Perhaps the key will be how well Charlie Shreck and Mark Davies, both useful seam performers, can follow the work of Willoughby and Masters. In support they have the tall Leeds-Bradford University seamer Ivan Thomas, 20, on his Championship debut. Thomas, from Blackheath, took 6 for 21 for the university in the victory over a callow Sussex side last week and bowled well in a favourable draw against Yorkshire in April. If Matt Coles is required by England Lions to play, Thomas, Kent’s nominated reserve, should have a good opportunity to make an early mark on the county circuit.

ScorecardNightwatchman Ollie Rayner struck a maiden Championship hundred to keep Middlesex in the game•Getty Images

Ollie Rayner’s debut as a first-class cricketer brought with it membership of a fairly exclusive club when he made a century against the touring Sri Lankans at Hove in May 2006. Now he can proudly wear the metaphorical tie of another society after completing his second career hundred in an innings he had begun as nightwatchman.Rayner’s unbeaten 143 saved Middlesex from being asked to follow on and meant that Andrew Strauss could have a chance to sharpen his slip catching before taking guard for his last pre-Test opportunity to score runs. Indeed, instead of batting to save the game, Strauss may find himself leading a run-chase that does not require a Nottinghamshire declaration after the hosts lost three wickets in 10 overs at the close.To complete a memorable day, Rayner took two of those wickets, showing no sign of weariness from five and a half hours at the crease even as acting Middlesex captain Chris Rogers chose to bring his offspin into play only three overs into Nottinghamshire’s second innings.Outside Test cricket, where there have been six recorded instances of centuries from nightwatchmen, most memorably the double hundred by Jason Gillespie in Chittagong, records of such occurrences are harder to trace. Richard Illingworth, now a leading umpire, did it three times for Worcestershire. Suffice to say that Rayner’s score must at least be among the highest. It would be an enormous surprise, certainly, to find another batsman born in Fallingbostel, Germany, to rival his feat.Not that he is known as a blocker, anyway. Between his debut knock and this one have been eight half-centuries and this innings was impressive in both temperament and technique. He lost Joe Denly as a partner in only the third over of the morning as Andre Adams induced an edge to first slip, which looked like a significant blow. Having faced seven balls without scoring on Thursday evening, Rayner was at least off the mark thanks to a loose opening from Adams but with a fresh partner taking guard suddenly found himself carrying extra responsibility.Yet he wore it splendidly as he and Dawid Malan fashioned a solid recovery on a pitch that, in their favour, had flattened out, and against a Nottinghamshire attack that rarely could not build pressure. Stuart Broad, in particular, looked some way off his best.In his second match following injury, Broad struggled in vain for rhythm. As often as he produced a ball to ask questions of the batsman he delivered another that offered easy runs. Frustration was only to be expected. His habit of sinking his hands into his trouser pockets as the ball sped away across the outfield was so that he could clutch his hand-warmers, apparently, but it rather reinforced the impression that he was not exactly feeling on top of the world.His colleague, Graeme Swann, looked much the happier of those with the first Test at the back of their minds, although none of the Nottinghamshire bowlers caught the eye as much as Harry Gurney, the pacy left-armer, whose addition to the Trent Bridge armoury looks increasingly like a coup for Mick Newell.Gurney, confidence buoyed by his dismissal of Strauss on Thursday evening, was the man to break Rayner’s partnership with Malan, spearing one into the pads to trap the left-hander on the crease after the pair had added 119.At 182 for 5 there seemed real doubts that a target of 274 to avoid the follow-on was within Middlesex’s scope but, try as Nottinghamshire might, there was no shifting Rayner. He survived a couple of scares in reaching fifty, Neil Edwards putting down a difficult chance at short midwicket off Swann, who suffered more frustration within moments when Rayner cut him fiercely through first slip, where Alex Hales could get only outstreched fingers to the ball. Otherwise, save for a lackadaisical moment where he almost ran himself out, it was an innings of composure and class.Some of his strokes were of the highest calibre, particularly when he was driving through the covers, and the flick with which he dispatched the suffering Broad into the Bridgford Road stand was almost disdainful. His hundred came up in 182 balls, with 15 fours in addition to that six.Rayner added four more boundaries, the last of which steered Middlesex safely past the follow-on point at eight down. Once a third batting point was secured, Middlesex declared.But that was not the end of the fun for Rayner, who bowled Hales with his fifth delivery and then had Swann, whose stint as nightwatchman was somewhat less successful, caught at silly point. With Edwards caught by Strauss at first slip off Steven Finn in between, Nottinghamshire found themselves in unexpected bother and will begin the final day looking slightly vulnerable.

