GRAEME Hick gave the England cricket selectors a reminder of what he can do with an impressive 37 not out as rain washed out most of the action at Lord's yesterday.

Hick, who was not given a central contract after a largely disappointing winter with England, still hopes to be given another chance this summer.

And Hick took the chance to keep himself in the selectors minds with an assured innings.

His ability at county level has never been in doubt and he was given an early chance to remind everyone of what a good player he can be after Worcestershire won the toss and elected to bat against Middlesex on a damp pitch.

Left-handed Philip Weston and Worcestershire debutant Anurag Singh, who joined from Warwickshire in the summer, looked fairly comfortable against Middlesex's opening attack of Tim Bloomfield and skipper Angus Fraser.

Weston took the initiative and looked in little danger, but having made just nine, he chased a wide out-swinging ball from medium pacer Bloomfield and was well caught behind by wicketkeeper David Nash.

Boundaries

With the score on 13 for one, Hick came to the crease for his first innings of the new season and helped to push the score past 50, racing to 25 off just 26 balls and hitting some eye-catching boundaries across a slow outfield.

The 34-year-old rarely looked like getting out apart from one useful delivery from former England bowler Fraser, which had his former Test team-mate in two minds.

The introduction of medium-pacer Simon Cook slowed Hick's scoring rate down considerably and it was his batting partner Singh who began to pick up the pace.

He caught the eye with a couple of off-driven boundaries as he reached 22, while Hick moved more steadily along to 37 not out from 67 deliveries, including six fours.

The dependable Fraser, in his first match as Middlesex's new captain, bowled tidily in his opening spell, conceding just 18 runs in his nine overs.

But the pick of the bowlers was 23-year-old Cook, who went for just 10 runs in seven useful overs just when Hick was threatening to get on top.

But around half-an-hour before lunch, the heavens opened and umpires Vanburn Holder and Roy Palmer took the players off for an early lunch, denying Hick the chance of making the first half-century of the new season.

The rain continued all afternoon and was followed by the inevitable announcement that play had been abandoned for the day.