The Cricketer wraps up events from across Division One and Division Two of the County Championship on another eventful day
Headlingley (first day of four): Yorkshire 181 v Hampshire 14-1
Fidel Edwards claimed a superb season’s best five for 49 from 15 overs, including dismissing omitted England all-rounder David Willey for a bullish 34, as Hampshire bowled Yorkshire out for 181 to dominate a rain-affected first day at Emerald Headingley.
A showery day meant a delayed start until 12.20pm and then five further interruptions, including one for bad light, as Yorkshire’s innings lasted less than 57 overs having elected to bat first in this Specsavers County Championship fixture.
Edwards bowled 15 overs and led the way for the second-placed visitors, claiming four wickets in 12 balls after tea. Hampshire then closed on 14 for one from 9.1 overs.
With swing the primary aid for the seamers, James Fuller impressed for three wickets having come into the side in place of Kyle Abbott, who sustained a calf injury in Saturday’s Royal London one-day Cup final defeat to Somerset. Keith Barker picked up the other two.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore played nicely for 45, while Willey hit six fours in his first 28 runs upon his return to county colours following his World Cup disappointment.
Edgbaston (first day of four): Warwickshire 275-8 v Surrey
An aggressive half-century from number ten Liam Norwell lifted Warwickshire to 275 for eight against Surrey on a fluctuating opening day of their Specsavers County Championship clash at Edgbaston.
Eager to put pressure on a fragile Bears batting unit, the champions chose to bowl first on a slow pitch.
That decision looked questionable when Warwickshire were 58 without loss and then 165 for three, but was vindicated by a superb post-tea spell from Matt Dunn.
Playing his first championship game for over a year, Dunn delivered a burst of three for four in 20 balls as the home side lost five wickets for 21 runs.
The home side's freefall was halted by a spectacular counter-attack from ninth-wicket pair Norwell (58 not out, 48 balls, 11 fours) and Henry Brookes (35 not out, 55 balls, three fours, two sixes). They added an unbroken 89 in 16 overs to leave an engrossing day pretty much even.
Chelmsford (first day of four): Essex 303-8 v Kent
Sir Alastair Cook reached three-figures in a competitive match for the first time since his international retirement as Essex enjoyed a positive day against Kent.
The 34-year-old had begun the red ball season with scores of 50, 8, 11, 0 not out, 31 and 40 not out, after crashing an unbeaten 150 against Cambridge MCCU.
But on his 100th first-class appearance for Essex, having made his debut in September 2003, he clocked up a typically gritty century to grind Kent down.
Cook moved to three figures with back-to-back boundaries off Joe Denly – back in county cricket after his omission from England's World Cup squad. First, he cut powerfully in front of square, before nonchalantly flicking a full-ball through mid-wicket.
The ton, which encompassed a mammoth 208 deliveries, was his first in the Championship since 193 he notched against Middlesex in June 2017.
The milestones continued for England’s greatest Test run scorer as he passed 23,000 runs in first-classes matches when he reached 106.
Cook ended up with 125 as Essex suffered a late collapse to reach 303 for eight at close on the first day at Chelmsford.
Worcester (first day of four): Worcestershire 64-3 v Middlesex 221
Middlesex struck back with the ball after being dismissed for 221 on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship with Middlesex at Blackfinch New Road.
The visitors were bowled out in 66.2 overs after being put into bat with Charlie Morris and Josh Tongue continuing their impressive start to the season.
Morris, the leading wicket-taker in Division Two, picked up three more scalps to take his tally to 23 and Tongue also added a further trio of wickets to lift his total to 15.
Only Middlesex skipper Dawid Malan (45), who had recovered from a groin injury suffered on England duty earlier in the month, and keeper John Simpson (35) batted with much authority.
But Tom Helm bowled a fine new ball spell for Middlesex which brought him two wickets and then Callum Ferguson fell just before the close for an aggressive 37 and Worcestershire will restart tomorrow on 64-3 from 27 overs.
Hove (first day of four): Sussex 208-5 v Glamorgan 186
Opener Phil Salt scored his second successive century to put Sussex in a good position on day one of their Specsavers County Championship match against Glamorgan at Hove.
Having made 122 against Northamptonshire last week, Welsh-born Salt reached the fourth hundred of his career in the final over of the day before being caught behind from the day's final delivery.
Salt wasn’t the only opener to prosper with Glamorgan’s Nick Selman carrying his bat for the second time in his career. The 23-year-old was left unbeaten on 79 when Glamorgan, who have only won once in the Championship at Hove since 1975, were dismissed for 186 in 55.2 overs.
Sussex’s seamers dominated apart from a period either side of lunch when Selman and Graham Wagg added 72 in 22 overs for the seventh wicket.
Jared Warner, who was making his first-class debut after joining on loan from Yorkshire, polished off the tail to finish with three for 35, while Chris Jordan also took three wickets.
Leicester (first day of four): Leicestershire 55-4 v Derbyshire 139
Tony Palladino bowled his side back into the match after Derbyshire had been dismissed for just 139 after choosing to bat first in their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.
The veteran seamer ended the day having taken three wickets and conceded only three runs from nine overs of medium-paced swing bowling, ensuring a remarkable day’s cricket finished roughly even.
Palladino was following the example of Leicestershire’s quartet of seamers, who had earlier taken full advantage of the cloudy conditions.
Mohammad Abbas (3-38), Chris Wright (3-39), Dieter Klein (2-30) and Will Davis (2-15) shared the wickets on a pitch which, while offering occasional slight assistance to the bowlers, was far from the minefield the scores might suggest.
Cheltenham (first day of four): Gloucestershire 205 v Lancashire 47-2
Saqib Mahmood finished with four for 48 as Lancashire bowled out Gloucestershire for 205 on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Cheltenham College.
The 22-year-old England Lions seamer claimed the first three wickets of the innings to stem a promising start by the hosts. There were two wickets each for James Anderson and Liam Livingstone, while Miles Hammond top-scored with 82.
By the time bad light brought a close three overs early, Lancashire had replied with 47 for two, losing Haseeb Hameed to a run out and Jake Lehmann, bowled by David Payne during an eight over opening spell by the left-armer, which saw him conceded only four runs.
Reports courtesy of the ECB Reporters Network
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