Birmingham Mail

THE MAN in charge of protecting our children from paedophiles has stuck his head well and truly above the parapet by stating he doesn't think every offender should be jailed.

Child protection chief Jim Gamble argues that some paedophiles should be given a police caution and managed within the community instead.

BIG-HEARTED Brummies are known for digging deep when it comes to raising money for a good cause. And Acorns Children's Hospice is no exception.

But today comes the depressing revelation that the charity, which provides crucial care for some of our sickest children, is being targeted by thieves.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Now then...it's a sparkling, sunny morning. Cricket ahoy. Three questions.
Can Warwickshire and Hampshire, either by brilliant cricket or, if needs be, a spot of collusion, make a contest out of this rain-damaged game?
Should they collude, if necessary, or does that detract from the supposed intensity of championship cricket?
Should the leg-bye, that pointless carbuncle on the face of cricket, be abolished with immediate effect?

When Hampshire visited Edgbaston in the county championship in May 1977, opening the batting for them were Barry Richards and Gordon Greenidge.

Has there ever been a better opening pair than that in the history of world cricket?

Naqaash Tahir strikes with a great ball that flattens the off-stump of Dimitri Mascarenhas. Shane Warne is fortunate to survive a huge lbw shout first ball.

133 for 6. If Warwickshire can knock the rest over sharpish, they will be in a position to put Hampshire under real pressure.

Paroxysms of excitement in the press box as cake arrives, courtesy of an extremely kind person.

Warne, having never looked comfortable, edges Tahir to Sangakarra at second slip. Tahir 2 for 26 from 15 overs. 147 for 7.

Tahir bowling very well, with good support from Steyn who is again unlucky to be wicketless before being replaced by Groenewald.

Pied wagtail at wide long-off.

Groenewald to Carberry. Carberry, on the offensive having reached 50 from 119 balls with nine fours, smashed a glorious straight drive. Groenewald just gets a hand to it and deflects the ball on to the stumps.

Tremlett run out for 6. The unluckiest way to go.

169 for 8. Two balls later, Carberry lofts straight and Loudon takes a fine catch at long-off, not far from the pied-wagtail. 169 for 9. Bears in business.

A Naqaash slower ball torpedos Bruce lbw. Tahir 3 for 41. Hampshire 169 for 7 to 169 all out.

A great effort from Warwickshire this morning.

An excellent effort by Warwickshire, that. All the seamers bowled well, backed up by very good catches, not least two crackers by Alex Loudon.

Nice chap, Loudon. Former Eton scholar. From an affluent background.

Not like me. I came from a poor family. One year, in fact, things were so tight that Mum and Dad gave me an empty box for Christmas and told me it was an action man deserter.

Darren Maddy and Ian Westwood are dealing well with the new ball, despite some testing bowling, when James Bruce jags a lifter back into Maddy and hits him in a very, very painful place.

Much ribald laughter from Hampshire's player.

Not from Maddy. Retired hurt 9. Kumar Sangakkara goes in ten minutes before lunch. 25 for 0.

It's not often you say that the actual fabric of a Big Brother house is important to a house, but this year it might well be.

While many see to think the cooker (or the kewker as those increasingly irritating twins keep calling it) in the bedroom, the bath in the living room and the fridge in the garden is about upsetting people, if you scratch beyond the conflict card there could be a deeper meaning to it all.

By having things mixed up you could actually reduce tension in the house.

Maddy's pain only increases as Sangakkara, facing his fifth ball, drives a return catch to Stuart Clark. Out for 5. 25 for 1.

Lunch: Warwickshire 25 for 1. Westwood 11 (37 balls - a gutsy effort against some impressive bowling by Bruce and Clark), Trott 0.

To the eighth ball after lunch Jonathan Trott, pinned in the crease, falls lbw to Bruce.

Maddy is still in discomfort so in comes Troughton. 33 for 2. Game on.

Jim Troughton smashes two cover drives for four off successive balls from Bruce then attempts a third and edges to Warne in the slips.

Troughton is sent on his way with a pretty charmless verbal blast by the bowler.

It's getting a bit heated out there. Corinthian Casuals, Hampshire are not.

Westwood and Loudon launch a thrilling counter-attack, striking 11 fours in a 50 partnership.
106 for three.

The main scoreboard at the Pavilion End has misfired and is spouting gibberish. Considering the amount it cost and the length of time it has been there, the ongoing erratic nature of that board really is a poor state of affairs.

Westwood reaches 50 from 88 balls with seven fours.

A really good, gutsy knock, it steered Warwickshire out of early travails but then Westwood drives Mascarenhas to short extra cover. Caught by Clark for 51. 126 for 4.

Ambrose comes in. Maddy remains retired hurt.

A helter-skelter day's cricket careers onward as Ambrose chips a catch to mid-off off Mascarenhas and departs for 0.

The tenth wicket of the day already. Maddy returns. 135 for 5. Loudon 48 not out.

Maddy essays a big drive at a wide one and edges Clark to the wicket-keeper. Out for 24. 168 for 6. Loudon not out 60.
Despite all the rain, this match could be heading for an intriguing final day tomorrow.

Just shows you can never tell. I was moaning to me dear old Nan about all the rain on Wednesday night and saying this game would probably be another draw and she said: "Barry," (she never could remember me name) "look on the bright side. It's better to think you are half-dry than to know you are all wet". Spot on, Nan.

The procession of wickets continues. Groenewald edges Clark to slip and departs for 10. Naqaash edges Warne to slip for 5. The twelfth and thirteenth wickets of the day. 184 for 8.

Loudon, unbeaten on 67, has just played the shot of the day, the match and arguably the century when he pulled Clark for six into the Rea Bank Stand where the ball landed with a firm thud, dislodging a nidifying corn-bunting from the upper tier.

Tea. Warwickshire 198 for 8. Loudon 67, Steyn 14.

Lettuce? Frankly, it's over-rated.

Loudon is on 89, facing Warne. A straight six brings up the 250 then successive fours off the next two balls take the batsman to a wonderful century, from 136 balls with 17 fours and three sixes.
A century, including 86 from boundaries, against a strong bowling attack on a slow wicket. A very fine innings indeed.
Steyn contributed a useful 26 and last man Anyon has now stuck in there to add 45 so far with Loudon.
262 for 9, 93 in front.

And Loudon goes for 103, stumped Pothas b Warne.

262 all out, a first innings lead of 93.

Hampshire 37 for 1, still 56 behind.

Interesting selection conundrum for the Bears after the ECB made Ian Bell available for the Friends Provident Trophy visit to Worcestershire on Sunday.

