Keegan took the first six Nottinghamshire wickets to fall inside 15 overs, including Outlaws’ skipper Jason Gallian with the first delivery of the match, as the home side collapsed despite scoring five-an-over during the field restrictions.

The tail made sure Notts gave the Crusaders something to chase by reaching 173 all out in the final over, with overseas star Nantie Hayward recording figures of 3-33.

But Middlesex openers Paul Weekes and new signing Ed Smith made a solid start to the visitors’ reply, and by having reached 91-0 in the 22^nd over when the rain arrived, they had made sure their side were a healthy 35 runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis requirement.

It was a superb beginning to life in Division One after promotion last year, in a season where the Crusaders will surely be looking to consolidate their status in the higher echelons of both competitions.

Despite Keegan having Gallian dramatically caught by Andrew Strauss with the totesport League’s first wicket of the season, however, Graeme Swann and Anurag Singh then took control for half an hour. One over from Paul Hutchison disappeared for 21 before Keegan returned to dismiss both, with Singh caught by new captain Ben Hutton and Swann bowled.

When Warren was trapped for a second ball duck Middlesex were really in the ascendancy, and Keegan did not let up by importantly removing Australian David Hussey and one-day specialist Mark Ealham to leave Notts thunderstruck on 75-6.

The Outlaws’ run-rate predictably suffered and they were soon 87-7 after Paul Franks was caught and bowled by Hayward.

A repair job of sorts was crafted by Chris Read (34) and Ryan Sidebottom (32) but although Middlesex would have been somewhat disappointed not to have polished off the tail rather more promptly, the vast bulk of the work had unquestionably been accomplished earlier on.

Perhaps the most pressing concern was how long the rain would take to arrive, with other games at Edgbaston and Old Trafford being halted. Weekes and Smith proceeded cautiously at first but maintained the required run-rate, knowing wickets in hand would always be important. An acceleration in the period prior to the rain hitting Trent Bridge meant the Crusaders were comfortably in command when the elements forced the players from the field, with Weekes (52no) tallying yet another limited overs half century and Smith (28no), in his first competitive outing for the side, providing dependable support.

The real man of the match though was Keegan with a quite brilliant six-wicket haul on his return to action, and the whole side will be on a high going into the first Championship match against the same opposition at Lord’s starting on Wednesday.

Please click here for the scorecard to this match

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS

• Think you know your sport? Click here to try the Sportnetwork Prize Quizzes