LONDON, May 30: England outcast Graham Thorpe scored a second successive century for Surrey on Friday.

The 33-year-old left-hander, hoping to make his way back into the England set-up after long-running personal problems, hit 156, including 26 fours, in a county championship match against Sussex at The Oval.

Surrey closed on 401 for eight after the first day.

On Wednesday Thorpe made 102 not out in a Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy match against Somerset.

Thorpe, who retired from one-day internationals last year and then withdrew from the Ashes tour of Australia following his marriage break-up, was not considered for England’s one-day squad on Thursday, with the selectors keen to look to younger talent.

Still regarded as one of England’s leading batsmen, he was also overlooked for the first test against Zimbabwe. The second match of the series starts on June 5.

Thorpe averages 41.87 in 77 tests and 37.18 in 82 one-dayers.

All rounder Andrew Flintoff, struggling to bowl because of a shoulder injury but who was included in the England one-day squad for the English summer, hammered 154 off 158 balls for Lancashire against Kent at Canterbury, hitting eight sixes and 17 fours — 116 runs in boundaries.

Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire flirted with a world record low score in first-class cricket on Friday before being bowled out for 79 by Essex in the English county championship.

Chasing Essex’s 203 all out at Trent Bridge, the home team were seven for eight at one stage, before last pair Stuart MacGill of Australia and Muhammad Malik hit out desperately to put on 60 for the last wicket.

The lowest first-class score ever recorded was 12, by Oxford University against the MCC in 1877.

Essex’s Scott Brant, whose fellow Zimbabweans were crushed by an innings in the first Test by England last week, took a career-best six for 45 with his left-arm fast medium.

Notts fielded three other Test players in their batting line-up apart from MacGill. Jason Galian made 0, Usman Afzaal three and Chris Cairns of New Zealand one. None of the top eight batsmen scored more than three.—Reuters