The afternoon session had members choking on their rock cakes Speak and Fairbrother added 159 in 39 overs

The afternoon session had members choking on their rock cakes; Speak and Fairbrother added 159 in 39 overs. As Wasim has also led Pakistan, his credentials are gilt- edged; nothing short of commanding a Klingon starship should worry him.The morning was ideal for swingers, sticky and overcast, but Andrew Caddick and Graham Rose are convalescing. He punched, cut and drove anything remotely short or over-pitched and he looks set to reach a second successive Championship hundred after hitting 13 of the day's 58 boundaries on his way to 92.. reports from Taunton Lancashire 399-7 v Somerset Three men with England and Lancashire could still flaunt their power here, a volcanic century by Neil Fairbrother being preceded by an equally handsome 76 from Nick Speak.It was all Lancashire up to tea.

Jason Gallian was smooth, Steve Titchard solid and Wasim Akram, his first time as captain, won the toss and added a half-century. The same fielder missed Ramprakash 80 runs later, this time off his own bowling, but it could not detract from the class of the 25-year-old, who finished the day 15 runs short of the third double-century of his career.Gatting, too, is moving menacingly into gear. But in his present form he could sink a battleship by weight of runs alone, and the Sussex ship is listing heavily after the shell- shocked crew toiled all day under a broadside from Ramprakash and, latterly, Mike Gatting.These two big guns boomed shots all around the ground - some 80 per cent of Ramprakash's 30 boundaries were hit through the off side - as they piled up an unbroken 222 for the third wicket.Ramprakash had his share of luck, being dropped twice during his near five-hour innings, once by Keith Newell when he top-edged a sweep on 15. Middlesex 415-2 v Sussex A month is a long time in cricket. In those four weeks the enigma that is Mark Ramprakash has scored more than 500 runs, having bagged a pair at Lord's in the second Test against the West Indies, which resulted in his being dropped like a red hot coal by England. That glow has since become white hot, with a double century against Surrey, a hundred against Gloucestershire and yesterday another hundred, this time at the expense of Sussex.Ramprakash has had an unfortunate England career, with 11 of his 17 Tests having been played against the West Indies, and always under a degree of pressure.

Their loss unsettled the West Indian effort and, in spite of Brian Lara's assured presence, none of his partners showed an inclination to stay.Most culpable were Keith Arthurton with a slack drive to extra cover and Junior Murray, who hoisted a straightforward delivery to the fielder placed at deep midwicket for his offering.So, yet again, the bowlers had been left the task of retrieving the situation One of these days it will be beyond them.. First, Sherwin Campbell fell and then Carl Hooper, who tugged a short one from wide of off stump with the predictable outcome of a skied catch to square leg. A total of between 350 and 400 would have guaranteed England facing problems batting last.Instead, one West Indies batsman after another presented his wicket with wanton strokes. It was concocted by headline writers at a time when it was apt in characterising the attitude to Test cricket of mainly Saturday afternoon club players.

Those days have long since passed and use of the term, with its connotations of Bacchanalian batting, has become offensive to professionals who now pride themselves as the best in the game No one could complain of its use yesterday, however This was not Test match batting. At best, it would have been suited to the abbreviated form of the game. The advantage of the toss seemed crucial for England, their ageing off- spinners, John Emburey and Mike Watkinson, hoping to capitalise on a pitch that will aid turn. "Calypso cricket" is a description that grates on West Indians. Earlier, Anil Kumble, the wrist- spinner, had reduced them to 108 for 5 with two wickets in four deliveries, nipping one through to bowl the debutant Anurag Singh and dismissing Dougie Brown with an almost identical ball. By the close, Twose's unbeaten 98 was looking a valuable innings.Coming so soon after the furore over the Edgbaston Test pitch, the likelihood of another shortened contest here will raise a few eyebrows, but the strip in use, green in the middle and shaved at the ends, does not seem unusually difficult.Donald removed Alan Fordham and Richard Montgomerie with swinging yorkers, and there was a fair sprinkling of poor strokes among the other Northampton casualties Twose, by contrast, showed what application could achieve..