Find out what happened across the LV= Insurance County Championship on the first day of the eighth round of the 2021 competition
Group 1
Worcestershire v Derbyshire
Worcester (first day of four): Worcestershire 330-7
Worcestershire batsman Jack Haynes hit his career best score but fell just short of his maiden first class hundred for the second time this month on day one of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Derbyshire at New Road.
Haynes had struck 87 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston before being run out and today batted in impressive fashion to move within three runs of reaching three figures.
But on 97 the England Under-19 player, dropped by keeper Brooke Guest off Dustin Melton on 10, was caught on the boundary off spinner Matt Critchley to deny him the century.
Brett D’Oliveira also produced an excellent knock of 71 as Worcestershire recovered from 62 for 3 to total 330 for 7 by close on an excellent cricket wicket which gave some encouragement to bowlers but also allowed batsmen to play their shots.
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Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire
Edgbaston (first day of four): Warwickshire 250-6
Three late wickets from Dane Paterson put Group A leaders Nottinghamshire slightly on top against Warwickshire on the opening day of their LV=County Championship game at Edgbaston.
The home side closed the first day on 250 for 6, having been 238 for 3 after Nottinghamshire, chasing a fourth successive win, had failed to make the desired early inroads in humid conditions.
Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes led the way for his side with a resolute 91 (188 balls, ten fours) before falling to the last ball before tea. Sam Hain (61, 179 balls, five fours) and Matt Lamb (43 not out, 115 balls, five fours) added 75 in 26 overs in the final session before Paterson's burst of three wickets in 14 balls evened the day up again.
Runs never flowed freely, but it was a tight, enthralling day's play amid a lovely atmosphere in the Birmingham sunshine with spectators back in the ground. There were 1,808 Warwickshire members present and they ended the day happy enough having seen their team find some batting resilience - the Bears began this game with fewest batting points of all 18 teams across the three groups.
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Durham v Essex
Chester-le-Street (first day of four): Essex 182, Durham 58-6
Crowds returned to the Emirates Riverside for the first time in 611 days and were entertained with 15 wickets falling on day one of Durham’s LV= Insurance County Championship game against Essex.
The Essex innings had looked in a strong place following Michael Pepper’s maiden first class fifty but a collapse that saw them lose six wickets for just three runs appeared to give Durham the upper hand.
But Essex came back strongly as their bowling trio of Peter Siddle, Sam Cook and Jamie Porter picked up five wickets between them to leave Durham struggling on 58 for 6 trialing by 124 runs at the close of play.
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Group 2
Surrey v Gloucestershire
The Oval (first day of four): Surrey 285-5
A captain’s innings of 103 not out by Hashim Amla guided Surrey to 285 for 5 on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Group 2 leaders Gloucestershire at the Kia Oval.
Amla batted serenely for five hours, facing 200 balls, although slow left arm spinner Tom Smith – who wheeled away without reward for 23 overs – was distraught to see Miles Hammond at slip fail to hold an edged cut when the former South Africa batsman had made 76.
Jamie Overton scored a responsible unbeaten 50, adding an unbroken 104 with Amla for the sixth wicket to ensure it was Surrey’s day, while Ryan Patel also passed fifty. Left-arm paceman David Payne, who reached 300 first-class wickets, was the pick of a persevering Gloucestershire attack, but the Amla drop might prove a key moment in the game.
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Leicestershire v Middlesex
Leicester (first day of four): Middlesex 260-7
A seventh-wicket partnership of 90 between John Simpson and 20-year-old Luke Hollman rescued Middlesex on the opening day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Leicester.
Left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson took 3 for 76 as Middlesex stumbled to 132 for 6 in the afternoon session, having looked comfortable at 73 for 1 at lunch.
But wicketkeeper Simpson fought back with his second half-century of the season and found good support from Hollman, a leg-spinning all-rounder playing in only his third first-class match, whose 32 is his best score so far.
Simpson was still there on 73 as Middlesex closed on 260 for 7, which may be a competitive total on a pitch expected to offer more help to the spinners as the match progresses.
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Durham's Matthew Potts appeals for a wicket against Essex
Group 3
Sussex v Northamptonshire
Hove (first day of four): Sussex 175, Northamptonshire 91-4
Northamptonshire seamer Ben Sanderson took the third five-wicket haul in his last four innings before Sussex fought back on the first day of their LV=County Championship match at Hove.
The 32-year-old has 25 wickets this season - 15 of them against Sussex - after he took 5 for 45 in Sussex’s 175. Northants were 91 for 4 at stumps.
Sanderson took ten wickets against Sussex earlier this month and his high-quality opening spell, when he took 3 for 17, helped reduce the hosts to 30 for 4.
When Sanderson took his fourth wicket with the second ball after lunch Sussex were in dire straits on 67 for 8, but Jack Carson led a fightback with 52 - his maiden first-class half-century - as the last two wickets added 108.
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Lancashire v Yorkshire
Old Trafford (first day of four): Yorkshire 159, Lancashire 95-1
Tom Bailey claimed 3 for 6 in 14 overs and Alex Davies hit a breezy 52 as Lancashire made a flying start to the LV= Insurance County Championship Roses fixture.
New ball seamer Bailey was superb as Yorkshire were bowled out for 159 at tea in front of Emirates Old Trafford’s first first-team crowd for 617 days (approximately 2,000).
Yorkshire slumped to 40 for 7 before lunch, only for 19-year-old wicketkeeper Harry Duke to add respectability with a composed 52 off 120 balls in his second first-class appearance.
But opener Davies hit eight fours in 57 balls as Lancashire ended day one in total control at 95 for 1 from 31 overs, with this a fixture between Group Three’s top two sides.
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