County Championship Division One roundup: Wickets tumble around the grounds

The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action on day one of the 12th round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches in 2023

Southampton (day one of four): Hampshire 120, Essex 145-6 - Essex lead by 25 runs with four first-innings wickets in hand

Jamie Porter claimed a five-wicket haul as Essex rolled title rivals Hampshire out for 120 in the LV= Insurance County Championship.

Fast bowler Porter took 5 for 37 on a bowler-friendly Ageas Bowl pitch, with Simon Harmer assisting with 3 for 26.

Essex replied by reaching 145 for 6 before close to take a 25-run lead into day two, with two wickets apiece for Kyle Abbott and John Turner kept the visitors in check.

Essex won the toss and Tom Westley gleefully put his hosts into bat first on a pitch on which appeared to have been prepared to promote a positive result.

That outcome is needed for both sides, placed second and third coming into this round of fixtures, in their quests to chase down runaway leaders Surrey – who led Essex and Hampshire by 14 and 29 points, respectively, with four matches to go.

^{Ethan Bamber ran through Warwickshire with the ball [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

Edgbaston (day one of four): Warwickshire 60 & 53-2, Middlesex 199 - Warwickshire trail by 86 runs with eight second-innings wickets in hand

Middlesex took ruthless advantage of winning a valuable toss by bowling Warwickshire out for 60 on the opening day of their County Championship match at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire were skittled for their lowest championship total since 1982 (43 versus Sussex at Edgbaston) as Ethan Bamber took 5 for 20 and skipper Toby Roland-Jones 3 for 27. The seamers skilfully exploited helpful conditions but were abetted by some flawed defensive shots.

Middlesex then replied with 199 - Ryan Higgins scored 53 (72) while Ed Barnard and Mir Hamza both took 3 for 49) -  for a first innings lead of 139.

And there was still time on a chaotic day for the home side to lose two wickets second time round, reaching 53 for 2 by the close.

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Old Trafford (day one of four): Northamptonshire 302-5, Lancashire

Emilio Gay made his first century since September 2022 but was dismissed for 144, one short of his career best, as Northamptonshire's batters dominated the first day of their County Championship match against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Gay proved that the pitch used for the recent Ashes Test was good for a day or two yet as he stroked 14 boundaries in a 340-minute innings that helped his side post an impressive 302 for 5 as they seek the win that would help them climb off the bottom of the Division One table

For most of the day, the Northamptonshire opener batted with his captain and former Lancashire allrounder, Luke Procter, and the pair's 207-run fourth-wicket stand earned their side only their second batting bonus point of the season.

And some of the landmarks Gay and Procter reached also reflected their county's recent batting travails. They shared what was only their county's third century stand of the season and their achievement in batting from lunch until tea gave the side its first wicketless session since May 2022.

Perhaps more worthy of celebration was their achievement in setting a new fourth-wicket record for Northamptonshire against Lancashire, beating the unbroken 158 put on by Mushtaq Mohammed and Jim Watts at Liverpool in 1972

^{Ben Slater scored his first century since April last year [Harry Trump/Getty Images]}

Trent Bridge (day one of four): Nottinghamshire 275-5, Kent

Nottinghamshire opener Ben Slater completed his first County Championship hundred since April last year to lay the foundation for a solid opening day against Kent at Trent Bridge.

The left-hander, who has had a lean year by the standards he has set in recent seasons, made exactly 100, with wicketkeeper Tom Moores finishing unbeaten on 72 as Nottinghamshire closed on 275 for 5.

Kent's bowling lacked consistency. Matt Quinn and Arshdeep Singh kept to a little over two runs an over but Jas Singh's two wickets came at a cost of 11 fours and a six in 12 overs.

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Taunton (day one of four): Somerset 170, Surrey 138-4 - Surrey trail by 32 runs with six first-innings wickets in hand

Tom Lawes ran through the top order as Division One leaders Surrey bowled out Somerset for 170 after losing the toss on the opening day of the County Championship match at Taunton.

The home side were dismissed in 56.3 overs, with 20-year-old seamer Lawes sending back three of the top four on his way to figures of 4 for 41. Tom Kohler-Cadmore top scored with 59.

By stumps, Surrey had replied with 138 for 4, Tom Latham leading the way with 67 not out and fellow New Zealand Test player Matt Henry marking the last appearance of a prolific spell in red and white-ball cricket for Somerset by taking 3 for 26.