Bearing in mind that Warwickshire are unbeaten in one-day cricket, indeed all cricket, this season, does anyone deserve to be dropped?

Should Belly play?

I haven't spoken to David O'Leary for two years and he has barely crossed my mind during that time.

So why, last night, did I dream that I was weeding David O'Leary's garden?

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Edgbaston is bathed in sunlight and all is set fair for what will hopefully be a cracking final day's play.

Essex County Council has banned hanging baskets on lampposts on health and safety grounds. A report has recommended that children should not be encouraged to put their hands up in class because it might intimidate shyer pupils. The RSPB is now opposed to the word 'cock' to describe male birds.

Has the world gone mad?

The twelfth ball of the day brings the breakthrough as Naqaash Tahir delivers a superb away-cutter that Michael Brown edges to Tim Ambrose. Hampshire 44 for 2, still 49 behind.

The Goons were over-rated.

Michael Lumb edges Dale Steyn to Tim Ambrose - a richly-deserved first wicket of the match for the South African.

Hampshire 71 for three, still 22 behind. Game on.

Three magpies on outfield.

To cure a wart, stroke it with the underside of a dead snail, then go and find a rural crossroads in Suffolk and bury the creature there.

The wart will heal rapidly.

Michael Carberry drives recklessly at Jimmy Anyon and edges to Ambrose. Out for 2.

Hampshire 85 for 4, still seven runs behind.

John Crawley taking root unbeaten on 32 from 83 balls. He's the main man now.

Lunch: Hampshire 119 for 4. (26 in front). Crawley 40, Pothas 23.

Crawley, on 40, was dropped by Trott in the slips off Anyon. Could be costly.

And, by the way, which legendary Warwickshire bowler owned a spaniel called Fifi?

Hampshire 162 for 4, Crawley 53 (142 balls), Pothas 53 (57 balls). 68 ahead.

A draw starting to look likely, barring some quick wickets or some very rapid runs followed by an adventurous declaration.

If this game is drawn, Warwickshire will take 9 points, one less than they require to move top of the table.

A third successive rain-damaged draw beckons as Nic Pothas steers Hampshire safely towards sanctuary with an unbeaten century. 118 not out. 268 for 7.

Crawley (73) and Mascarenhas (20) lent solid support. Warne out second ball, flailing Tahir wildly to mid-off, for 0 - the sort of shot that suggested the Australian had lit a fag and left it on the ash-tray before he came out.

Good morning ladies and gentleman.

A sunny day at New Road. Ian Bell and Lee Daggett are in the Warwickshire side. Jonathan Troot and Jimmy Anyon drop out. Heath Streak is fit after a sore back and plays.

Moeen Ali plays for Worcestershire. Warwickshire won toss and bat.

Good morning ladies and gentleman. Apologies that team news was not registered, as planned, at 10.30am. Forgot to press the button!

Trott and Anyon rested. Bell and Daggett play. Streak fit.

Warwickshire won toss and bat but Westwood falls lbw to the fifth ball of the day, a speedy yorker from Kabir Ali.
25 for 1 (6 overs). Maddy 8, Sangakkara 15.

Worcestershire could regret getting Sangakkara in in the first over. He has just brought up the 50, in the ninth over, with a brace of blistering back-foot cover-driven fours off Kabir Ali.

Maddy, meanwhile, settling for almost invisible anchor role. 55 for 1 (10 overs). Maddy 10, Sangakkara 43.

New Road looking sensational in the sun. Hope the impending ground redevelopments are sensitive.

92 for 1 (15 overs) Maddy 30, Sangakkara 59.

Maddy bursts into life with four, six, four from three successive poor leg-side deliveries from Bollinger. Sangakkara reached 50 from 41 balls.

Warwickshire 120 for 1 from 20 overs.

Maddy 47, Sangakkara 68. Spinner Ray Price has wrested back a measure of control for Worcestershire.

Crowd: decent, but not the full house a sunlit local derby might be expected to attract.

141 for 1 (25 overs). Maddy 56, Sangakkara 80.

A visitor to the New Road press box has just described the delightful, elegant Ladies Pavilion to our right as "two sheds".

Philistine!

Sangakkara reaches a brilliant century from 91 balls with his twelfth four. Also hit a six which landed smack on the boundary rope.

Sangakkara runs himself out for 115, ending a partnership of 199 (the best by either side in the history of this fixture) with Maddy.

It was the only way Worcestershire were going to get rid of the Sri Lankan. A terrific innings from 99 balls with 15 fours and a six,

199 for 2 (32 overs). Maddy 79, Bell 0.

Spectators are on their feet for the third time today. First two times were for Sangakkara's century and departure. This time Maddy reaches his ton.

A fine knock by the captain, posting his century from 110 balls with seven fours and two sixes.

Bell mises out though, chipping to extra cover for 6.

234 for 3 (41 overs). Maddy 103, Troughton 7.

262 for 5 (45 overs). Troughton 23 not out including two big sixes.

Worcestershire have dug in though and kept battling.

Geese, apparently, retain their fertility until well into their 90s.

Groenewald smites some late blows, including a six into the car-park by the cathedral off Bollinger, to reboot the innings after Worcestershire had reeled the run-rate back in quite well.

Warwickshire finish on 303 for 6. Sangakkara 115, Maddy 106, Troughton 33, Groenewald 21 not out.

Worcestershire 51 for 0 (ten overs). Solanki 25 (having just welcomed Groenewald into the attack with three fours in an over), Jaques 21.

Jaques, on 10, was dropped by Sangakkara at slip of Daggett.

Game on. Worcestershire 98 without loss after 15 overs. Solanki 51, Jaques 41.

Solanki batting fluently and has hit Groenewald out of the ground on the way to 50 from 52 balls with six fours and a six. Jaques less convincing at times, dropped on 10 by Sangakkara at slip off Daggett.

Worcestershire 150 for 0 (23 overs). Solanki 70, Jaques 68.

Nottinghamshire and Durham are on top in their matches elsewhere. The Bears could take a big step backwards in the race for the semi-finals if they lose this one.

Solanki posts the 200 partnership in the 30th over by cutting a Loudon long-hop for four.

Next ball, Solanki reaches his century from 82 balls with 10 fours and two sixes.

A mangificent partnership and the Bears have looked pretty toothless. 207 for 0.

Solanki cuts a Loudon long hop for four to raise the 200 partnership. Next ball he reaches his century from 82 balls.

A magnificent partnership goes on. 214 for 0. Solanki 105, Jaques 96.

90 needed from 18 overs. With Notts and Durham going well elsewhere, Warwickshrie need to win this one.

