Find out what happened on day one of the latest round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches
DIVISION ONE
Southport (first day of four): Somerset 297-5, Lancashire
A maiden first-class century from Somerset’s Lewis Goldsworthy put the West Country outfit in a commanding position after day one of their LV= Insurance Division One clash with Lancashire at Southport.
Goldsworthy, whose previous high score was 67, dominated the second half of the day as a partnership of 145 for the fifth wicket with County Championship debutant James Rew saw ninth-placed Somerset turn the tables on high-flying Lancashire.
The Red Rose started the morning well and had reduced the visitors to 16 for 2 before Tom Lammonby and George Bartlett began the rebuilding mission that was continued by the fifth wicket pair and which allowed Somerset to close on 297 for 5 in front of a sun-baked crowd on the Sefton coast.
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Southampton (first day of four): Warwickshire 217, Hampshire 42-3 - Hampshire trail by 175 runs with seven first-innings wickets in hand
Dom Sibley answered Ben Stokes' call to arms with an aggressive County Championship half-century before Warwickshire collapsed to 217 against Hampshire.
England Test captain Stokes sent a message to county cricketers that the manner in which they play "will be on the selectors' minds" – with Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum promoting a more aggressive mindset.
Sibley, previously criticised for his slow play when playing for England, responded at the Ageas Bowl with a 56-ball fifty, full of shot-making.
He fell for 56 to start a post-lunch wobble of five wickets falling for 17 runs – headed by Kyle Abbott’s 5 for 45 – before Australian Nathan McAndrew countered with 63.
In reply, Oliver Hannon-Dalby pilfered two wickets for 22 as Hampshire stumbled to 42 for 3 at stumps.
Simon Harmer picked up a five-for for Essex [Alex Pantling/Getty Images]
Chelmsford (first day of four): Gloucestershire 136, Essex 127-1 - Essex trail by nine runs with nine first-innings wickets in hand
Simon Harmer, with figures of 5 for 44, was the architect of Gloucestershire’s batting woes as they were bowled out for a meagre 136 having won the toss.
After Harmer had tortured the visitors on a scorching hot day at Chelmsford, Alastair Cook and Tom Westley carried Essex to 127 for 1 at the close with Cook posting a 126-balls half-century completed with the eighth boundary of his innings.
Only Graeme van Buuren and Zafar Gohar emerged with any credit from the lamentable Gloucestershire first innings, which concluded 40 minutes after lunch.
Then Cook and Westley demonstrated the value of disciplined graft with a century stand spanning 256 balls with Westley completing a 146-ball fifty shortly before the close.
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Canterbury (first day of four): Northamptonshire 303, Kent
Northamptonshire were all out for 303 against Kent, after a fluctuating first day in the County Championship match at Canterbury.
Emilio Gay hit 112 after the visitors lost Ricardo Vasconcelos to the first ball of the day and Ryan Rickelton was the next highest scorer with 55, but having reached 205 for 2, they lost their next eight wickets for 98 runs.
Matt Milnes had Kent’s best bowling figures with 3 for 47, while Joe Denly took 2 for 31 and Matt Quinn 2 for 51.
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Scarborough (first day of four): Yorkshire 364-5, Surrey
Adam Lyth posted his second County Championship century on his home ground at Scarborough and Jonny Tattersall recorded his maiden ton in this competition as Yorkshire seized on disappointing Surrey bowling to dominate day one.
Lyth’s unbeaten 152 off 265 balls was the centrepiece of Yorkshire’s 364 for 5 from 96 overs having elected to bat on a typically fast and bouncy North Marine Road pitch. Wicketkeeper Tattersall’s superb 104 not out from 218 provided expert support.
Reducing their opponents to 58 for 3 before lunch and 125 for 5 shortly afterwards, Division One leaders Surrey would have expected better.
But they largely bowled too short, allowing sixth-wicket pair Lyth and Tattersall, playing his first Championship game of 2022, the opportunity to share a day-defining 239-run unbroken stand from early afternoon onwards.
Kyle Abbott picked up five wickets for Hampshire [Harry Trump/Getty Images]
DIVISION TWO
Northwood (first day of four): Middlesex 188, Worcestershire 100-5 - Worcestershire trail by 88 runs with five first-innings wickets in hand
Bowlers held sway as wickets tumbled on day one of the County Championship Division Two clash between Middlesex and Worcestershire at Merchant Taylors School.
Joe Leach (3 for 58) and Dillon Pennington (2 for 41) routed Middlesex’s top order as they were hustled out for 188, Luke Hollman 62 and Tom Helm 50 not out providing belated resistance.
However, the hosts too prospered ball in hand, Tim Murtagh returning 2 for 22 as Worcestershire plummeted to 49 for 5 in reply before Ed Barnard’s unbeaten 33 left honours even.
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Chester-le-Street (first day of four): Derbyshire 238, Durham 2-0 - Durham trail by 281 runs with 10 first-innings wickets in hand
Chris Rushworth marked his 36th birthday with his first five-wicket haul of the County Championship season, taking figures of 7 for 44 as Durham bowled out Derbyshire for 283 on day one of their clash at Seat Unique Riverside.
Rushworth was irrepressible after Durham opted to bowl first in sweltering conditions. He rose to the occasion to hold the visitors in check with a perfect line and length, despite a brilliant century from Leus du Plooy. After a flurry of wickets, the left-hander rebuilt the Derbyshire innings with a stand of 166 with Anuj Dal, who produced a fine knock of 90, to frustrate the home side.
However, Rushworth returned with the new ball in the evening session to turn the momentum of the day with three wickets before debutant Stanley McAlindon cleaned up the tail to bowl out Derbyshire, leaving du Plooy stranded on 122 not out.
Leus du Plooy scored a first-innings century for Derbyshire [Ashley Allen/Getty Images]
Hove (first day of four): Sussex 407-4, Leicestershire
When Sussex captain Tom Haines chose to bat on a sweltering day at Hove his bowlers must have felt like giving him a collective hug.
The sun was high and the pitch was low as Sussex piled on 407 for 4 against Leicestershire, the only side in the second division of the County Championship still looking for their first win of the season.
Tom Alsop led the way with 150 from 243 balls in exactly five hours, with 16 fours. But there was bad news for Sussex too, with the news that Haines will miss the remainder of this match plus the next 5-6 week weeks after sustaining a fracture of a bone in his left hand.
For Leicestershire, it was a day of toil in the field. Chris Wright was their only faster bowler to impress and they had to rely on their spinners, Callum Parkinson and Colin Ackermann, to give them a measure of control. There were too many no balls and too many four balls.
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Cardiff (first day of four): Glamorgan 318, Nottinghamshire 19-0 - Nottinghamshire trail by 299 runs with 10 first-innings wickets in hand
It was third versus first at Sophia Gardens, where Nottinghamshire were the visitors, and it was honours even at the end of day one of the Division 2 County Championship clash.
League leaders Notts did enough to justify the decision of skipper Stephen Mullaney to bat first by bowling out Glamorgan for 318 (84.2 overs) on a hard-baked wicket that offered very little to the bowlers.
They lead the Welsh county by 23 points in the table and both sides picked up three points in the day. Haseeb Hassan and Ben Slater ensured Notts kept all 10 wickets intact by reaching 19 for 0 before stumps at the end of the day.
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