The Cricketer goes around the grounds in search of the headlines following the opening weekend of the season
Chelmsford (second day of four): Kent 387, Essex 179-5
Nick Browne collected the 39th fifty of his first-class career but the Essex opener couldn’t prevent Kent from maintaining their advantage in their Bob Willis Trophy contest.
Browne laboured against a consistent Kent bowling attack as he attempted to provide a backbone to the Essex innings.
He needed 139 balls to reach his half-century but was dismissed for 61 – with only Varun Chopra also passing 30 so far in Essex’s first innings of 179 for five.
The visitors ended the day with a lead of 208, having posted a first-innings score of 387, with Marcus O’Riordan claiming his first two first-class wickets and Darren Stevens his 518th and 519th.
The Kia Oval (second day of four): Middlesex 347-6d, Surrey 189-3
Scott Borthwick’s four-hour unbeaten 73 anchored Surrey’s 189 for three from 67 overs in the Bob Willis Trophy’s London derby at the Kia Oval following an imaginative Middlesex first innings declaration on 347 for six.
Borthwick was joined in stands of 71, 69 and then an unbroken 40 that occupied almost 24 overs by Mark Stoneman, Will Jacks and Jamie Smith as Surrey’s top order battled hard on a sluggish pitch that did not make strokeplay a straightforward business.
Stoneman’s 45 took him 88 balls, with nine fours – three of them in one Tim Murtagh over – while Jacks played the punchiest innings of day two with 36 from 50 balls, including a six and five fours.
Smith, though, took a long time to get going, with Nathan Sowter’s leg-spin proving particularly hard to score from with just 22 runs coming from his 11 overs. After facing 44 balls, Smith still only had a single to his name but, to his credit, he refused to get flustered and, by stumps, had fought his way to 15 not out.
Hove (second day of four): Sussex 176, 155-6, Hampshire 153
A week ago Phil Salt was retired after thumping 14 fours and two sixes in a 58-ball century for England in a one-day warm-up game against Ireland. But Salt, who played Big Bash cricket in Adelaide in the winter, likes red-ball cricket too, as he showed by adding 80 to his first-innings 68 on the second day of the Bob Willis Trophy match against Hampshire at Hove.
The first two days of this match have seen fit and energetic bowlers – not always the case in August – getting the better of out of touch batsmen on a decent batting track. But Salt has been the exception in both innings, dominating an earnest and varied Hampshire attack to place his Sussex side in a dominating position before quick wickets fell at the end of the day to leave the result in the balance.
Salt, 24 later this month, dominated the 16-over opening partnership of 60 runs with Tom Haines, though he was fortunate not to be caught and bowled by James Fuller when he had made just 20. He lost Haines, who was lbw to Ian Holland for 20. But that didn’t put off Salt as he reached his fifty off 61 balls by lifting the off-spinner Felix Organ over square-leg for six.
He led the way as Sussex built on their slender first-innings lead of 23. But with two days left in the match, this was a self-restrained innings by his galloping standards.
Scott Borthwick's dogged innings gave Surrey a foothold
Taunton (second day of four): Somerset 296, 131-2, Glamorgan 131
Craig Overton gave the England selectors a reminder of his talent with some quality seam bowling on the second day of Somerset’s opening Bob Willis Trophy match against Glamorgan at Taunton.
Overlooked for both the Test and one-day international squads after attending the England training camp at the Ageas Bowl, the 26-year-old all-rounder responded with five for 38 from 17 hostile overs.
Four of Overton’s wickets came in a morning session that saw Glamorgan collapse from 15 without loss to 38 for six before being bowled out for 131 to concede a first-innings deficit of 165.
By the close of a day in which 13 overs were lost to rain, the home side had posted 131 for two in their second innings and led by 296.
Edgbaston (second day of four): Warwickshire 369-8, Northamptonshire 142 & 19-0
Tim Bresnan's debut century tightened Warwickshire's hold over Northamptonshire on the second day of their opening Bob Willis Trophy fixture at Edgbaston.
Bresnan, signed from Yorkshire earlier this summer, emulated the man whose experience he has been recruited to replace at Edgbaston, Jeetan Patel, by scoring a ton in his first knock for the Bears.
