COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO ROUNDUP: The pre-season promotion favourites pile on the runs on the opening day of round 11
Cardiff (day one of four): Kent 155, Glamorgan 125-4 - Glamorgan are 30 runs behind with six first-innings wickets remaining
Kent collapsed with six wickets falling for seven runs on the opening day against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens.
Daniel Bell-Drummond top-scored with 42 in a day dominated by bowlers, despite the much-disliked Kookaburra ball as 14 wickets fell on day one.
Kent fell to 155 all out from 148 for 3 with Joe Denly retiring hurt, pulling a muscle playing a shot during his innings.
Timm van der Gugten and James Harris provided rewards for Glamorgan with 3 for 27 and 3 for 35 respectively with the older ball before Wes Agar demonstrated demolishing use of the new ball to rip into the hosts' top order with 3 for 29, restricting Glamorgan to 125 for 4.
Max Holden, opening the batting with Kane Williamson in the side, scored an unbeaten century (Getty Images)
Cheltenham (day one of four): Lancashire 357-3, Gloucstershire
Matty Hurst registered a career-best innings of 105 not out to keep Lancashire afloat on the opening day of the County Championship Division Two match against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.
On a day when a majority of the recognised batters played themselves in but failed to go on, the 21-year-old proved the exception to that rule, facing 165 balls, striking 10 fours and two sixes.
He shared a revitalising unbeaten stand of 81 with Chris Green for the seventh wicket as Lancashire reached stumps on 290 for 6.
Hurst surpassed his previous highest score of 104 made against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in May 2024, while Green offered staunch support, reaching the close on 28 not out.
Although Gloucestershire deployed spinners for 43 of the 91 overs possible on a rain-affected day, it was pace bowler Zaman Akhter who enjoyed most success, the England A international claiming 4 for 64 as the home side took wickets at regular intervals to maintain pressure on their opponents.
Making his first appearance at the Cheltenham Festival, Australian Test spinner Todd Murphy also caught the eye in returning figures of 1 for 53 from 25 overs.
Related: In the race to 1,000 County Championship runs, Saif Zaib comes of age
Related: Sri Lanka seamer back at Glamorgan for last five County Championship games
Merchant Taylors' (day one of four): Middlesex 319-1, Northamptonshire
Middlesex's Max Holden plundered an unbeaten century as he and New Zealand star Kane Williamson piled up runs on the opening day of their County Championship clash against Northamptonshire.
Holden, opening to accommodate Williamson's red-ball debut for the county at No.3, batted right through the day for 137, his third ton of the season, with the pair adding an uninterrupted 197 to reach 319 for 1 at Merchant Taylors' School.
Sam Robson (57) shared a stand of 122 with Holden before Williamson – sampling his first taste of Championship cricket since he featured for Yorkshire in 2018 – weighed in with an unbeaten 88.
It was a testing day for Northamptonshire, with Ben Sanderson their only successful bowler after they inserted the hosts in overcast conditions, while Rob Keogh sustained a serious-looking finger injury attempting to catch Williamson's ferocious drive.
Lead image: Huw Evans Picture Agency
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.