CHAMPIONSHIP DIGEST: Thursday, May 13, 2021

Find out what happened across the County Championship on the first day of the sixth round of the 2021 competition

Group 1 

Essex v Derbyshire

Chelmsford (first day of four): No play on day one due to rain

No play was possible on day one of Essex and Derbyshire’s County Championship match due to rain at the Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford. Umpires Hassan Adnan and Ian Blackwell called play off for the day at 3.40pm.

***

Durham v Worcestershire

Chester-le-Street (first day of four): Durham 246, Worcestershire 6-0

Scorecard

Worcestershire's Josh Tongue claimed a five-wicket haul to bowl Durham out for 246 on the opening day of their County Championship clash at Emirates Riverside.

Tongue was on the mark for the visitors to tear through the Durham middle and lower order with figures of 5 for 39 in his second appearance of the campaign. Alex Lees continued his fine form for the hosts with the bat, falling just short of a deserved century with an innings of 99.

Through Lees' exploits and an unbeaten 38 from Brydon Carse, the home side worked their way to a competitive total. The Worcestershire openers were faced with a tough three-over spell before bad light brought a premature end to the day with the visitors six without loss.

***

Group 2

Middlesex v Hampshire

Lord's (first day of four): Middlesex 90-4

Scorecard

Kyle Abbott’s three-wicket burst gave Hampshire the upper hand as they reduced Middlesex to 90 for 4 in their County Championship clash at Lord’s.

Abbott, who had a spell at Middlesex in 2015, claimed a trio of scalps in quick succession – including a first-ball duck for home skipper Peter Handscomb – when play finally began at 4.15pm, following a lengthy rain delay.

Openers Sam Robson and Jack Davies provided Middlesex with a solid platform, sharing a partnership of 33 after James Vince won the toss and asked them to bat.

But the Seaxes then slumped to 56 for 4 before Nick Gubbins and John Simpson steered them to stumps without further damage.

***

Somerset v Surrey

Taunton (first day of four): No play on day one due to rain

No play was possible on the opening day of the County Championship match between Somerset and Surrey at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

Umpires Nick Cook and Russell Warren waited until just before 2.30pm to decide there was no prospect of conditions being fit for play. So wet is the outfield that, with the forecast for even more rain, prospects for a prompt start tomorrow already look doubtful.

***

 ^{No play was possible at Lord's (above), Chelmsford or Taunton due to the weather}

Group 3

Sussex v Kent

Hove (first day of four): Kent 145, Sussex 51-2

Scorecard

Jofra Archer took two wickets on his return to action to help give Sussex the advantage against Kent in their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Hove.

The 26-year-old removed Daniel Bell-Drummond and Zac Crawley in his four-over new-ball burst and bowled two further spells of four and five overs to finish with 2 for 29 from 13 overs with four maidens.

Ollie Robinson, who could join Archer in the England team for next month’s Test series against New Zealand, and George Garton each took three wickets as Kent were bowled out for 145 with only Jack Leaning (63) offering sustained resistance to an accurate attack. Sussex were 51 for 2 when bad light brought a premature end to the first day.

***

Glamorgan v Yorkshire

Sophia Garden (first day of four): No play on day one due to rain

There was no play possible on day one of the County Championship match between Glamorgan and Yorkshire at Sophia Gardens. Heavy overnight rain and persistent drizzle in the afternoon meant the outfield was never dry enough for play to get under way.

Subscribe today and receive The Cricketer’s centenary issue – six issues for £19.21. Click here