Graham Gooch, England’s batting coach, has jumped to the defence of his embattled captain Andrew Strauss as doubts intensify about his international future.With England slumping to their fourth straight Test defeat, Strauss’ batting form has become a far greater issue than when a winning side was laying claim to the No. 1 Test ranking that they are now on the brink of surrendering.Strauss refused to be drawn into speculation over his future when pressed following England’s 75-run defeat in Galle where he contributed 26 and 27 to England’s efforts before falling trying to attack Rangana Herath on both occasions.Since the start of the 2010 England season he has averaged 32.55 from 22 Tests with just a lone hundred against Australia at Brisbane in November of that year. From that point his average dips further to 28.52 with a highest score of 87.Gooch, though, remains convinced Strauss can return to the form that marked the start of his captaincy stint when he took the job in chaotic circumstances for the West Indies tour in 2009 and struck three hundreds in the series.”If you get defeats you’re going to get tough questions,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, Andrew Strauss is the best guy to captain England at the moment and he and Alastair Cook are the best opening batsmen in the country. I have every confidence in him. I see the passion, the commitment every day on the training pitch, trying to improve his game. The way he’s trying to play spin, approaching his innings with a more positive mindset, the attacking shots he’s looking to play.”We all know that as the captain you’re praised if things do go well and you take the flak if they don’t. He’s a big lad and he’ll be able to take it on the chin and he’ll be doubly determined to do well in the next game.”Gooch led England in 34 of his 118 Tests so knows all about the pressures of combining the two jobs although his record suggests that captaincy was always an inspiration for his batting. As captain, he averaged 58.72 against his overall figure of 42.58. He expressed confidence that Strauss would emerge from the toughest period of his captaincy.”He’s having a bit of a lean time in Tests but he scored a hundred at SSC [in the warm-up match] so he’s had runs under his belt and he’s been practising well,” Gooch said. “You have to take it on the chin when things don’t go well. There have been plenty of Test captains who have struggled. We have to remain faithful to all our players and believe in their ability. A few months ago we were winning Tests, in different conditions, and I’m confident these guys, including Andrew, will come good.”More importantly, each player has to believe they’re going to do well. You’ve got to remain solid, keep your nerve and believe in your technique. Andrew Strauss has an excellent Test technique, he has been a very successful player for England in the past and I have no reason to believe he won’t be a successful player in the future.”England’s batting problems are not just focussed on Strauss. Although Jonathan Trott made one of his finest Test hundreds in the failed chase in Galle, and Ian Bell showed signs of return to form with a half-century, England laboured for the fourth match in a row. Alastair Cook received a good ball in the first innings (as did Bell) but the visitors were also guilty of further soft dismissals.”Having lost four on the bounce, you know you need to master the conditions much better,” Gooch said. “Since I’ve been in Sri Lanka I have seen guys working on their game, buying into the ideas being put to them and really trying to improve. Improving your technique, shaping it against the turning ball in particular, is not a quick fix. You have to work on it. It’s the mindset, the way you approach your innings, how you mix attack and defence, how you get good habits into your game, the way you’re going to play with the spin, the way you’re going to defend.”The sweep was a major factor in England’s dismissals although Trott avoided trouble and also brought out the reverse option when slip was left vacant. The conventional sweep was a shot that Gooch used profitably, particularly during the 1987 World Cup on the subcontinent, but admits the impact of DRS means the shot now comes with greater risk.”The sweep against the turning ball is an alternative, but we have to look at the fact that with DRS, if you’re sweeping off the stumps there’s a lot of risk there. It’s an area we need to look at. I wouldn’t advocate leaving it out altogether but you have to be more selective.”Edited by David Hopps

