11.55am Andrew Flintoff is due in next for Lancashire at Hove - Mike Averis will have all the news as and when he bats.
Midday Good Morning from Headingley, where Durham are 110-4 in pursuit of Yorkshire's first innings total of 184, writes Richard Rae. The man out is Ben Harmison, or Steve's brother as he is still more commonly known. Having grafted away for 28 off 92 balls, he tried to hook a standard Tim Bresnan bouncer, got it high on the bat and looped a catch to Darren Gough at mid-on. Dale Benkenstein is 32 not out, and Albie Morkel has hit young Steven Patterson for two straight fours in three balls.
The complaint yesterday was of uneven bounce, a contention supported by the fact a number of batsmen have got in but none has gone on to 50, though I'd back the reliable Benkenstein to be the first. Despite the forecast, it's disappointingly cloudy here, but the wicket looks to have flattened a little, as it often does on the second day at Headingley.
1.05pm The South Africans took the field without Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla after declaring at 515-3 on the second morning of the three-day tour match against Somerset at Taunton, writes Richard Latham.
Yesterday's two centurions were both nursing minor injuries, Kallis the bruised arm he sustained when hit by a short ball from Andrew Caddick and Amla a slight groin strain, the result of batting for more than three and a half hours following a two-month break from cricket.
Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers took the chance of some batting practice after the tourists resumed on 455-3, Prince moving to a 69-ball half-century, including sive fours and a six over wide long-off to further dent the figures of young leg-spinner Michael Munday.
The declaration came with Prince on 63 and de Villiers 47. Somerset opener Neil Edwards then greeted Makahya Ntini with driven fours off his first two deliveries and moved confidently to 28 before edging Andre Nel to third slip where Prince took the catch.
Morne Morkel replaced Ntini, whose four overs went for 24, and quickly yorked Arul Suppiah for 16. James Hildreth chopped on to his stumps off the same bowler and Zander de Bruyn was run out off the last ball before lunch to leave Somerset 52-4.
1.10pm This morning was a pretty good moment for a wicket-keeper to score a hundred, writes Lawrence Booth at The Oval. Tim Ambrose threatened to reopen the seemingly endless debate over who should have the gloves for England by flopping badly at Lord's on Saturday to round off a miserable NatWest Series, and this morning Jon Batty reminded everyone that the selectors could do a lot worse than give him a belated chance at the age of 34 by moving to his 17th first-class century as Surrey reached lunch on 370 for seven against Kent.
At 293 balls and six hours, this may have been the slowest of all his hundreds, but since this game could be viewed as a relegation dogfight, even at the end of June, you could understand the caution. I spoke to Batty recently about his international aspirations - don't forget, the equally fit and keen Paul Nixon first played for England at the age of 36 - and he said: "I'll have hope until the day I retire." On this evidence, that day will not come around any time soon.
Resuming on 70, he lost Ali Brown and Abdul Razzaq in the first five overs of the day, both to the lively Robbie Joseph, but moved to 96 with a straight six off James Tredwell that dislodged a panel in the sightscreen by the pavilion, and then inched towards three figures in singles. His robust wave of the bat towards his team-mates showed what the moment meant to him, and he duly celebrated with a string of lovely straight-drives. He's helped Surrey to four batting points so far and he may yet help them to victory.
1.30pm Freddie watch Day Two and precious little to report as night watchman Gary Keedy and his captain Stuart Law turned the game on its head by batting through the session to add 120 runs by lunch, writes Mike Averis at Hove. After 14 wickets on the first day it represented a considerable change of pace, but delayed the seaside crowd's chance to see Flintoff renew his campaign for a place in the England Test squad to be announced on Thursday.
He bowled 15 useful overs yesterday, without taking a wicket and could have been batting when wickets tumbled after tea yesterday had Lancashire not decided to delay the moment by employing Keedy - an understandable move since Flintoff has been scoreless in his last three championship innings - instead.
As it was, Law added 51 to go to only his second half-century in six matches this season. The 39-year-old Queenslander was quickly into his stride, putting Mushtaq Ahmed's first ball of the day, a gentle low full toss, through mid-wicket for four before latching on to an equally juicy leg-stump half volley from Jason Lewry which was clipped through square leg.
Mushtaq was back on by the time the Lancashire captain got to his half-century, driving the wrist-spinner back up the hill - his seventh boundary. One ball earlier Keedy had pushed the single to bring up a 100 partnership that included the generous donation of 12 byes - three sets of four - in one Corey Collymore over.
