So far the Stanford Super Series has produced cricket which has been more in keeping with a quiet night by the side of the fire reading a good book. Even Sir Allen has looked bored, although by perching an England player's girlfriend on his knee he did manage to raise a smile during the match against Middlesex on Sunday night.

But two matches into the Stanford week and it seems we are going to have the inverse experience of watching the biggest purse in sport's history fought for under conditions which are only conducive for what the Middlesex captain Shaun Udal described as "attritional cricket" – which is a phrase not often attached to the Twenty20 game.

The combination of a lifeless square and a slow outfield is producing cricket for Twenty20 purists, if they exist.

Defending a small target, as England did with their 121 on Sunday, will test the skills of a captain and his bowlers as well as presenting a mental challenge to batsmen who are expecting to belt the ball out of the park at every opportunity.

"As a bowler I was coming over here and expecting it to be a run fest," said Stuart Broad, whose four overs cost just 14 runs against Middlesex on Sunday night. "That is what people want to see but the wicket is conducive to hitting the deck and taking spin.