The former England all-rounder's compact 105 (209 balls, 12 fours, two sixes) lifted Warwickshire to 369 for eight after 120 overs, the point at which a first innings must close in the Bob Willis Trophy. That meant a commanding first-innings lead of 227, Northamptonshire having been bowled out for 142 on the first day, and represented a strong recovery from a vulnerable 85 for four.
The innings was glued together early on by 20-year-old Rob Yates who displayed great composure, judgment and technique on his way to 88 (262 balls, 11 fours). Yates and Bresnan added 79 in 39 overs to stabilise the innings before Bresnan and Alex Thomson (46, 85 balls, six fours, one six) took toll of a tiring attack to put on 104 in 28 overs and to build what should be a match-winning lead.
In seven overs before the close, Northamptonshire at least avoided damage, reaching 19 without loss, a commendable effort by openers Ben Curran and Emilio Gay after a long, hot day in the field.
Bristol (second day of four): Gloucestershire 267, Worcestershire 223-2
Worcestershire openers Jake Libby and Daryl Mitchell dominated proceedings on the second day of the Bob Willis Trophy match against Central Group rivals Gloucestershire at the Bristol County Ground.
Playing together for the first time, the pair staged a superb stand of 152, veteran campaigner Mitchell top-scoring with 80 and Libby making an impressive 77 on debut as Worcestershire reached the close on 223-2, just 44 behind with eight first-innings wickets in hand.
On a day when they might easily have wilted, Gloucestershire's bowlers stuck to their task admirably, Tom Price and David Payne making crucial interventions either side of the tea interval to remove Mitchell and Libby respectively.
Tom Fell and Jack Haynes reached the close unbeaten on 32 and 20 respectively and Worcestershire will have 38 overs more in which to build a lead on day three.
Nic Browne kept Essex in the contest
Worcester (second day of four): Lancashire 322, Leicestershire 183-2
An unbeaten century from on-loan opener Ben Slater saw Leicestershire lay the foundations for a substantial first-innings reply after the Foxes bowled Lancashire out for 322 on the second day of the Bob Willis Trophy match at Blackfinch New Road.
Slater, whom Leicestershire have signed on a two-week loan from Nottinghamshire hit 15 fours in reaching his hundred off 216 deliveries, playing a dominant role in an opening partnership of 153 with the prolific Hassan Azad.
Azad, who averaged 54 in the county championship last season, played with characteristic patience in scoring 58 off 165 deliveries before popping up a catch off the inside edge to short leg off the bowling of Tom Hartley, giving the Lancashire debutant his first first-class wicket.
Another debutant, seamer George Balderson, then also picked up his first wicket when Harry Dearden mistimed an attempted off-drive and gave Lancashire captain Dave Vilas a simple catch at extra cover.
Emirates Riverside (second day of four): Durham 103, 106-2 v Yorkshire 199
Alex Lees led a fightback by scoring an unbeaten half-century for Durham on day two of their Bob Willis Trophy clash against Yorkshire at Emirates Riverside, with the hosts ending the day with a lead of 10 on 106/2 in their second innings.
The visitors added 115 to their overnight total to post a decent score of 199 from their first innings. The Durham bowlers shared the wickets around as Chris Rushworth, Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin each struck three times, while Matty Potts notched the other.
Harry Brook top scored for Yorkshire with a decent innings of 41, but no player was able to make the substantial score required to take the game away from James Franklin's men. There was still plenty for the home side to do to work their way back into the contest. Lees played a resilient knock to notch his first fifty of the term, guiding his team into a slender advantage ahead of day three.
Trent Bridge (second day of four): Nottinghamshire 324, 84-3, Derbyshire 239
A century of rare brilliance from Leus du Plooy has left the Bob Willis Trophy match between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in the balance after two days at Trent Bridge.
The South African left-hander scored 130, which included 17 fours and three sixes, off 177 balls and shared a 10th wicket stand of 80 with Sam Connors, a Derbyshire record against Nottinghamshire.
It lifted his team to 239, 85 runs behind, and Connors then took three for 19 in eight overs before Nottinghamshire recovered to 84 for 3, a lead of 169, with the North Group game intriguingly poised.
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