WHAT cricket was played — until the rain came 40 minutes after lunch — went the way of Nottinghamshire. Having stretched their first-innings lead to 90, the first division leaders once more put Surrey’s batsmen under considerable pressure. The visiting team could easily have lost another couple of wickets.

The ball did not swing as much as it had on Tuesday, but it wobbled about as well as offering some movement off the seam. The fact that it was neither excessive nor persistent was why no pitch inspector visited Trent Bridge yesterday after the fall of 18 wickets on the opening day. As Mark Ramprakash pointed out, Surrey are not used to the ball swinging so much at the Oval and it showed in the way they tried to deal with it.

It was not without difficulty that Surrey cleared the first innings deficit, two slices of good fortune helping them on their way. First, Scott Newman, in single figures, survived a hard-hit return chance to Andrew Harris; later, Ramprakash, on two, edged Ryan Sidebottom to the wicketkeeper only to be reprieved by Vanburn Holder’s call of no-ball. Newman went on to score 40 and those further down the order were protected a little longer.

Indeed, the ball that dismissed Ramprakash would have been too good for any of his team-mates. Pitching on middle stump, Sidebottom got it to jag away and hit off. It was deserved reward for an excellent spell that followed some fine bowling on Tuesday. In this form, as Stephen Fleming has been arguing, the Yorkshireman looks a Test bowler.

Two misjudgments cost Surrey their other two wickets. Clinton, back when a full length ball from Harris demanded he be forward, was leg-before to one that held its line. Scott Newman, who had hit some booming drives through the covers, attempted another but was well caught above his head at cover by Graeme Swann.

Nottinghamshire owed their batting point to a ninth-wicket stand of 51 between Mark Ealham and Greg Smith. Ealham’s sensible stroke selection brought him 55, a decisive contribution ended by Martin Bicknell, who claimed his second five-wicket haul of the season. Two players attracting comment are missing here. Graham Thorpe has been given leave to spend time with his heavily pregnant girlfriend, while Chris Read twisted his ankle playing football.