The Cricketer rounds-up all the events from the first day of the Bob Willis Trophy as county cricket finally begins
Chelmsford (first day of four): Kent 344-6 v Essex
Heino Kuhn became the first player to score a Bob Willis Trophy century as Kent recovered from a morning blip to dominate day one against Essex.
Former South Africa Test batsman Kuhn hadn’t raised his bat on a ton since arriving at Canterbury in 2018, but scored a chanceless unbeaten 140 on a good batting wicket at the Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford.
He and Ollie Robinson (78) added 150 for the fourth-wicket to put Kent to the road for recovery after Sam Cook and Jamie Porter had restricted the visitors to 23 for three.
Robinson and Kuhn’s work was followed up by Darren Stevens and Grant Stewart adding 80 and 53 in partnership with the immovable Kuhn - Kent reaching close on 344 for six.
The Kia Oval (first day of four): Middlesex 264-4 v Surrey
Nick Gubbins struck a superb unbeaten 150 at the Kia Oval on the opening day of the Bob Willis Trophy to reignite a career which, last summer, faltered badly for a batsman who was in line for an England Test cap within two years of making his Middlesex debut in 2014.
The 26-year-old left-hander won England Lions recognition soon after being one of the stars of Middlesex’s 2016 county championship winning season, but last year he managed just 530 four-day runs at an average of 22 – with just three scores above fifty from 24 innings.
But, after also hitting a hundred in last week’s two-day friendly against Surrey at the Kia Oval, Gubbins simply carried on where he left off by stroking 17 fours and a six to spearhead Middlesex’s progress towards 264 for four from 91 overs after opting to bat first. It was only his second championship century in three years but he can rarely have played better.
Surrey’s bowlers were admirably disciplined throughout a day that was due to be part of the government’s pilot scheme aimed at getting crowds back to elite sport, before being postponed for at least a fortnight, and it was a shame that the expected 2,500 attendance was not in place to appreciate both Gubbins’ fluent knock and Surrey’s efforts in the field.
Hove (first day of four): Sussex 176 v Hampshire 77-4
Ajeet Dale took three wickets on his Hampshire debut and Mason Crane returned his best first-class figures in England for three years as Hampshire had just the better of the first day against Sussex in the Bob Willis Trophy at Hove.
Right-arm seamer Dale, who is on a rookie contract with the club after coming through their Academy system, took two wickets in two balls and finished with 3 for 20 while leg-spinner Crane took the last three wickets to fall as Sussex were dismissed for 176 in 61.1 overs after winning the toss. The hosts fought back in the final hour though, taking three late wickets as Hampshire reached 77 for four at stumps.
It had been hard going for the Sussex batsmen and they were indebted to opener Phil Salt, who top-scored with 68, and George Garton, who held the lower order together with an undefeated 54. The pitch offered few terrors and there were quite a few soft dismissals.
Chris Rushworth back in action for Durham, who were bowled out cheaply earlier in the day
Taunton (first day of four): Somerset 296 v Glamorgan 8-0
Steve Davies and Jack Brooks transformed a modest Somerset total with a last wicket stand of 107 on the opening day of the Bob Willis Trophy match against Glamorgan at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.
The hosts had looked set to miss out on any batting points when crumbling to 149 for eight, Ruaidhri Smith claiming three of the wickets.
But after Josh Davey had contributed 20 to help revive Somerset fortunes, last man Brooks came out to smash a 38-ball half century on his way to making 72, off 58 deliveries, with 9 fours and 2 sixes.
Davies, who had been dropped twice, top-scored with 81 not out, off 108 balls, with 9 fours, as the menace went out of the Glamorgan seam attack. Somerset were finally bowled out for 296 before their opponents replied with 8 for no wicket.
Edgbaston (first day of four): Warwickshire 130-4 v Northamptonshire 142
England paceman Olly Stone took four wickets as Warwickshire had the better of the first day of the opening Bob Willis Trophy match against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston.
Northamptonshire, put in, were bowled out for 142 with Stone taking four for 39 against his former team-mates to send out a strong message to England's selectors that he is fit and firing.
The visitors then hit back impressively in the final session as Warwickshire dipped to 85 for four but 20-year-old opener Rob Yates (63 not out, 130 balls, nine fours) stayed solid to take his side to 130 for four at the close.
Bristol (first day of four): Gloucestershire 246-8 v Worcestershire
Resilient Worcestershire staged a startling recovery to peg back neighbours and Central Group rivals Gloucestershire on the opening day of an eventful Bob Willis Trophy match at the Bristol County Ground.
Chris Dent won the toss and top-scored with 92, while Graeme van Buuren made a swashbuckling 60 as Gloucestershire reached 205-2 to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
But Worcestershire's bowlers stuck to their task magnificently and Charlie Morris inspired a late fightback, claiming three victims in 18 balls to spark a slide in which the hosts surrendered six wickets for 38 runs in 18 overs, finishing the day on 246-8.
Leg-spinner Brett D'Oliveira and seamer Josh Tongue weighed in with two wickets apiece, while Joe Leach got in on the act as Worcestershire displayed character aplenty to bounce back in style.
Haseeb Hameed was in the runs on his debut for Nottinghamshire
Worcester (first day of four): Lancashire 265-6 v Leicestershire
A fifth wicket partnership of 130 between Dane Vilas and Steven Croft helped Lancashire recover after being reduced to 97-4 shortly after lunch on the opening day of their Bob Willis Trophy match against Leicestershire at Blackfinch New Road.
Captain Vilas led the way for the Red Rose County, hitting 14 fours in going to 90 off 126 deliveries before edging a drive off the bowling of Tom Taylor to slip, where Hassan Azad hung on to the chance. It was redemption of sorts for Azad, who failed to pick up an earlier chance given by Vilas off the same bowler when he scored just 28.
Emirates Riverside (first day of four): Durham 103 v Yorkshire 84-4
Yorkshire enjoyed a strong start to their Bob Willis Trophy campaign on county cricket's return. Andrew Gale's men dismissed Durham for 103 before ending day one 84-4 in their reply at Emirates Riverside.
The home side won the toss and opted to bat first, but were put on the back foot by excellent bowling from the Yorkshire attack. Ben Coad set the tone from the off and was on point throughout the Durham innings. He led the way for the visitors, claiming figures of 4-23, while Jordan Thompson was equally impressive with three wickets of his own. Gareth Harte was the only Durham batsman to offer a semblance of resistance with an unbeaten innings of 33.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore launched an onslaught against Chris Rushworth in the early stages of Yorkshire's innings. He alone made inroads into Durham's total before he was dismissed nine short of a half-century. Paul Coughlin held the visitors in check with two late strikes, but day one belonged to the Yorkshiremen.
Trent Bridge (first day of four): Nottinghamshire 324 v Derbyshire 9-0
Haseeb Hameed starred on the first day of his debut for Nottinghamshire, making 68 as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 324 on the first day of their Bob Willis Trophy campaign.
He formed an opening stand worth 111 with Chris Nash, who also passed 50, before Derbyshire fought back to roll through the home side's middle order.
However, the stroke-makers kept on coming: Samit Patel, batting at No.8, struck 63, with Joey Evison and Jake Ball providing useful support.
For Derbyshire, who went through to the close without losing either opener, debutants Michael Cohen (3-47) and Ben Aitchison (1-57) both impressed.
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