Fifty minutes before Darren Maddy, the Warwickshire captain, submitted to an operation, on his 34th birthday, to insert a screw into his right thumb that was broken while batting on Thursday, his side’s innings eventually closed. It was an effort to merit deep pride, summed up by the fact that the final pair both batted with runners yesterday.

Maddy suggested, before going under the knife, that he may be sidelined for four weeks. Realistically, he is likely to be out for up to two months. His team, who were effectively 167 for five, 90 minutes after lunch on Thursday, certainly had no right to believe that they might last another 24 hours and recover to 438.

Confronting only three fit frontline bowlers, Middlesex returned to the crease with a long session of 43 overs ahead of them and a deficit of 141 runs to clear.

No sooner had Jonathan Trott come on for the tenth over, however, as the first of the stand-in seamers, than he struck with his second ball. Ed Smith, the captain, lost off stump to an inswinger more menacing than most of his own attack had managed all day. At least Billy Godleman, with his first fifty this year, and Owais Shah steered them to the close.

Middlesex are without Alan Richardson and Chris Silverwood, their key bowlers. But this takes nothing from the resistance of Tony Frost and Ant Botha, or from the aggression of Ian Salisbury.

After Botha, the only man dislodged in the morning, fell for 50, his first since joining Warwickshire last August, Frost, with whom he shared a 152-run stand, fought on to 90 from 241 balls. Characteristically shuffling across his stumps, Frost was finally trapped leg-before trying to shovel-sweep Shaun Udal. It was the third time he had fallen in the nineties since his last hundred, four years ago.

The wicketkeeper, a battler in the best traditions of both Staffordshire and his metier, quit cricket with a hip injury to start work on the Edgbaston groundstaff last summer but returned this year to cover for Tim Ambrose’s absence.

Salisbury, on 37 when Frost departed, plundered 44 more as three tailenders at the other end mustered a dozen runs between them.

Naqaash Tahir gloved a lifter to second slip, trying to remove his bat, and James Anyon edged a widish ball that Udal spun away from the left-hander.

Salisbury, carrying a tweaked calf from some costly morning warm-ups, was joined by Monde Zondeki, himself hampered by a torn groin. Avoiding the potential mayhem of four men in pads in the middle at once, both batsmen launched Udal over long-on for six.

Dirk Nannes, the Australian who runs a winter sports lodge in Japan, eventually claimed a maiden Middlesex wicket when he yorked Salisbury middle stump for 81.

Middlesex: First Innings 297 (E T Smith 85, E C Joyce 60; D L Maddy 4 for 25)

Second Innings

B A Godleman not out 56
*E T Smith b Trott 14
O A Shah not out 46
Extras (lb 2, w 2, nb 4) 8

Total (1 wkt, 43 overs) 124

Fall of wicket: 1-22.

Bowling: Anyon 14-2-50-0; Tahir 11-2-17-0; Trott 11-4-26-1; Botha 7-1-29-0.

Warwickshire: First Innings (overnight 272-4)

T Frost lbw b Udal 90
A G Botha c Godleman b Udal 50
I D K Salisbury b Nannes 81
N Tahir c Morgan b Murtagh 1
J E Anyon c Joyce b Udal 3
M Zondeki not out 8

Extras (b 8, lb 15, w 5, nb 26) 54

Total (138.3 overs) 438

Fall of wickets: 1-52, 2-166, 3-167, 4-167, 5-319, 6-378, 7-393, 8-408, 9-438.

Bowling: Nannes 25.3-3-90-1; Philander 25-7-68-0; Evans 26-5-69-3; Murtagh 31-11-99-2; Udal 26-6-75-3; Shah 5-0-14-0.

Umpires: G Sharp and P Willey.