Notts 191 & 471-5dec MCC 168 & 24-1: Read century presses Test claim

Chris Read produced a timely demonstration of the discipline and patience required to impress England's selectors as Nottinghamshire's batsmen raced into a commanding lead over MCC yesterday.

The selectors' decision to overlook Read in favour of Geraint Jones behind the stumps for England has always been justified by Read's failure to score runs consistently. But despite Mark Ealham'sunbeaten 112 off 53 balls, Read's innings carried more significance.

Demonstrating the right balance between attack and defence, Read plundered an unbeaten 110 in just over three hours to enable the champions to declare 494 runs ahead on 471 for 5.

At 36, Ealham's days as an international all-rounder are behind him, but Read may yet return to the England fold. His innings, which included two sixes and 14 fours, was delivered in front of the chairman of selectors, David Graveney, and while it was not the most impressive of a day which yielded 427 runs in 83 overs, it was perhaps the most telling.