The long-awaited breakthrough arrives when Jaques bottom-edges Steyn to Ambrise and departs for 102. The record opening stand of 223 is over.

224 for 1 (33 overs). Solanki 108, Moeen 1.

Moeen Ali clips Daggett to mid-wicket where Maddy takes a good low catch.

228 for 2. 76 needed from 16. Solanki on 108, Smith 4.

Piece of cake?

Worcestershire are easing home at 280 for 2, with Solanki on 136.

24 needed from eight overs.

Warwickshire will have to win at Scotland next Sunday and then at home to Durham the following Wednesday to qualify for the semi-finals.

Worcestershire won by eight wickets with 24 balls to spare.

Solanki a superb 144 not out. Smith 40 not out.

Fascinated by the ongoing debate on the elected mayors issue (all published in previous Birmingham Mails, but also interesting blogs and message boards at thestirrer.com)

All involved at the Mail are pleased that it has gathered interest, debate and discussion.

However, we are also keen for the Mail not to be misrepresented in any way.

Therefore, a few points spring to mind atm:

I didn't much care for Ziggy when he entered the house.

It wasn't the fact he looked like Jonathan Morris or sounded like Cliff Richard, it was just his general love-himself-ness. But by clearly despising Charley as much as the outside world, he's gone up in my estimation.

And following his dinner for 12 it seems Shabnam (I'm the Queen of my road) could be up with Charley this week!

THEY look like slums from a different, less enlightened age or a land less wealthy than this.

The flats in Lillington Grove, Shard End, are a disgrace to a city as ambitious and successful as this. And action must be taken. Now.

WITH the sun shining these past few days, where better to relax than on the beach?

Timely, then, that 65 tonnes of sand have arrived at the Bullring to create the first of this city's first two temporary beaches.

There's not many ways you can upset women more than by taking away their hair straighteners.

But that's part of the punishment handed out after Shabnam (who is looking more and more like Coco the Clown by the hour) asked Ziggy to nominate her.

Does she really want to go? Of course not. It's plain obvious that her 'let me go so I can be famous' is contrived. It's reverse psychology at its very best.

I'm all in a tiz today after my auntie, Betty the Bike, gave me some scary news when I popped into her workshop last night.

It appears that the University of Central England want the Speedway to be stopped and are calling on the council to bring the axe down on our beautiful sport.

It appears the poor students are scared of the sounds of the loud bikes, ahh diddums.

DO NOT run away with the notion that incompetence, corruption, dishonesty or laziness are widespread among Birmingham City Council's workforce.

The vast majority of the authority's 40,000 employees do a good job, many in difficult circumstances.

TOO many deadbeat dads have for too long avoided providing maintenance for their estranged children.

Good news, then, that Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton is planning far tougher measures to get them to shoulder responsibilities they would prefer to ignore.

PREPARE for the battle of the divas as Emily and Shabnam find themselves up for the boot in the Big Brother house.

Lone male Ziggy has clearly had enough of the constant bitching in the house and has targeted the two worst offenders.

Blonde ice maiden Emily has lost no opportunity in making the life of Chanelle a misery ... and Ziggy isn't happy.

IN A world dominated by identikit pubs, each with a theme realised in plastic and cheap, mass-made artefacts, how pleasant to find a truly traditional watering hole.

Our old-fashioned boozers provide a haven of peace for customers and please the eyes of passers-by as they stroll through a city largely constructed of concrete, steel and glass.

WHAT in heaven's name is going on at Birmingham International Airport where yet another security lapse has been revealed?

Earlier this week came disturbing allegations that staff were reading, doing puzzles or even snoozing when they should have been checking bags.

Word reaches us that snobbylicious Emily has done a disappearing act.

No, we don't believe she's got lost in Charley's ego or disappeared up her own backside, but something is definitely going on. She was called into the diary room at 3.30am-ish this morning and hasn't been seen since.

To add to the mystery, the diary room is now out of bounds to other housemates and all details of voting lines have vanished from the Big Brother website.

More on this mystery as we get it.

Well an update has arrived - but Big Brother's being a tease.

All we're hearing from the BB website at the moment is:

The public vote this week between Emily and Shabnam has been suspended.

Hopes that they're both being booted out for being uber-stupid are unfounded (mainly because I just made them up).

A legal claim from three members of a family involved in police raids; a card from a reader requesting a Birmingham Mail from June 27 1942 to mark an anniversary; a thank you from a reader we'd sent vouchers to make up for getting a crossword question wrong; another thank you from a very grateful contact to whom we'd delivered a bunch of flowers; a cheque for £740 from charity darts players for the Mail's Charity Trust; an invite to a posh dinner; another invite to another posh dinner; and another; oh, and the paper to get out today as well....

The vagaries and vissictitudes of an editor's life, and the need for the woman's touch of being able to do more than one thing at once...

It seems Emily has gone - and another race row is brewing.

There's been no official comment yet, but it seems she's used what is being described as a racist term.

If it does prove to be true, then good riddance.

Keeping her mouth shut was never one of Big Brother housemate Emily's strong points.

The super-bitch of the house even managed to upset mild-mannered male Ziggy and her big mouth also landed her in the first round of eviction nominations.

But now it seems the blonde bombsite has gone too far and a glib remark has led to her been marched out of the BB house at dawn.

Emily's eviction seems to have split many BB fans. Make your judgement after reading the full transcript and let us know what YOU think.

AS THE years passed, Rupert Warner must have grown increasingly confident that he had evaded detection for the rape of a 57-year-old woman in the city centre in 1990.

Today, though, justice has been done and Warner has been convicted of an appalling crime whose consequences caused such torment for his victim that she only recently told her children what had happened.

THERE is a dignity about Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

In a city which saw the wholesale destruction of many of the architectural gems of previous ages, the building provides a reminder of the elegance Birmingham once possessed.

We've seen some gameplans in the Big Brother house over the years.

There's been Nasty Nick's notes, Victor's Jungle Cats and Craig's near imprisonment of Anthony. But it seems Sam and Amanda have opted for a new tactic.

They're going for silence to see them through to the final.

AS THE sun shines and temperatures rise, the lure of water is almost irresistible.

But yesterday's incidents in which two men drowned in Erdington and Pelsall provide a grim and sad reminder of the dangers.

THEIR courage was boundless, yet inevitably the passage of time has dulled memories of their deeds.

But those who have received the Victoria Cross deserve to be remembered through the ages.

THEY are names that are celebrated by car enthusiasts and recognised around the world.

Jaguar and Land Rover are marques with long, distinguished histories.

RACISM is an ugly, destructive monster that cannot be tolerated in a civilised society.

