Brown and Bell take command as Nottinghamshire wilt

Former England One-Day International all-rounder Dougie Brown made the third century of his career and England under-21 batsman Ian Bell was well set to make his first in the Championship as a fifth-wicket stand of 176 in 46 overs put Warwickshire in control at 270-5 in their CricInfo Championship game at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire, desperate for success to revive their promotion hopes after five games without a win, could hardly be cheerful about their prospects when left-arm seamer Greg Smith dislodged their top three batsmen, Nick Knight, Mark Wagh and Mike Powell, in a testing first spell.

But Brown, who made 104, and Bell, unbeaten on 80, changed the pattern in impressive style as Notts' bowling wilted on an easing pitch.

The recovery was begun by David Hemp's dogged 52. But after he departed with a curse of self-criticism after pulling straight to mid-wicket, Brown and Bell took complete control.

Brown was much the more assertive, rattling to three figures off only 132 balls and hitting 18 fours before sweeping at the off-spin of Kevin Pietersen four overs from the close and edging to wicketkeeper Chris Read.

Bell, in only his seventh Championship appearance, was more restrained but revealed both power and quality with a dozen fours as Notts, whose attack has struggled for penetration all season, permutated seven bowlers in search of a second breakthrough on a day from which 21 overs were lost to rain.

The persevering Smith finished with 3-30 from 17 overs but the rest were too erratic to provide him with the necessary support as Warwickshire headed towards a commanding total.