Kevin Pietersen knows that only weight of runs will get him back in the England side and he signalled his intent with a breezy fifty as Surrey tried force a result against Glamorgan in Cardiff on Wednesday.

After falling for 19 in the first innings, there was a chance that he would not bat again, as Surrey piled up 563. But Glamorgan, now under the command of Jacques Rudolph, countered with 419, a lead of 144. Still, more in hope than expectation, Surrey attacked. Kumar Sangakkara was in ODI mode, scoring 40 off 27 balls, while Pietersen’s 53 came off 70 balls, with just four fours.

They declared at 207-4, offering a very untempting  target of 353.

Rudolph meandered his way to 52 off 114 balls, alongside James Kettlebrough (50). When they reached 116 without loss, the game was called off.

The 97 runs scored by Ashwell Prince on day three proved decisive as Lancashire beat Derbyshire by 150 runs. The hosts had to bat out the day, but they were undone by Zimbabwean pacer Kyle Jarvis, who took 5-13 off 19 overs, including New Zealander Martin Guptill and Derby’s Saffa captain Wayne Madsen.

In Nottingham, Vernon Philander added an unbeaten 38 as Notts dragged out a bore-draw, closing the day at 354-7 dec in their second innings, a lead of 367 after Yorkshire had scored 441. Earlier, Riki Wessels had scored 43 in a stiff rear-guard action which sealed off the match.