And when racism finds its expression in violence, the law must act swiftly and decisively to punish those who are responsible.

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

Just to say that this blog will be covering the Bears' make-or-break Friends Provident Trophy game against Durham tomorrow.

If you can't get to Edgbaston, get here for regular updates - and the full story of just how Ken Taylor came to be bitten by his own false teeth while standing in the slips one day at Lord's.

Inquests are a legal inquiry into unnatural deaths, and are probably one of the most complained about areas of the newspaper's coverage.

At times, grieving relatives are furious that we have reported how their relative died of, say, alcohol abuse. Or a school is furious that we have reported on the claims of bullying that allegedly led to a pupil's suicide.

We, of course, answer all complaints, and a recent one involving a school as in the above case has to date involved a total of ten detailed letters from me to them, lawyers acting for them and, latterly, the the Press Complaints Commission responding to their formal complaint to that body.

GRAFFITI, the infuriating, ugly daubings that appear on walls in the dead of night, are among the curses of city dwelling.

Graffiti creates an impression - almost invariably false - that a neighbourhood is overrun by louts and vandals. It creates a feeling that the residents do not care. To the naturally wary it can seem menacing.

WHILE some find joy in defacing their surroundings, others ensure that the world we live in is a pleasant place.

And among this city's crowning glories are the many parks that provide us with somewhere to stroll, play or simply soak up the sun.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

Now, will the rain allow this intriguing contest to unfold properly? Forty-five minutes before the scheduled start, it's dry and sultry with plenty of cloud around. Heavy showers are forecast for later in the day.

The teams have not been announced yet. Durham's players are warming up on the outfield. There is a bluebottle the size of a small horse in the press-box.

Warwickshire have named an unchanged team, won the toss and decided to bat.

Grey, cloudy and windy - ominously, the sort of weather you often get before a storm.

The bluebottle has just swooped on the bloke from the Times and flown off with his sandwiches.

Warwickshire 10 for 0 after three overs. For this information those of us at the City End are indebted to the public address.The main scoreboard, at the Pavilion End, is totally blank due to an "electrical fault".

If any player was as hopelessly inconsistent as that scoreboard he would have been sacked years ago.

26 for 0. Then Darren Maddy plays across a superb outswinger from Otis Gibson and is bowled for 10. Next ball, Ian Westwood plays on to Neil Killeen for 14.

26 for 2 in the seventh over.

Scoreboard still as much use as a button on a sock.

After ten overs the scoreboard has burst into glorious life. Only slightly less glorious, Jonathan Trott's three boundaries in his first 16 balls faced. Looks in excellent nick.

Warwickshire 46 for 2 (11). Sangakkara 5, Trott, 15.

Lots of sawing and drilling going on in the middle distance.

Sanga gets a great ball from Killeen and edges it to Mustard.

Out for 6. In six innings for Warwickshire, Sangakkara has not scored between 6 and 115. Trott looking excellent though on 33 from 28 balls out of 68 for 3.

Sun out. Bluebottle still in. How long do we give this insect to find it's way out before we take the brutal approach, ie. a rolled up copy of Beekeeping Weekly?

Trott and Troughton's splendid partnership of 87 in 16 overs is ended by a red hot piece of stumping work by Mustard off Breese. Troughton goes for 37 from 44 balls.

Trott is batting sublimely, though, on 67 from 68 balls out of 138 for four from 29 overs.

The scoreboard, little short of a laughing stock frankly, has conked out again.

Ambrose launches a crunching counter-attack, striking 40 out of 50 added in eight overs with Trott.

190 for 4 (37). Trott 80, Ambrose 41.

250 for 4 (44.4) Trott 94, Ambrose 87.

Century partnership in 15 overs. Great stuff and great entertainment - in fact the most vivid cricket-related entertainment seen in Birmingham since Jim O'Neill, on the xylophone, entertained members of the Midland Counties Cricket Umpires Association at a smoking concert in 1933.

AMID all the arguments between Ziggy and just about anyone else, we finally look like we're going to get a proper eviction night.

Carol, Tracy and Shabba-nam are all up for the chop. But can't we get rid of all three?

Ambrose 100 from 66 balls with 11 fours and three sixes - and he's since clobbered Onions for two successive sixes. Hard to recall a better one-day innings for Warwickshire.

Trott 100 from 115 balls, 12 fours.

Both still going. 303 for 4 in 49th over. Trott 100, Ambrose a scintillating 134.

314 for 4. Ambrose 135, Trott 107 not out.

A hefty total which Warwickshire would be devastated not to defend.

With Hampshire well on top against Surrey at Southampton, a semi-final trip to the Rose Bowl next Wednesday beckons for the Bears if they bowl and field well.

By the way, 'facetious' is the only English word including all 5 vowels in alphabetical order.

Batting for Warwickshire against Middlesex at Lord's one day, Ken Taylor realised he had forgotten to take out his false teeth. So he popped them into his hip pocket.

Later, that day, he was fielding at slip with the gnashers still in his pocket. He dived, full-length for a catch only to scream in pain, with blood evident on his flannels. He had been bitten on the thigh by his own teeth.

Slip-fielding has its hidden dangers!

Hopes can be quickly dashed.

Ask David Bentley next summer when the Euro 2008 squad is announced. Or Gordon the Gopher when Andi Peters unveiled his successor, Edd the Duck.

The chances of the Big Brother housemates actually nominating the exceptionally self-absorbed Seany less than a week after his oh-so-unspectacular entrance were always going to be slim.

Mustard departs cross with himself at edging a rash waft at Daggett.

Dagget has bowled three excellent overs, one for five,

Durham 24 for 1 in the sixth over.

Clouds gathering - in more than one way.

The forecast storms appear to be getting close as the wind blows up and clouds thicken. And Durham are very close to up with the required Vera Duckworth equation (70 for 1, D/L 74).

Di Venuto, on 37, was dropped at slip by Trott on 21 off Daggett.

Tension among the good-sized crowd.

From successive balls, Will Smith is well-caught low by Ian Westwood at point off Heath Streak then the excellent Daggett dismisses Michael Di Venuto caught behind.

70 for three - and suddenly the Vera Duckworth has climbed to 116 and the imminent downpour does not seem so worrying,

And the storm arrives.

First it goes so dark they would a draw a line at it in the Stygian League. Then the rain starts to tumble down in heavy fashion. Very heavy.

Durham 77 for 3 in the 17th over, well adrift on the Vera Duckworth.

Warwickshire's players said to be performing rain-dance in dressing-room.

It's been raining not only cats and dogs but also hamsters, giraffes, sealions and tapirs but for half-an-hour yet two chaps have still been sat out there, just in front of the press-box, doggedly under their umbrellas in the deluge.

