UXBRIDGE

(Day one of four; Warwickshire won toss)

Warwickshire 271-5 (Frost 84, Troughton 83*, Finn 2-45).

Lunch

Warwickshire batted themselves into trouble against some accurate Middlesex swing bowling after winning the toss. All of the top four got in and got out. Darren Maddy was the least culpable, trapped leg before by Tim Murtagh to one that looked like it just came back into him. Maddy also looked like he was sure he had hit it. But there were no doubts about the next three. Alan Richardson created the pressure from the Gatting Way End and Navdeep Poonia scratched around for runs.

Danny Evans, selected ahead of the fit again Shaun Udal, replaced Murtagh and after a few edges short, the three slips gradually stepped closer. It worked. Michael Powell edged a back foot punch low to third slip after a 46-ball 11, to make it 40 for two in the 21st over.

Jonathan Trott put a good, but typically slow, pitch in perspective and was instantly fluent, driving fours either side of mid-on and mid-off. Poonia looked like he might have found his touch when he clipped Murali Kartik for four, but was out in the next over. Steven Finn replaced Evans at the Pavilion End and Poonia, 28 off 74 balls, edged an away swinger which Ben Scott caught an excellent one-handed diving in front of first slip. But the biggest blow came in Finn’s next over as Trott edged a drive away from his body for a simple catch behind.

Tea

The afternoon session was the kind of attritional fare that Tony Frost was built for. Frost ground out an unbeaten 40 from 124 in an unbroken partnership of 81 in 35 overs with Jim Troughton that stabilised Warwickshire after a collapse in the morning. Troughton, 42 off 97 balls, gave one half-chance, his paddle sweeping Murali Kartik into Ed Joyce’s mid-riff in the 57th over when on 32. But otherwise there was a stone wall against Middlesex’s disciplined lines.

Frost has blossomed since his return this season and is averaging nearly a hundred. He retired in 2006, but was persuaded out of his new career on the Warwickshire groundstaff in January to replace Tim Ambrose, the England wicket-keeper.

Close

For the first time in the day bat dominated ball as Jim Troughton and Tony Frost cut loose, relatively speaking. They added 76 runs in 20 overs after tea before Alan Richardson returned with the new ball and removed Frost’s off-stump as he drove.

Richardson had helped Frost, who came through the Staffordshire colts system at the same time as him, to his 50 off 131 balls, by hurling four overthrows past him in frustration. As they waited for the new ball after 80 overs, Middlesex brought on the spinners and Frost began sweeping both Murali Kartik’s left arm orthodox and Dawid Malan’s leg-breaks expertly. They had taken the stand to 157 in 55 overs when Richardson struck. Frost was out for 84 off 186 balls and Troughton retrenched, finishing unbeaten on 83 off 176 balls. It was his highest score of the season after missing the start with a back injury.

Troughton hit just seven boundaries, but took his singles well and has given Warwickshire hopes of reaching the par score of 400 on this slow but excellent pitch. Little separated the Middlesex seamers, who all bowled miserly spells and swung the ball away from the right-handers. But Warwickshire batted themselves into a corner that they are still fighting their way out of.