Keedy stuck around, adding 47 to his overnight score while drawing a generous donation of 12 byes in one Corey Collymore over - three sets of four - and finished the session on 52 - only his second half-century in 183 first-class innings. By then Law was on 56 and Lancashire had reduced the Sussex lead to 66 with four wickets standing.
2pm Durham 168-7, and yet again batsmen who appeared to be well-set got themselves out before reaching 50, to balls that did nothing special, writes Richard Rae. Benkenstein threw the bat at a short ball outside off-stump and edged to Brophy, and Morkel flashed at a Gough delivery which also started well outside off-stump. Benkenstein was furious with himself, Morkel outwardly philosophical - it's how he plays. Now Wiseman has pulled a short ball on leg-stump down on to his leg-stump.
As sometimes happens, the teams have collectively decided it's the sort of track on which you need to go for your shots. It isn't. Maybe Mustard can cut it, though the Durham backroom staff aren't convinced. They reckon England messed around with both his technique and his mind last winter, and he's not been the same player since.
2.50pm Blink and you missed him. The latest stage in Andrew Flintoff's campaign to get into the England squad last lasted just 12 minutes at Hove. Then he was gone, caught by a substitute fielder for six runs. His stay had lasted just 15 deliveries.
After a run of three ducks it was an improvement, but if (unlikely) he is named in Thursday's squad it will be for the 15 overs he bowled yesterday and what he does in the remainder of this game.
Flintoff, down to bat at five, but shunted down the order with the clatter of Lancashire wickets after tea yesterday, finally got to the wicket midway through the afternoon session today when Lancashire were 220 for six. He pushed the first delivery back to off spinner, Ollie Rayner, then smashed the next straight for four.
His next big shot was his undoing. After a series of studious prods and an edge for two off Mushtaq Ahmed he aimed Rayner away over mid-wicket, miscued and Will Adkin, fielding for Jason Lewry, took the catch, barely 25 yards away and after all the remedial work done by Stuart Law and Gary Keedy in the morning, Lancashire were still 23 runs behind with only three wickets left.
Keedy's innings - he went in as nightwatchman to shield Flintoff - lasted a minute over three hours and the 33-year-old's 64 was his highest score in 183 first class innings.
3.50pm Wes Durston and Craig Kieswetter spared Somerset's blushes as the tourists continued to dominate, writes Richard Latham at Taunton, Durston hitting a valiant 61, including eight fours and a six, as his side struggled to 195-6 at tea.
Johannesburg- born Kieswetter, who represented South Africa at Under-19 level, was unbeaten on 55, having reached a confident half-century off 80 balls, with nine fours. The 20-year-old wicketkeeper looked composed and was eager to attack anything loose.
Peter Trego helped add 54 for the fifth wicket after lunch before becoming the second Somerset batsman run out in a mix-up with Durston. The South African bowlers were finding out just how flat a wicket it was, but Morkel broke through again with the score on 149.
Durston was lbw trying to whip a full-length delivery through mid-wicket. But there was nothing in the pitch for the pace bowlers and Ashley Prince soon turned to spin in the shape of Paul Harris and J-P Duminey.
Morkel's figures at tea were 11-3-61-3. He had taken some punishment from Durston and Kieswetter, conceding 34 in three overs after lunch and a further 20 from a four-over spell prior to tea, but still looked the most threatening of the South African attack.
4.05pm From a tricky 269 for six only five overs into the morning's play, Surrey have had comfortably the better of things at The Oval as the players disappear for tea, writes Lawrence Booth. Kent are 123 for four in reply to Surrey's 397 and there are one or two signs of uneven bounce, which could spell trouble later for Rob Key's boys. With Key, Joe Denly, James Tredwell and Darren Stevens already back in the pavilion, Kent are relying on something special from Martin van Jaarsveld, their leading runscorer in the Championship this season. He's got 40 at the moment and his extra-high, baseball-style backlift is almost worth the admission fee alone.
He will have to show the patience epitomised earlier by Jon Batty, who finished with an undefeated 136 out of 335 made while he was at the wicket. He was there for seven hours 25 minutes, faced 343 balls, and as soon as Pedro Collins was last man out, leg before to Martin Saggers for a duck, Batty - barely pausing to milk the applause - rushed straight up the pavilion stairs to prepare for what could still be a long stint behind the stumps. So far he's been on the field for all but an hour and a bit of this game and he's showing no signs of flagging. Easy life, this county cricket.