But even these two stalwarts have just departed. Surely a key moment.

Actually, as Durham are through and the Bears are through, why don't we all go home?

Ladies and gentlemen, it's over. Too wet. Warwickshire win by 39 runs (D/L).

Assuming that Hampshire finish off the job against Surrey (they are on the verge of victory) it's a case of Rose Bowl ahoy next Wednesday. One step from Lord's.

It all ended up a bit dark and damp here but no-one who saw Ambrose's brilliant century will forget it in a hurry.
Cheers for now - I'm off for a spot of rhubarb crumble.

ONLY the most hardened hearts will fail to be moved by the plight of Olivia Senaratne, a refugee who cares for a frail Birmingham couple but now faces expulsion to her native Sri Lanka where she fears she will meet the wrath of her abusive husband.

This country cannot, of course, accept a limitless flow of newcomers. Immigration must be managed.

THE turmoil that grips Perry Beeches secondary school cannot be helping anyone. Not staff. Not parents. Certainly not pupils.

Disquiet is hardly surprising following head teacher Liam Nolan's conviction for outraging public decency by committing a sex act with a man in a public space.

Browsing through the Bears' message board t'other day I saw an inquiry from Jon to which, for some reason, I can't seem to lodge a reply.

If anyone knows Jon could they let him know that Warwickshire did indeed clinch the champo on September 7, 1972 when they amassed 351, the batting points lifting them an unassailable 31 points clear of second-placed Gloucestershire.

The Mail of that evening had a picture of the players swigging champagne.

THERE were tears, smiles and words of praise as the Birmingham Mail celebrated the truly remarkable men, women and children who yesterday received Local Heroes awards.

Applause rang out in the banqueting suite at the Botanical Gardens as they stepped into the limelight.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. More rain than you can shake a stick at has fallen on Edgbaston during the last 24 hours and, although the last two hours have been dry, it looks very wet out there.

The wicket is being rolled, the umpires are walking round (in traditional fashion, hands clasped behind backs) and there is a wheelbarrow, pointing towards Mecca, beside the square.

No announcements yet re. prospects of plays or teams.

11.30 inspection with a view to possible start at noon.

Caught a bit of that "tennis" malarkey on the box yesterday. Two thoughts occur.

Second serves. What's that all about? In cricket if a bowler delivers a half-volley he doesn't get another go.
And ball-boys - why can't the players retrieve their own balls? We always had to.
Just another example of cosetted sportsman if you ask me,

12.15 start. Warwickshire won the toss and bat. Unchanged championship team.

Great effort from the groundstaff considering all the recent violent downpours.

Rain? Blimey - our house was flooded last night. Luckily we got out okay because I come from a musical family. As the waters rose Mary sailed out of the house on the kitchen table and I accompanied her on the piano.

The match is underway in sparkling sunshine. Warwickshire 23 for 0. Westwood 13, Maddy 5.

Five leg-byes, which is a travesty. The sooner the leg-bye - that silly, pointless, unjustifiable scourge of cricket - is abolished the better.

The Press Association correspondent is bringing in some rhubarb for his fellow scribes tomorrow. Very kind.

Darren Maddy decides to offer no stroke to a delivery from Doug Bollinger and a big inswinger knocks out off peg. Sangakkara strokes his first ball to long-leg for four.

36 for 1. Maddy 5. Westwood on 18, Sangakkara 4.

And Westwood promptly edges Kabir Ali to second slip. Hick takes the catch. 36 for 2.

Lunch. 65 for 2. Sangakkara 14, Trott, looking in prime form, 19.

The ball has swung around and Worcestershire might be wishing their seamers had bowled a bit more accurately and inflicted greater damage with the new ball.

A rocky period for Warwickshire straight after lunch.

Sangakkara edges Kabir Ali to Phil Jaques at first slip and departs for 20. Then Jim Troughton edges his second ball but Stephen Davies, diving in front of Jaques, drops the ball. Trott, on 27, then slashes Bollinger hard and high to gully but Gareth Batty can't hang on. 83 for 3.

Thrilling stuff in front of what is, even taking the dodgy weather into account, a tiny derby crowd.

Trott, still on 27, this time has no reprieve as he edges Kabir and is brilliantly caught, one-handed, by Ben Smith at third slip.

Kabir then greets Loudon with two cracking deliveries beating him outside the off-stump as the light starts to close in and a seagull, cawing loudly, drifts across the ground ahead of the gathering storm.

86 for 4. Troughton 1, Loudon 0.

That seagull knew its onions. Bad light stopped play at 86 for 4 and as the day darkens and an ominous wind blows up the groundstaff get the covers on, evidently expecting rain.

Tea taken early at 3.40pm after which surely we will all be toddling off home. It's chucking it down.

It seems to have been raining forever.

Isn't that a country and western song?

A Government report last week praised the Mail for its Faiths in Our City columns, which gave platforms to ALL religious groups in the city. Apart from congratulations from many readers, one critic challenged us to reveal the racial mix of our staff, and the gender mix of our senior staff. I thought the answer I provided might be of interest to others.

FLAMING June may have been a damp squib, but the recent gloomy weather did not cast a cloud over another cracking weekend here in Birmingham.

The National Exhibition Centre once again proved it has no rivals when it comes to hosting major events.

A HUGE step forward has been taken in the battle to allow refugee Olivia Senaratne to stay in this country. But it is far from over.

After her case was highlighted in the Birmingham Mail on Thursday, Home Office officials moved swiftly to lift the threat of immediate deportation from above her head.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

A very familiar story, I'm afraid. The sight of groundsmen mopping up a drenched field. No chance of a prompt start.

Actually, taking the moribund cricket, devoid of any sense of adventure, that was played yesterday into account, one wonders if there is a great deal of point in those chaps mopping up at all. We'll see.

The umpires have decreed that the field is too wet. They will inspect it again at 11.45am.

And then?

In the press-box there is speculation. "Any chance that the captains have got together to thrash out a deal?" asks an optimist. "Not a chance," replies the majority.

Will we be pleasantly surprised?

Play will commence at 12.15pm, under glowering skies.

Just to recap: Warwickshire 343, Worcestershire 399. The two second innings to squeeze into two sessions and 45 minutes. Could it be a draw?

'Sale of the Century' must be the greatest quiz show of all time. Get those £1 questions. "What is the capital of England?" "How many legs does a pig have?"

Well we have had rain and we have had dull cricket. Now we have farce.

Worcestershire open the bowling with Gareth Batty and Vikram Solanki to try and speed up their over-rate.

