Find out what happened across the County Championship on the first day of the second round of the 2021 competition
Group 1
Derbyshire v Worcestershire
Derby (first day of four): Derbyshire 360-8
A Matt Critchley century and 98 from Leus du Plooy put Derbyshire in a strong position at Derby.
Critchley followed his two half-centuries at Edgbaston last week with 109 as Derbyshire closed day one on 360 for 8, which also included an unbeaten 65 from Harvey Hosein and 50 by Billy Godleman.
Worcestershire spilled five catches but they fought back after tea with Ed Barnard and Alzarri Joseph both taking two wickets in two balls.
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Essex v Durham
Chelmsford (first day of four): Essex 96, Durham 148-8 - Durham lead Essex by 52 runs with 3 first-innings wickets remaining
Scott Borthwick collected his first century since returning to Durham after Essex were skittled out for under 100 at the Cloudfm County Ground for the first time since 2014
Prodigal son Borthwick returned to his home county this winter after four seasons at Surrey before scoring exactly 100 – his first hundred for the club since May 2016 – as Durham ended the day 148 for 8, with a 52-run lead.
Defending Bob Willis Trophy and LV= Insurance County Championship champions Essex were skittled for 96 - with the 94 scored against Derbyshire in 2014 the last time they had been routed for under three figures.
Chris Rushworth and Brydon Carse both claimed three wickets, while former Essex paceman Matt Salisbury and Ben Raine also took two apiece.
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Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire
Trent Bridge (first day of four): Nottinghamshire 273, Warwickshire 24-2 - Warwickshire trail by 249 runs with 8 first-innings wickets remaining
A career-best unbeaten 73 by allrounder Liam Patterson-White led a Nottinghamshire recovery from 119 for 6 to 273 all out on the opening day against Warwickshire, who were 24 for two at the close.
Patterson-White, a 22-year-old left-arm spinner playing only his seventh first-class match, batted for three hours and eight minutes and hit 12 boundaries, striking the ball cleanly on both sides of the wicket.
Skipper Will Rhodes, fourth seamer in the absence of the injured Liam Norwell, was the most successful Warwickshire bowler with 4 for 53.
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Group 2
Hampshire v Middlesex
Southampton (first day of four): Hampshire 221-7
A disciplined showing from the Middlesex attack has given the visitors the edge at the Ageas Bowl.
A gritty 35 not out by Kyle Abbott off 108 balls helped the hosts recover from an ominous-looking 221 for 7 after James Vince had won the toss on a bitterly cold morning in Southampton and elected to bat.
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Somerset v Gloucestershire
Taunton (first day of four): Somerset 312, Gloucestershire 13-0 - Gloucestershire trail by 299 runs with 10 first-innings wickets remaining
Steve Davies produced a quality innings in a pressure situation as Somerset posted 312 on the opening day at the Cooper Associates Ground.
Going in with his side in trouble at 80 for 4, the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman hit a stylish 87, sharing a sixth-wicket stand of 116 with Craig Overton, who made 54.
Seamers David Payne, Ryan Higgins and Matt Taylor claimed three wickets each. In three overs before the close, Gloucestershire replied with 13 for no wicket.
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Surrey v Leicestershire
The Oval (first day of four): Leicestershire 215-3
Sam Evans scored a gritty maiden first-class hundred for Leicestershire to blunt Surrey’s attack.
Evans made an unbeaten 100 from 227 balls, with 12 fours, and was joined late in the day by Lewis Hill – on 20 not out – in an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 39.
Bad light and rain interruptions meant only 76.2 overs were bowled, but openers Evans and Hassan Azad initially put on 130 and Leicestershire eventually reached 215 for 3 by stumps at 7.20pm, with Colin Ackermann leg-before for 15 to Jordan Clark as a further 24.2 overs were bowled from 5.30pm.
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Group 3
Lancashire v Northamptonshire
Old Trafford (first day of four): Lancashire 264-8
An excellent bowling display from Northamptonshire's Tom Taylor and Simon Kerrigan ensured the visitors finished the opening day in charge at Emirates Old Trafford.
Half-centuries from Alex Davies and Josh Bohannon had helped steer Lancashire towards what looked like a competitive first innings total by the mid point of the day.
But the visitors surged back into contention thanks to a redemptive spell of bowling from left arm spinner Kerrigan, who finished with 3 for 53, on his return to the club where he won the Championship in 2011.
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Kent v Yorkshire
Canterbury (first day of four): Yorkshire 358-8
Yorkshire reached 358 for 8 at stumps against Kent on a fluctuating first day at Canterbury, former England opener Adam Lyth their topscorer with 97 and Harry Brook making 54.
Kent allrounder Darren Stevens celebrated being named as one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year by taking 3 for 52 and Matt Milnes claimed 2 for 63, including the prize scalp of England captain Joe Root for 11, while wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson took five catches.
The visitors had regained control by the close of play in the Group Three fixture thanks to Steven Patterson and David Willey, who were unbeaten on 34 and 25 respectively, leaving Yorkshire with four bonus points and Kent two.
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Glamorgan v Sussex
Cardiff (first day of four): Glamorgan 285, Sussex 99-0 - Sussex trail by 186 runs with 10 first-innings wickets remaining
An excellent unbeaten hundred from Kiran Carlson lifted Glamorgan to a respectable score on the first day as the home side reached 285 all out.
Sussex’s openers looked excellent in response, Tom Haines and Aaron Thomason both reaching the close undefeated with their team 99 without loss.
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