The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action on day one of the sixth round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches in 2023
Edgbaston (first day of four): Essex 126, Warwickshire 17-2 - Warwickshire trail by 109 runs with eight first-innings wickets in hand
Chris Rushworth continued his stunning start to his Warwickshire career with another four wickets as Essex's batting imploded on a rain-affected opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.
Former Durham seamer Rushworth went into this game, his fifth for Warwickshire, with 22 wickets at 15.27 apiece and enhanced those figures further with 4 for 28 as Essex folded to 126 all out.
Rushworth delivered a triple-wicket maiden in the last over before tea to reduce Essex from a relatively healthy 76 for 2 to 76 for 5. Olly Hannon-Dalby followed up in the final session with 4 for 21, taking him past 450 wickets in all formats.
Warwickshire then encountered turbulence of their own as they reached 17 for 2 at the close of a day which provided abundant drama and entertainment despite play not starting until 3pm due to rain.
James Fuller picked up five wickets as Kent were dismissed for 95 [Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]
Old Trafford (first day of four): Somerset 109-4, Lancashire
A damp Emirates Old Trafford crowd was treated to a James Anderson masterclass as Lancashire got off to a strong start against Somerset on the first morning of their County Championship Division One clash in Manchester.
Anderson, playing his fourth consecutive four-day game for the Red Rose and his final game before the one-off Test against Ireland, gave notice of his readiness for England duty with a brilliant eight-over opening spell during which he bowled five maidens, was hit for five runs and claimed the wickets of Steven Davies and Tom Abell.
Although Somerset had recovered from 12 for 3 to 109 for 4 by the time torrential rain hit the ground at 2.45pm, it was Anderson's spell that will have England supporters hoping for brighter days with the Ashes beginning in just over a month.
It had looked like a toss to win earlier in the morning as a combination of humidity and grey cloud cover meant Lancashire had no hesitation in sticking the visitors in. They duly reaped the rewards with a classic spell of swing bowling from England's leading wicket-taker.
The Oval (first day of four): Middlesex 209, Surrey 21-0 - Surrey trail by 188 runs with 10 first-innings wickets in hand
Dan Worrall's spectacular 26-ball burst of five wickets for one run, in a spell of 6-3-7-5, torpedoed Middlesex's first innings against Surrey in the London derby at the Kia Oval.
A partnership of 152 between Sam Robson and Pieter Malan had actually threatened to put Middlesex in early control before champions Surrey fought back in dramatic and thrilling fashion to bowl them out for 209. In reply Surrey reached 21 without loss in five overs by stumps, with Rory Burns 15 not out.
On a rollercoaster opening day, Middlesex's last nine wickets fell for just 43 runs in 21.1 overs after Robson had made 76 and Malan an equally determined 66.
Worrall ended up with 5 for 48, while Gus Atkinson was Surrey's other star performer with 3 for 18 and, fittingly, finished off the Middlesex innings by having Luke Hollman caught behind for 5 thin-edging a hook.
It was the pacy Atkinson, indeed, who began the turnaround by removing both Robson and Malan just before tea. Robson edged head-high to Dom Sibley at first slip and Malan was pinned LBW, before Worrall and Kemar Roach combined to deadly effect to fillet Middlesex's middle order in the final session.
A burst of wickets from Dan Worrall derailed Middlesex [Ben Hoskins/Getty Images]
Northampton (first day of four): Northamptonshire 86-2, Nottinghamshire
Ricardo Vasconcelos and Saif Zaib shared a 50 partnership as Northamptonshire recovered from losing two early wickets before rain curtailed the opening day of their County Championship match against Nottinghamshire.
Vasconcelos – having been dropped twice as he progressed to 37 not out – batted right through the morning session at Wantage Road to add exactly 50 for the third wicket with Zaib, who posted an unbeaten 22.
That stand enabled Northamptonshire to reach lunch at 86 for 2, with Luke Fletcher and Dane Paterson taking a wicket apiece, but further progress proved impossible after a heavy downpour during the interval left the playing surface saturated.
Umpires Neil Pratt and Richard Illingworth abandoned play for the day shortly after 3pm.
Canterbury (first day of four): Kent 95, Hampshire 89-0 - Hampshire trail by six runs with 10 first-innings wickets in hand
James Fuller took 5 for 21 as Hampshire dominated the first day of their County Championship match with Kent at Canterbury, skittling the hosts for just 95 before reaching 89 without loss at stumps.
Kyle Abbott also starred for the visitors, claiming 3 for 23.
Tawanda Muyeye was the hosts' top scorer with 28, but Kent collapsed from 94 for 6, losing their last four wickets for a solitary run in the space of 15 balls.
Fletcha Middleton and Joe Weatherley were not out at stumps, on 39 and 38 respectively and the visitors trail by just six, with all 10 first innings wickets remaining.
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