Warwickshire 5-0 after three overs. Westwood 0, Sangakkara 5.

There are not many people here but this 'cricket' is an insult to them.

Lunch: Warwickshire 48 for 0. Westwood 14, Sangakkara 34. Worcestershire have bowled 18 overs (mainly from Solanki and Batty) in 45 minutes.

They are happy to reduce the game to farce for the sake of saving a 1.5pt fine for their over-rate yet showed no interest in pursuing 14 points for a victory by batting positively throughout yesterday.

"Total contempt for the spectators" - a press box scribe.

Match abandoned. A very poor advert for county championship cricket is therefore put mercifully to bed.
This blog will contain regular updates from the Friends Provident Trophy semi-final against Hampshire at Southampton on Wednesday. That should be a cracker. Certainly better than watching today's wretched offering.

Although hanging by your ankles from a canal bridge in winter having your face pecked by enraged mallards would be more fun than watching today's offering.

There's an old phrase which says some people could start an argument with themselves.

And it seems Charley is going out of her way to prove it in the Big Brother house.

THESE will be worrying days for the men and women who work in Bournville's iconic chocolate factory.

Its owner, the multi-national Cadbury Schweppes, has announced plans to cut its worldwide workforce by around 7,500 and to close several of its confectionery sites, though it has provided no details of where the axe will fall.

BIRMINGHAM International Airport has acted swiftly after shocking revelations of shoddy security measures there.

Thirteen people have been sacked or have quit and the airport has set up a task force to try to ensure security levels are maintained.

There's something very evocative about a sports stadium on the eve of a big match.
Just popped into the Rose Bowl and it's looking superb, stands pristine, outfield immaculate in the evening sunshine and seven seagulls gathered near the square.

What glorious feats will unfold here tomorrow? A Maddy ton? A Daggett hat-trick? Will Kevin Pietersen go bananas and make Hampshire's supporters happy?
Or will Jonathan Trott dismiss KP for next to nothing just like he did in the final at Lord's two years ago?

THEIR prices are keen and their range of products is impressive. They are convenient and often pleasant places to shop.

But the huge growth in the number of supermarkets that have sprung up in Birmingham over recent years has not come without a price.

THEY put up with a lot, the staff who work in our hospitals. Insults and violence are part and parcel of their daily lives.

But for Kevan Parry, Judy Brown, Amanda Jones and Rose Ireson, the level of threat they faced reached a terrifying level when heroin addict Adam Fett pulled out a gun at City Road Hospital.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Intermittent sunshine and cloud over the Rose Bowl but nothing too threatening and play should start on time at 10.45am. Toss and teams at 10.15am.
Hopes are high of great entertainment, two words which do not apply to a telly programme called "Richard and Judy" five minutes of which I was unlucky enough to catch yesterday. It featured a woman plugging a TV show while playing a king-sized game of "Operation", egged on by the lugubrious eponymous couple, with the reward of a sausage for every bone she removed.
TV, it seems, has finally hit rock bottom.

Warwickshire team as expected after Streak passed a fitness test.

Bright, windy, warm.

Hampshire won the toss and bat. Will Dale Steyn conclude his stay with Warwickshire with a few wickets?

Hampshire 32 for 0 from 7 overs. John Crawley looking in excellent nick with three early boundaries.

Daggett has come closest to breaking through, forcing Carberry to edge streakily between slip and gully.

£4 for a hideous bacon baguette which was essentially a chunk of greasy fat wedged between two bits of tarpaulin. Outrageous.

Carberry edges a big drive at Daggett and goes for 13. Michael Lumb does the same against Steyn and perishes for 4. Two comfy catches for Ambrose.

42 for 2 in the 12th over. Crawley 23, Pietersen 0.

Hampshire 68 for 2 (18 overs). Crawley 37, Pietersen, given little to attack so far, 10.

SKY TV's audience for the recent Test against West Indies at one stage dipped to 110,000. When Tests were live on terrestrial telly they never attracted less than 750,000.

Great decision to sell out to SKY wasn't it?

Having never looked fluent, Pietersen essays a big drive at Groenewald and is well caught, head high, by Maddy at mid-off, for 18.

Hampshire 92 for 3 (22 overs). Crawley 51, Ervine 2.

A real bonus for the Bears. Crawley, having hardly put a foot wrong, calls for an ill-advised second run and is beaten by Streak's throw from third man. Crawley out fot 65. 113 for 4 in the 28th over.

Hampshire 157 for 6 (41 overs). Pothas 16, Mascarenhas 11.

Daggett has finished his spell with an excellent 10-2-38-1. Great stuff from Warwickshire so far albeit assisted by two suicidal run outs for Crawley and Ervine.

Tremlett was stumped off a Loudon wide. Ambrose has figured in five of the six wickets to fall. Two catches, two run outs and a stumping.

I'm usually quite polite when it comes to the older generation. I hold doors, I don't complain when they stop suddenly in front of you in the street and I even hold my temper when they get to the till and don't even have their purse anywhere near being open to pay for their goods.

But Carol is starting to rile me.

Mascarenhas misses a big mow at Steyn and is bowled for 26.

188 for 7 (37 overs). Pothas 32, Warne 0.

There's a dead seagull behind the media centre. It is understood to have been last seen pecking at a bacon baguette.

The target (ironically, as I type that word, a colleague's mobile phone rings out with the theme from 'Bullseye') is 206 for 7. Pothas 40no, Warne 10.

A good, solid collective bowling effort by the Bears. Daggett, Streak and Steyn very good. Hardly a loose ball bowled with important support from busy fielding and excellent wicket-keeping. It's what Bernard Manning would have wanted.

Run scoring not that easy on a slow pitch though. Warwickshire have work to do yet.

Westwood cuts hard at Tremlett and Crawley takes an astounding one-handed catch at full stretch to his right at point.

Westwood goes for 8. 15 for 1 (5 overs). Maddy 5 Sangakkara 0.

Maddy, like Westwood, slashes a short ball hard and is caught at point by Crawley.

Maddy out for 16. Warwickshire 43 for 2 (12 overs). Sangakkara 12, Trott 4.

The contest enters a cat and mouse stage. Warwickshire are content to eke out runs and the total moves from 50 to 61 in singles before Trott plays across the line and falls lbw to Mascarenhas.

Troughton gets off the mark, as he so often does, with a glorious four.

66 for 3 (19 overs). Sangakkara 23, Troughton 4. Everything hinges on how the Bears deal with the impending spin of Warne and Udal.

Jim Troughton will be wondering why, with Warwickshire ticking over nicely milking the spinners, he tried to hit Warne over the top.