Samit Patel, the England allrounder, is aware that issues regarding his weight and fitness are likely to remain throughout his international career but he is determined to show that he is worthy of a Test debut during the series against Sri Lanka.Patel was handed his first call-up to a Test squad as a replacement for Eoin Morgan, following a productive few months in the one-day set-up. He could yet be considered for the first Test in Galle although team director Andy Flower said Patel still had “significant work” to do.”Fitness is a key factor and everyone has to work hard on their fitness – some more than others,” Patel said. “It’s probably an issue that will stay with me, but I’m not frustrated. The more work you do, the better you feel. Hopefully I am doing the right things now.”Patel is competing with Ravi Bopara for the No. 6 spot vacated by Morgan – unless England change tactics and include Tim Bresnan as the allrounder – and his chances could depend on whether England continue with the combination of two spinners and two quicks they used against Pakistan in the UAE. Monty Panesar made a successful return to the team with 14 wickets in two Tests, and it would be a harsh decision to leave him out, while Graeme Swann remains the No. 1 spinner despite a less productive series against Pakistan.”I’m ready to come in and bat where I’m asked to bat and do the job with the ball. I’m comfortable with the role I’ve been set,” Patel said. “It’s a massive boost for me, having never been in the squad before, and I’m very excited to show everyone what I can really do and take any opportunities I’m given. One of my goals is to play Test cricket. I’ve always wanted to do that as well as one-day cricket. I want to play all formats for England.”One of the issues that will confront not just Patel but the whole England squad will be adapting to the hot and humid conditions in Sri Lanka. Patel was part of the group of players who flew to Sri Lanka early for training under the guidance of batting coach Graham Gooch, who is confident the visitors can overcome the challenge.”These are unnatural conditions for English players – we don’t get this kind of heat,” Gooch said. “It’s different to the UAE. It’s more humid, the heat is more oppressive … but they’re not going to focus on that. They’ll focus on their skills with the bat and ball, and in the field. That is what can hopefully bring us out ahead of Sri Lanka. This is not an obstacle to us, not something to be feared. We have to see it as a challenge.”England’s top order is under pressure going into this series following their failure in the UAE during the 3-0 whitewash. They were often rendered scoreless by Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez, and spin will again play a central role in this series. Although Sri Lanka’s attack doesn’t possess the same quality as Pakistan’s does, the pitches, especially in Galle, should offer assistance.”Our skills didn’t match up and we were thoroughly beaten by Pakistan,” Gooch said. “That’s tough to take but you have to take it on the chin and think how you move forward from there. We have to work hard on technique and also on thinking patterns – how are we going to score our runs?”Our players are capable of improving their performances against this type of bowling and being a lot better than we were against Pakistan. Only time will tell how much of an improvement we can make.”

ScorecardFile photo: Shaun Marsh was finally back among the runs•Getty Images

Shaun Marsh, who was dropped from the Australian team, following a poor Test series against India, was finally among the runs – despite some anxious moments – as he made 79 for Western Australia on the second day in their Sheffield Shield game against Queensland at the Gabba.Marsh, who made four ducks in his previous seven Test innings, started shakily, when he was beaten first ball by Luke Feldman. He then survived a close lbw shout off Ben Cutting; the bowler also failed to hold on to a tough return chance later. Just before tea, Marsh, on 34, was dropped at short-leg by Wade Townsend off legspinner Cameron Boyce. He made the most of the breaks to get some much-needed runs; his 79 included 13 boundaries before he was finally dismissed by Cameron Boyce, caught off a leading edge at gully.Earlier, Chris Lynn, who was unbeaten on 57 at stumps on the first day, helped take the Bulls to 251 before they were dismissed. Lynn and No. 8 Cameron Boyce had put an unbroken stand of 28 for the eight wicket, and the duo added a further 21 runs before Boyce was caught by Adam Voges off fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile. Coulter-Nile followed that up with the dismissal of Alister McDermott to end with figures of 4 for 66. Lynn was the last batsman to fall for 80, giving Nathan Rimmington his third wicket.The Warriors started solidly, with Wes Robinson and Liam Davis putting on 79 runs for the first wicket. Robinson fell in the post-lunch session, bowled by Luke Feldman for 42. That brought Marsh to the crease and he was involved in two steadying partnerships – 99 for the second wicket with Davis (68) and 56 for the third with captain Marcus North. Marsh was dismissed in the 69th over and North fell in the next over to leave the Warriors at 4 for 234. Voges and Mitchell Marsh then held firm, till play was called off due to bad light, to leave the Warriors just two runs short of claiming first-innings points.