Find out what happened across the LV= Insurance County Championship on day one of the final round of divisional fixtures
Division One
Lancashire v Hampshire
Liverpool (first day of four): Hampshire 143, Lancashire 25-3 - Lancashire trail Hampshire by 120 runs with seven first-innings wickets in hand
Lancashire look to have the slight advantage in their must win game against Hampshire at Aigburth after dismissing the visitors for just 143 in the first innings of what could be a thrilling Championship decider.
Just six-and-a-half points separated the top four teams in Division One at the start of play, with Hampshire in pole position and Warwickshire, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire hot on their heels.
But following an impressive opening day with the ball in Liverpool, Lancashire stuttered with the bat, closing on 25 for 3 after losing both Alex Davies and George Balderson to Mohammad Abbas’ accurate swing bowling.
Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
Nottingham (first day of four): Nottinghamshire 292-9
Joe Clarke posted his first hundred of the season as title-contenders Nottinghamshire recovered from 147 for 5 to 292 for 9 on the opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match with Yorkshire.
The classy strokeplayer, who had passed fifty in seven previous innings this year but managed a top score of only 67, was dropped on 59 and 88 but made the most of his good fortune, hitting 15 fours and a six before falling for 109.
He shared a 97-run seventh-wicket partnership with 19-year-old all-rounder Joey Evison (58) to help Nottinghamshire to a total they will feel was a good effort after being asked to bat first on a well-grassed pitch that kept the Yorkshire seam bowlers interested for much of the day.
Warwickshire v Somerset
Edgbaston (first day of four): Warwickshire 283-4
Somerset showed why the LV= Insurance County Championship is such a difficult tournament to win as they made title-chasing Warwickshire work for every run on the opening day at Edgbaston.
The visitors arrived bottom of Division One and with their title ambitions long buried but bowled wholeheartedly all day as the Bears reached 283 for 4.
Will Rhodes (60 off 133 balls) and Dominic Sibley (56 off 165) laid a platform for a solid Warwickshire total and Sam Hain (83 not out off 198) and Matt Lamb (44 off 92) built on it, but the Bears have work to do in the morning to take the initiative in the title race.
If they reach 350 in 110 overs (for which they need another 67 in 14 overs), then go on to acquire full bowling points and win, they will be champions unless Lancashire (25 for 3 overnight) total 400 and beat Hampshire at Aigburth. On the first hour tomorrow, could the whole title equation hinge!
Division Two
Gloucestershire v Durham
Bristol (first day of four): Durham 140, Gloucestershire 146-6 - Gloucestershire lead Durham by six runs with four first-innings wickets in hand
Pakistan spinner Zafar Gohar took his second consecutive five-wicket haul as Gloucestershire edged the opening day against Durham at Bristol with the visitors bundled out for 140 before the hosts closed 146 for 6.
Gohar, the left-armer from Lahore, took 6 for 43 to bowl his side to victory at Cardiff last week and followed up with 5 for 50 back at Nevil Road.
It was a disaster for Durham having won the toss, losing 6 for 31 in 12 overs after lunch.
Essex v Northamptonshire
Chelmsford (first day of four): Northamptonshire 81 & 23-5, Essex 170 - Northamptonshire trail Essex by 66 runs with five second-innings wickets in hand
Sam Cook took nine wickets as Essex and Northamptonshire shared 25 wickets on a bonkers first day on their LV= Insurance County Championship clash.
Northamptonshire were skittled for 81 – with Cook grabbing 5 for 21 and his 50th scalp of the season – before Essex were restricted to 170 and an 89-run first-innings lead.
The visitors then lost five wickets against the new ball to end the day 23 for 5, a deficit of 66, with Essex knowing a victory will hand them the Division Two trophy.
Cook ended with incredible day figures of 9 for 29, already a career-best.
Surrey v Glamorgan
The Oval (first day of four): Glamorgan 379-4
David Lloyd’s career-best 121 spearheaded Glamorgan’s impressive 379 for 4 as the Welsh county dominated the first day of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two match against Surrey at the Kia Oval.
Two wickets in quick succession after tea, including that of opener Lloyd, gave Surrey renewed heart during a gruelling day in warm sunshine but Kiran Carlson and Chris Cooke, unbeaten with 45 and 44 respectively, steered Glamorgan into a position of real strength on an easy-paced pitch with an unbroken alliance of 90 in 20 overs.
Joe Cooke also made his highest first-class score in a second wicket stand of 125 in 37 overs with Lloyd, the 24-year old left-hander’s gritty 68 a maiden half-century in his 14th appearance.
Warwickshire's Sam Hain finished day one unbeaten on 83 from 198
Division Three
Sussex v Derbyshire
Hove (first day of four): Derbyshire 371-5
Wayne Madsen led the way with 111 as Derbyshire laid a strong foundation in their bid to claim a first win of the season in the LV= Insurance County Championship.
The 37-year-old scored his first century of the season and Matt Critchley 85 as Derbyshire made good first use of a flat pitch at Hove against Sussex, reaching 371 for 5 on day one.
The game has effectively turned into a battle for the wooden spoon with Sussex 2.5 points behind their visitors at the bottom of Division Three.
Middlesex v Kent
Canterbury (first day of four): Middlesex 147, Kent 82-4 - Kent trail Middlesex by 65 runs with six first-innings wickets in hand
Kent are 82 for 4 on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship game at Canterbury, trailing Middlesex by 65.
Darren Stevens took 4 for 21 for the hosts, including a spell of 3 for 3 from five overs, while Matt Milnes claimed 2 for 31 and Nathan Gilchrist 2 for 34. Mark Stoneman was Middlesex’s top scorer with 59, but the visitors collapsed from 121 for 2 to 147 all out.
Tim Murtagh then took 2 for 19 as Kent navigated a perilous final session, Ollie Robinson and Milnes the not out batsmen at stumps on 11 and nought respectively.
Worcestershire v Leicestershire
Worcester (first day of four): Leicestershire 222, Worcestershire 30-1 - Worcestershire trail Leicestershire by 192 runs with nine first-innings wickets in hand
Louis Kimber confirmed his promise with another half-century to lead a partial Leicestershire fightback on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Three match with Worcestershire at New Road.
The 24-year-old earned his opportunity to play Championship cricket for the first time after some impressive performances during the latter stages of the Royal London Cup.
He followed up his unbeaten 59 against Sussex at the Uptonsteel County Ground by helping the Foxes to recover from 133 for 6 to 222 all out in 82.3 overs.
Worcestershire lost opener Daryl Mitchell, playing his final match before retiring, for eight but Jake Libby had time to complete 1,000 runs for the summer as his side closed on 30 for 1.
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