Middlesex v Worcestershire: generous bowlers help Andrew Strauss get back among the runs When Angus Fraser expresses sympathy for batsmen you know times must be hard for batting and the compassion even appeared to infect the Worcestershire attack which fed Andrew Strauss's strengths and helped him make his first significant runs of the summer. It was a shaky start from Strauss, who was dropped on five at third slip off Alan Richardson, but a confident cut for four off Richard Jones eased the nerves and he was soon getting forward more convincingly. He lifted Richardson into the grandstand for six and on 47 looked to have brought up his half-century with a flick off his legs but his partner, Sam Robson, was too slow to turn for the third run. Strauss looked cross and he would have been even angrier a few moments later when the only dangerous delivery among an over of dross from Aneesh Kapil pitched full and nipped back into the England captain who was plumb lbw. Fraser, the Middlesex director of cricket and archetypal grumpy seamer, used his programme notes to agree that conditions are a little too in favour of the bowler and his Middlesex side rattled along as if they felt an unplayable delivery could arrive at any moment. With a first-day washout followed by another 50 overs wiped out by the weather on Friday, Middlesex had to take the chance to set the tone and realised the pitch was far more in keeping with the usual Lord's wickets than those seen so far this summer. There was a little movement off the seam, nothing extravagant, and the cold May air could well have been too cool to help the ball swing. Richardson used all his experience from his time bowling here for Middlesex to plug away on the right length and should have had more than his one wicket. His last appearance at Lord's was at the Wisden dinner when he received an award as one of their five cricketers of the year. It emerged this week he had written to the almanack's editor to thank him for the award, becoming only the second cricketer to do so. The other was Glenn McGrath and Richardson's delivery to take the second wicket of the day was in the mould of the great Australian. Just pitched back of a good length, the ball lifted on Robson who edged behind for a well-constructed 59 which left Middlesex in a decent position in a match the weather has turned into a fight for bonus points rather than a strong prospect for a result.