County Championship: Warwickshire skipper Will Rhodes steers Bears into lead at Lord's

Will Rhodes (95) and Danny Briggs (71) both hit their best scores of the season at Lord's

Warwickshire pair Will Rhodes and Danny Briggs both hit their season's best first-class score in a century stand as the Bears threatened to spoil Tim Murtagh's fairytale ending at Lord's.

On a truncated day two, ended by rain an hour after lunch, Murtagh claimed two early scalps to complete a five-wicket haul on his last appearance for the county at the home of cricket.

But, having reduced the visitors to 95-6 inside the first hour, Rhodes (95) and Briggs (71) then added an unbroken 133 for the seventh wicket, to move the Bears on to 228-6, a lead of 107.

While veteran seamer Murtagh's supporting cast lacked direction and rhythm, to add to Middlesex's woes, all-rounder Ryan Higgins left the field just prior to lunch with an injury.

Rhodes, on 36 overnight, got the scoreboard moving on a ground where he always bats well with a drive which deflected off the stumps for four.

But Murtagh struck with a superb in-swinger to trap Ed Barnard for 13, then topped that in his next over with one which deviated a fraction off the surface to beat the inside edge of Michael Burgess and crash into the stumps.

But, once the 42-year-old former Ireland international had been taken off, Rhodes and Briggs took control.

Rhodes despatched a Tom Helm long hop to square leg to reach his 50 and, when Jayant Yadav, troubled by no-ball issues, changed ends, Briggs contemptuously reversed swept his fellow spinner for four to move Warwickshire into the lead.

Briggs survived a big shout for caught behind off Yadav from the first ball after lunch before launching an assault to go past 50 for the first time this season and only the seventh in his first-class career.

The assured Rhodes was within sight of his ninth first-class hundred - and his third at Lord's - when the weather closed in.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.