Troughton out, caught at long on, for 18. Warwickshire 104 for 4 (28 overs). Sangakkara 42, Ambrose 4.

For the first time all game Warwickshire are second favourites after Sangakkara pulls Irvine into the hands of sub fielder Greg Lamb at square leg.

Exit Sanga for 44 from 75 balls. Then Alex Loudon plays on to Irvine for just a single and suddenly it's all going the shape of a pear. 112 for 6 in the 32nd over. Ambrose 9, Streak 0.

Streak offers no shot to Warne's slider and falls lbw for 1. 131 for 7. 76 needed from 14 overs.

The glimmer of hope - Ambrose, on 23, is batting as confidently as he has all season.

Groenewald goes for a big hit and holes out. 137 for 8 (39 overs)

Ambrose 29, Steyn 0.

Warwickshire really haven't batted very well. Some rash shots look like wasting their fine bowling and fielding.

All over. An ignominious collapse ends with Warwickshire all out 166 and beaten by 40 runs.

Hampshire will be at Lord's on August 18. The Bears are free to watch Walsall at Leyton Orient that day.

GAZING handsomely over Colmore Row, the Grand Hotel is a fine old building.

The sort of building that this city needs: elegant, historic, imposing, a repository for the memories of countless Brummies who have worked or attended functions there.

THEIR legs may have been aching and their feet may have been sore, but the women who took part in last night's Race for Life at Cannon Hill Park have hearts of gold.

The event - repeated tonight - is expected to raise a fortune for Cancer Research UK.

WHEN Big Brother decides to play mind games then they do it on a grand scale ....a scale of £100,000 to be precise.

Just a few weeks into the show and already one of the housemates is a winner and the others think they have lost out on the chance of any dosh.

It was a thoroughly evil and devilish move and absolutely brilliant.

IT IS outrageous that the trust running City and Sandwell hospitals should have put barriers in the way of senior doctors planning to hold a vote over controversial changes to services.

We are delighted that their attempts failed and that consultants have had their say over cutbacks to City's Hospital's casualty department and paediatric services.

THE debate over the rights and wrongs of prostitution continues to rage.

Pragmatists say that it will always exist and is better controlled than driven underground. Others take a sterner stance, arguing that it is immoral, exploitative and damaging.

It's a hard life as an editor. We sometimes HAVE to be out and about at functions, and last night both myself and Post editor Marc Reeves were pressing the flesh at 'Decadence', a rather fine bubbly and dining experience at the Mailbox in aid of the Get Ahead charity. The last time I saw him was very hazily at around midnight... But whereas sleepy Marc is able to lie in before arriving at work for the later shift enjoyed by the Post, yours truly was back at his desk for 7am, smiling to all, leading conference, proofing live pages, overseeing the p1 splash on a brothel found opposite schoolgates in Yardley, liaising with newspaper sales and generally being pukka, bright and cheery for the troops. Don't tell anyone, but behind that smile, my head aches...

Remember where you read this first. Liam is going to win this summer's Big Brother.

I think his reaction to winning the £100 grand, the fact he wants to spend most of it on his family, his quiet and thoughtful chats with Nicky and his obvious disinterest/terror of Charley's increasingly desperate attempts to get his attention all make him a good contender for being in till the end. And he seems like a genuinely nice guy and thus a worthy winner.

Update for those who sympathised (thanks guys!)

Headache now waning, diet means can't have more than cereal so far today, but poss. curry beckons over lunch in favourite pub with columnist.... mebbe even a Bathams and scratchings.

There is life after brain ache.

Thank goodness this job means you have to converse with folk in comfy snugs.

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Edgbaston is, of course, extremely wet after all the rain but, at the moment, there is no rain falling, although the clouds are grey and heavy.

The strip is getting a final trim so it appears that, if the predicted showers stay away, Warwickshire and Somerset might be starting their Twenty20 tussle as planned at 5.30pm.

When I worked at the zoo one day we had to take two truckloads of gnus to another zoo nearby. I drove one truck and my mate drove the other. All through the journey the gnus in my wagon misbehaved. They were a real pain, stamping and snorting and braying and butting the sides of the vehicle.
When we got there I parked up and I told my mate. He was surprised. "Mine have been good as gold," he said.
Then the bloke from the zoo came out. We asked him: "What do you want first, the good gnus or the bad gnus?"

Warwickshire won the toss and will bat. Harris and Carter each play their first game of the season. Van Jaarsveld's registration not through yet so he is not available.

Still very cloudy and humid but dry. It's pouring down in Moseley, apparently,

Warwickshire 40 for 2 after 5 overs. Trott 14, Troughton 1.

Caddick launched the match with a wicket-maiden which ended with Loudon strangely offering no stroke to a ball that hit middle stump.

Maddy rushed to 24 from 11 balls, including a six edged over thrid man off Andrew, but then had his off-peg removed by Caddick.

Warwickshire 73 for 3 (10 overs). Trott 29 Ambrose 18.

Troughton skied a pull at Andrew and went for 1. Trott and Ambrose accumulate steadily so far to add 28 in 26 balls.

Warwickshire 122 for 4 (15 overs). Ambrose 45, Groenewald 4.

Trott is caught at long off for 44 (47 balls) after a stand of 71 in 9 overs with Ambrose.

Ambrose, on 45 from 31 balls, as so often this season is batting hugely impressively.

Warwickshire finish on 161 for 6. About par, I'd say.

Groenewald and Streak biffed 29 in 19 balls towards the end but Somerset bowled pretty well to a full-length.

Batting won't be easy for Somerset though - if the rain holds off. The light isn't good and will only get worse and it's drizzling quite steadily now.

Play will resume on time but it's still drizzling. The same sort of drizzle which bit so deep into Somerset's visit to Coventry in the county championship in July 1948.

Play over the three days amounted only to Somerset 356, Warwickshire 56 for 0.

Staccato stuff, although Tom Pritchard managed to collect another four wickets on his way to 163 at 17.47 in the champo that season.

Somerset 48 for 1 (5 overs). Langer 17, White 1.

Warwickshire missing Steyn's bowling up front. Trescothick clubs Daggett for two sixes and Langer thrashes Groenewald's first ball for a straight six.

But then Trescothick drives Groenewald and Loudon takes a brilliant catch at extra-cover. Tresco goes for 29 (17 balls).

Somerset 80 for 4 (10). Kieswetter 21, Durston 0.

Streak and Loudon both strike with their second ball and Harris with his fourth but Kieswetter looks a threat with 6-4-6 off successive balls from Loudon.

Somerset 116 for 4 (15 overs) Kieswetter 46 (33 balls), Durston 11.

