Find out what happened on day one of the latest round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches
DIVISION ONE
Old Trafford (first day of four): Lancashire 112-4, Kent
Lancashire endured a difficult start to their innings on a rain-effected day at Emirates Old Trafford with Kent taking two wickets in each session played during day one of this LV=Insurance County Championship Division One clash.
After last week's heatwave, Manchester reclaimed its reputation for inclement weather with rain and a strong wind battering the ground for most of the morning ensuring no play was possible until 3pm before which the visitors had won the toss and elected to bowl.
Navdeep Saini took the wickets of Luke Wells, Keaton Jennings and Rob Jones, while Josh Bohannon fell to Nathan Gilchrist for 27. Steven Croft, who is leading Lancashire in this game with Dane Vilas suffering from a fractured finger, steadied the ship, and he and Washington Sundar took the home side to 112 for 4 before the rain returned and play was abandoned for the day at around 6.15pm.
***
Chelmsford (first day of four): Essex 281-3, Somerset
Nick Browne collected his second County Championship century of the season as Essex assembled 281 for 3 against Somerset.
Opening batter Browne mixed his usual determined self with some more glamourous shot-play to guzzle his season-best 129 not out – the 18th time he has reached three figures in first-class cricket.
His punishing innings was welded together by 105 put on with Alastair Cook (44), 56 with Dan Lawrence (35) and 115 with Paul Walter, who ended the day unbeaten on 57.
Navdeep Saini took three wickets for Kent (George Wood/Getty Images)
Scarborough (first day of four): Yorkshire 158-8, Hampshire
A six-star morning gave title-chasing Hampshire the early advantage at Scarborough - but things could have been much worse for Yorkshire during a rain-affected opening day.
Yorkshire slipped to 33 for 6 in the opening 21 overs of this County Championship fixture before later recovering to close on 158 for 8 inside 55 thanks to half centuries from Will Fraine and Dom Bess.
Second-placed Hampshire's overseas seamers Kyle Abbott and Muhammad Abbas shared seven wickets, the former finishing with 4 for 36 from 11.2 overs.
Cheltenham (first day of four): Gloucestershire 317, Northamptonshire 30-0 - Northamptonshire trail by 287 runs with 10 first-innings wickets remaining
James Bracey gave a reminder of the ability that earned England Test status as Gloucestershire posted 317 all out on the opening day of the County Championship match with Northamptonshire at Cheltenham College.
The 25-year-old left-hander top scored with 79, off 137 balls, with 11 fours, receiving excellent support from Ryan Higgins (50) in a sixth-wicket stand of 110, which rescued their side from 167 for 5 after winning the toss.
Off-spinner Rob Keogh was the most successful Northants bowler with 3 for 61. By the close of a day packed with attacking batting and wickets aplenty for a sizable Festival crowd, the visitors had replied with 30 without loss from 12 overs.
Tom Lawes impressed for Surrey (Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
The Kia Oval (first day of four): Warwickshire 240-8 v Surrey
Warwickshire battled their way to 240 for 8, despite no one passing fifty, after being put in to bat by unbeaten Division One leaders Surrey in their County Championship match at the Kia Oval.
Seven of their top eight got to 22 or more, without going on to a significant score, although allrounder Nathan McAndrew remains 40 not out after a determined effort in the final session of a hard-fought day.
Dom Sibley's 43 was the best individual score, while Surrey's five-man pace attack all troubled the batsmen with 19-year old seamer Tom Lawes perhaps the stand-out bowler with figures of 2 for 38 from 20 overs.
DIVISION TWO
Worcester (first day of four): Derbyshire 130, Worcestershire 141-5 - Worcestershire lead by 11 runs with five first-innings wickets remaining
Dillon Pennington's new ball burst and Kashif Ali's half century on his first-class debut earned Worcestershire the initiative on the opening day of the County Championship match with Derbyshire at New Road.
Pennington reduced Derbyshire to 14 for 5 with four wickets in the space of 18 balls after they had been put into bat and, despite a half century from Anuj Dal, they were bowled out for 130 in 51.1 overs.
The pace bowler clearly enjoys bowling against Derbyshire after registering career best figures of 5 for 32 and a match return of 9 for 76 in the corresponding game last season.
Worcestershire also had initial problems when they launched their reply but Kashif seized his chance following a mountain of runs for the second team and they closed on 141 for 5 when bad light and then rain halted play at 5.35pm.
James Bracey made 79 for Gloucestershire (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Chester-le-Street (first day of four): Durham 132-0, Middlesex
Durham made a solid start to their County Championship Division Two clash against Middlesex posting 132 without loss before rain brought a premature end to day one at Seat Unique Riverside.
Michael Jones produced a fine knock of 78 to lead the way for the home side, while Alex Lees scored an unbeaten 46. Both batters looked relatively untroubled in their opening stand before a torrential downpour halted proceedings midway through the afternoon session.
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.