THE second highest National League score made at Guildford, where spectators, foliage and passing cars were all peppered with abandon, was, not surprisingly, beyond the reach of Warwickshire Bears. Among a number of enjoyable innings in a total of 315 for eight, an unbeaten half-century by Azhar Mahmood was as stylish as it was swiftly scored.

Azhar, who is still not fully fit, struck 56 off 27 balls with four fours and five sixes, one disdainfully flicked over square leg that rebounded off a tree trunk. As well as this, there was an innings of 71 off 53 balls with 13 fours that was James Benning’s highest score in any one-day match, his runs made with an authority which would suggest more such batting will follow.

Mark Ramprakash made 40 with his customary poise before he was leg-before sweeping at Brad Hogg, the ball hitting him in the ribs. Rikki Clarke scored 70 off 69 balls with ten fours until he was wonderfully well held by Jonathan Trott at mid-wicket, and so it went on. Ali Brown struck 46 and the ball had to be changed twice in one over from Dougie Brown.

Decorum is sometimes a casualty of the one-day game, but the quite superfluous shouting of Tony Frost, the Warwickshire wicketkeeper, still grated. He would do well to examine some footage of, say, Alan Knott, who lifted his fielders not with inane comments but through unerring concentration on one of the arts of the game.

Warwickshire had a chance of winning, albeit not a great one, while Ian Bell was at the wicket. He averaged just 10.88 in this competition before his innings yesterday, which was a delight. He made 89 off 70 balls, with nine fours and five sixes, mostly lofted over extra cover. He had just twice driven Benning’s medium-pace through the off side when he was held at deep square leg.

Otherwise, Jim Troughton struck 36 but no one else contributed significantly, Clarke’s opening spell, in which he took the wickets of Neil Carter, Nick Knight and Trott, was a telling one. So ends another week at this most popular of venues, the only pity being that in the age of four-day championship cricket, there is no space for two first-class fixtures in addition to a Sunday thrash.