46 needed from the last 5. Kieswetter, on 45, dropped off a difficult chance by Daggett at third man. Could be costly.

Somerset 154 for 7. Warwickshire won by seven runs having held their nerve well and fielded brilliantly.

REVULSION and pity have understandably greeted today's images of the hostage Alan Johnston wearing a suicide belt.
Revulsion that those who have seized the BBC journalist could be cruel enough to subject their prisoner, his family, friends and colleagues to such distress. Pity for Mr Johnston that he should have to endure such barbaric treatment. The terror he must be feeling is unimaginable.

THEY serve an important purpose, the suburban fetes and carnivals that take place each summer despite the unpredictable British weather.

These events provide cheap family fun and create a sense of identity, a chance to mix with neighbours who we otherwise pass by with barely a word.

EXCUSE us Brummies if we remain sceptical about the spin-off benefits this area is predicted to enjoy when the Olympic Games are held in London in 2012.

We have too often seen billions of pounds of public money being poured into prestigious products in the capital while the West Midlands scratches around for funds.

LET'S give a big Brummie welcome to the real life heroes and heroines who will be arriving in this city to celebrate National Veterans' Day.

Five days of events are planned, culminating on Sunday.

Borises. We've racked our brains long and hard and have come up with four. Yeltsin, Becker, Johnson and Karloff.

Any more Borises out there?

Particular kudos goes to anyone who can come up with a cricket-related Boris.

Flood water having reduced New Road to a lake, tomorrow's Twenty20 game between Worcestershire and Warwickshire has been abandoned already.
Both teams were happy to play the match at Edgbaston but the competition rules stipulate that games must be played within the boundaries of the home county - and the ECB insists, in true jobsworth tradition, that rules are rules.

So a great occasion is lost. Surely, if all the participants are happy to swerve the rules, then they should be swerved.

What is this email world coming to?
I met a council pr theother week, for like two mins, and within a week she was sending me emails containing press releases. Fair enough, you say.
But what about her sign off? 'Luv Jacq xxxx' (not her real name!)
Does she love me? Is she realy throwing kisses?

THE Birmingham Mail made history yesterday.

For the first time, we published a special edition with a front page in the Chinese language Mandarin.

HOW disgraceful that Guardsman Gary Taylor, bravely serving in Iraq, should not have been paid since March.

Sitting in an office in Whitehall, a Ministry of Defence spokesman says: "Mistakes do happen with pay."

I am not joking about this over-flirting nonsense on email. Take three examples from emails that arrived today:
1. 'thanks and much love from Susie' (first email from London pr I've never met)
2. 'you can't miss this chance for a great story, but I know you'll want to use it. Lunchtime treat with me buying if you do! Soniaxxxxxxxxx (constant email style from pr I have not met, but am inundated by
3. Make sure you are home by 6. R. (my wife.... hold on a minute, this should be slushy!!)
Am I alone feeling courted by strange women and neglected by partner on email?

IT WOULD be easy to dismiss the residents who oppose the new probation office in Kitts Green as NIMBYs - short-sighted bigots who think it should be sited anywhere but in their neighbourhood.

But that would do them a disservice. They have real concerns that some of the offenders who will use the facilities will pose a risk to local children and point out that several schools are close by.

FOOTBALL clubs are sometimes portrayed as cynical organisations interested only in pocketing money from their fans.

We know that is not the case in this area, with Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion all active in the community.

Regarding the Bears' impending visit to Kent I had booked into a charming old coaching inn. I've stayed there before and it's great. People, food, rooms, all excellent - and not pricey.
Then last week a colleague to whom I had recommended the place tells me he stayed there and it was splendid, except that he was woken one night because "there was someone in the room". He couldn't see anyone but mentioned this next morning at breakfast to be told: "Oh yes, that's the ghost. She's often around - but quite friendly."
I cancelled my booking pronto. Does this make me a shrewd chap or, as I have been accused amid considerable and, I maintain, unfair ridicule, a cowardy custard?

IT IS a decision that could shape Birmingham for generations to come.

It is a decision that YOU, the voters, service-users and tax-payers of Birmingham, have every right to make. Yet it is a decision that this city's political leaders do not want to trust to the public.

CONGRATULATIONS to Jacqui Smith, the former Midlands teacher who has rapidly climbed the political ladder to become, at the age of 44, the first ever female Home Secretary.

She will be tackling some of the thorniest political issues that face the country. Issues such as terrorism, crime, anti-social behaviour and immigration.

It's sunny in Bristol and play will start on time at 5.30pm.
Gloucestershire's HQ - this ancient plot formerly trod by legends such as Grace, Hammond, Procter and Zaheer. It should ooze history, instead it is the most bland and forgettable of all the county HQs behind: 1. Perfect Hove. 2. Glorious Worcester. 3. Unique Lord's. 4. Elegant Canterbury. 5. Delightful Durham. 6. Lovely Taunton. 7. Cleverly-developed Trent Bridge. 8. Promising Rose Bowl. 9. Homely Northampton. 10. Cheery Chelmsford. 11. Much-maligned Grace Road. 12. Under-rated Derby. 13. Boisterous Sophia Gardens. 14. Historic Old Trafford. 15. Less cleverly-developed Edgbaston. 16. Ragged Headingly and 17. The characterless Oval.

Warwickshire make two changes. Powell in for the injured Brown and Anyon for the dropped Daggett.

Gloucestershire won the toss and will field.

Edgbaston might have its scoreboard problems, but Gloucestershire's are bigger. Their main board is out of action long-term and its replacement is, literally, ten feet square.

Warwickshire 0 for 2 after one over.

Neil Carter chips the second ball to deep mid-wicket and Darren Maddy plays on to the fifth.

Daggett is not dropped, by the way, he is injured. He suffered a cheekbone injury in fielding practice yesterday.

Bears 25 for 2 from 5. Troughton 9, Ambrose 12. Hard work.

Warwickshire 55 for 3 (10 overs). Ambrose 28, Loudon 9.

Troughton run out for 15 after a crossing of wires with Ambrose but the latter sticking in there to keep Warwickshire afloat.

They have their work cut out to get to their usual 190-plus from here though.

Warwickshire 106 for 5 (15) Ambrose 57, Groenewald 0.

Ambrose a brilliant 50 from 43 balls, reached with a sumptuous six over mid-wicket.

Streak caught and bowled for a useful 20 as the Bears clamber back from their terrible start.

"Doesn't look enough" a vicar, just outside the press box, has just said, referring to the Bears' total of 149 for 8.

Ambrose finally perished for a terrific 77, with Groenewald chipping in with 20.

But I think the vicar's right.