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Round-up: Strauss' search for form in vain

Jon Culley
Thursday 30 June 2011 00:00 BST
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(GETTY IMAGES)

Andrew Strauss is so concerned about his form that he hung around a damp Uxbridge after Tuesday's near-washout so that he could he could have an evening net. He might now wonder if it was worth the wait.

At last given the chance to bat after Gloucestershire had declared on 459 for 9 on the third morning yesterday, the England Test captain was out lbw in the first over of the Middlesex innings. After his two dropped catches in the visitors' innings – worth 130 runs for Gloucestershire – Strauss succumbed to Jon Lewis, the veteran swing bowler, who has dismissed Strauss six times in eight innings, the first in 1998. Facing the new ball under cloudy skies always makes for hazardous batting and it will not have helped Strauss's state of mind to see Chris Rogers take his place and make a ton.

At Cardiff, Glamorgan failed to avoid the follow-on against Derbyshire and slumped to 83 for 5 in their second innings, which raised the possibility that Derbyshire might complete an innings victory over the Welsh county for the first time in 30 years. But a show of defiance from Michael Powell and Mark Wallace, who put on 136 for the sixth wicket, ensured the match would at least go into a fourth day.

With Matt Prior, the England 'keeper, missing because of Achilles and knee injuries, Sussex wasted a good position built for them mainly by Ed Joyce at Arundel but an unbeaten 79 from Murray Goodwin helped them at least to scrape two bonus points against Warwickshire, for whom the Irish pace bowler Boyd Rankin again caught the eye.

India are in a dominant position against West Indies in the second Test with the home side on 87 for 5 in response to 201 in Barbados. Ishant Sharma has three wickets.

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