It's brightening up at Old Trafford. Ashley Giles is addressing his troops on the outfield, football poised nearby.

I'm sitting in a broadcasting box high at the Stretford End feeling a bit jaded and dog-eared and broken-armed. From an adjacent box a Lancashire-based broadcaster has just sung a rendition of "Who would buy this beautiful morning?" (from the musical Oliver Twist) and then knocked on the window and said: "Mr Halford, to commemorate the end of the season I have bought a quantity of cakes which are now available. The cake shop is now open."

There really are some very nice people around.

For the final time before this season hangs up its boots and heads for eternity in Wisden, good morning ladies and gentlemen.

The grey weather which glowered over Manchester for much of the championship match remains. If anything, it is a little bit more muggy today so the ball might swing.

Can Warwickshire finish on a high by claiming the prestigious valedictory Pro40 Division Two title?

Reports from Caffe Nero, Sale, this morning indicate that the hot chocolate served there is 65 per cent froth.

"The guys are disappointed to end this way because we have played some really good cricket this season, particularly of late. But I'm not going to sit in the dressing room and f and blind because we have lost a game. The effort cannot be doubted and overall during this championship season we have made improvements. We seemed to spend a long time in that eighth spot and have come very strong in the second half.

"One thing this team has not done since I have been director of cricket is roll over. It means a lot to everyone and hurts everyone when we lose. Now we have something else coming up which we have to focus on. If we win that we will win the Pro40 Division Two which will be great,

"I think fifth in the final championship table would be about right if you win three and lose three. Mid-table I think is an improvement and I think that we went into the last game with a chance of finishing second shows we are competitive.

"It was a solid championship season. You always set out to win the division you are in. How realistic was that? Maybe we should have thought fourth would have been fantastic. But mid-table is solid and an improvement again. It is by no means the end of the road and we have still got a lot of work to do but we are going in the right direction.

"There are certain things we got wrong at Old Trafford like the way we batted in the first innings and did we get the toss wrong? We did that at Durham as well and lost the game. But it looked totally like a bat first wicket and Keedy showed on the last day that it spun.

"There was never any sort of complacency. Maybe it affected us having the week before with only just the one-day game. The previous two weeks gave us a lot of momentum. Maybe we lost a bit of that but I can't knock any of the guys. They have done really well."

Lancashire won by ten wickets.

Just when we thought it was all over, just when we thought all hope was gone and it was all over bar the shouting and an entire Warwickshire championship match would, for the first time this season at the last attempt, be completed without a single bird alighting on the outfield at any point in the contest, in the final throes with Lancashire's openers striding out to bat in search of a mere four runs for victory and Jonathan Trott preparing to open the bowling, a magpie swooped into view above Old Trafford tram station, circled gracefully, taxied for a moment or two then settled on the lush, green outfield at deep long-off.

Phew!

Warwickshire 215 for 6 (63 overs). Clarke 26, Carter 0

Clarke hit Hogg for three successive fours and is timing the ball exquisitely.

Ambrose reached 50 from 66 balls with seven fours.

50 partnership in 63 balls.

Ambrose, on 55, gave Keedy the charge and was stumped.

At 5.04pm, two leg-byes occurred. Two more hideous carbuncles on the face of cricket.

Warwickshire 171 for 5 (56 overs). Ambrose 40, Clarke 3.

Troughton, having wrung 17 from 126 deliveries, was trapped lbw by Keedy.

Ambrose is attacking, not always in entirely secure fashion.

The sun is at its brightest at the Stretford End. It could truncate play when said celestial orb gets low in the sky.

Tea: Warwickshire 127 for 4 (40 overs). Troughton 17, Ambrose 13.

Troughton has faced 78 balls for his 18. He is certainly determined not to let this match go lightly.

Bright sunshine now. With a long last session ahead, due to all the time lost, Lancashire will still fancy their chances of finishing this match today.

For the first time this season a championship match involving Warwickshire could be completed without a bird alighting on the outfield. Too much building noise, presumably.

Although if a pied wagtail did attempt to land the umpires would probably decree that the bird's wings cast too great a shadow over the pitch, deem the light inadequate and take the players off.

Warwickshire 103 for 4 (33 overs). Troughton 10, Ambrose 0.

Trott misreads a Keedy googly and falls lbw for 44. Shame if Warwickshire's season ends with a thumping innings defeat but the middle and lower order need to dig deep if that is not to be the case.

Still 138 short.

Warwickshire 99 for 3 (30 overs). Trott 44, Troughton 6.

Retrenchment. Assisted by Chapple leaving the field, apparently injured, Trott and Troughton have got their heads down. Troughton six from 49 balls so far. Admirable discipline.

Keedy and Smith bowling.

Sunny.

Warwickshire 53 for 3 (14 overs). Trott 4, Troughton 0.

Westwood pushed at one angling across him from Mahmood and edged a comfortable catch to second slip.