A CENTURY from in-form Owais Shah and further heavy rain continued to frustrate Kent on day two of their crucial Frizzell Championship match with Middlesex.

Rain initially stopped play at 3pm, with the loss of another 35 overs out of this rain-ruined game, and though the players returned at 5.30pm the action lasted just six overs before the umpires called time for bad light with Middlesex on 297 for five and Paul Weekes unbeaten on 92.

The visitors lost four wickets either side of lunch including that of Shah soon after scoring his fifth century in seven games and his sixth of the season in total.

Though overlooked by England throughout this Ashes summer Shah came into this game with 1,281 runs and topped that up with another 105, his century coming from 188 balls and with 14 fours and a six.

He had helped rebuild the Middlesex innings with a stand of 142 in 29 overs in tandem with Weekes.

The stand was broken when Shah pushed forward in defence to Min Patel only to feather a catch to Niall O’Brien.

Weekes, who survived a stumping chance with his score on 66, never really looked secure at the crease and often played and missed but he was still there, 17 short of a hundred, when lightning and then rain ended play for the day.

This second day of the game started well for Kent who, having lost two sessions on day one, took the wicket of Ed Smith with the fourth ball of the day.

Without addition to his overnight 40, Smith played back to an off-cutter that uprooted his off stump.

Khan then had Ed Joyce caught at mid-wicket off a miscued pull for his 50th wicket of the summer then, after lunch, Andrew Hall bagged his first wicket of the innings by trapping Jamie Dalrymple leg before.

SCORECARD

Middlesex first innings

E T Smith b Khan 40
B L Hutton b Khan 10
O A Shah c O’Brien b Patel 105
E C Joyce c Key b Khan 12
J W M Dalrymple lbw b Hall 4
P N Weekes not out 92
D C Nash not out 10
Extras 24

Total 297 for five after 87 overs (rain stopped play)

Fall of wicket: 1-31, 2-92, 3-120, 4-136, 5-274.

Bowling: Khan 16-6-59-3, Cook 14-4-38-3, Hall 18-3-80-1, Kemp 9-0-29-0, Patel 20-5-56-1, Stevens 10-0-27-0.