The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action during day one of round 12 of the Vitality County Championship in 2024
Taunton (day one of four): Somerset 395-6, Durham
Tom Abell made it back-to-back centuries at Taunton as Somerset ran up 395 for 6 on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship First Division game with Durham.
Having hit a career-best unbeaten 152 in the previous home game against Warwickshire, Abell scored 124 off 181 balls, with 18 fours, sharing a stand of 185 with Tom Banton (73), which was a record for Somerset’s fourth wicket against Durham.
James Rew was unbeaten on 89 at the close, while there were two wickets each for Daniel Hogg and Callum Parkinson.
Somerset gave a first class debut to all-rounder Archie Vaughan, the 18-year-old son of former England captain Michael Vaughan, following his appearances in this season's One Day Cup.
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Edgbaston (day one of four): Kent 156, Warwickshire 207-3 - Warwickshire lead by 51 runs with seven wickets remaining
Kent's lurch towards Championship relegation continued as they were bowled out for 156 by Warwickshire on the opening day of their Division One relegation battle at Edgbaston.
Having collected just nine batting points from ten games, Kent were skittled in just 39.5 overs by the seamers before the home side eased past them to reach 207 for 3 at the close.
Michael Booth (3 for 13), Olly Hannon-Dalby (3 for 31) and Chris Rushworth (3 for 43) dismantled a Kent batting order in which only Ben Compton (70, 103 balls) and Joey Evison (28, 44) reached double figures. If Compton had not been badly dropped on one, Kent's implosion would have been complete.
Warwickshire completed their excellent day by moving 51 ahead with seven wickets intact, Will Rhodes compiling a measured unbeaten 82 (134 balls) to build a perfect platform for a belated first championship win of the season.
Related: Kookaburra ball returns for next two County Championship rounds
Essex made short work of Worcestershire a Chelmsford (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Chelmsford (day one of four): Worcestershire 266, Essex 50-1 - Essex are 216 runs behind with nine wickets remaining
Jamie Porter blitzed a hole in the Worcestershire top-order to return his second County Championship five-wicket haul of the season before Essex let slip their early advantage on day one.
Worcestershire were 10 for 4 inside five overs – Porter and Sam Cook sharing the four wickets in a 13-ball spree – then 46 for 5 in 12 overs, before the tail wagged and the visitors reached a more respectable 266 all out shortly after a late tea.
Porter, the joint leading wicket-taker in division one, finished with 5-52 from 17 overs of controlled aggression on a flat Chelmsford pitch that later played to the strengths of Simon Harmer. The South Africa off-spinner marked his 100th red-ball appearance for Essex with a trio of lower-order victims for figures of 3 for 103.
Captain Brett D'Oliveira sparked the Worcestershire recovery after electing to bat with a patient 136-ball 68, supported in important stands by Ethan Brooks (46) and Tom Taylor (62 not out), the later aided by Amra Virdi in keeping Essex in the field with a last-wicket stand of 64. Essex had knocked off 50 of the deficit for the loss of Dean Elgar in 19 evening overs.
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Old Trafford (day one of four): Hampshire 330-9, Lancashire
Hampshire's Fletcha Middleton made his second century of the season but his team could do no better than share the spoils with relegation-threatened Lancashire on the first day of their Vitality County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
Middleton made 109 and shared a second-wicket partnership of 151 with Nick Gubbins, only for the home side to take six wickets in the evening session and leave the visitors on 330 for 9 at the close.
However, having asked Hampshire to bat first and using a Kookaburra ball on a pitch offering them little obvious help, Lancashire’s bowlers will surely be pleased to have fought back against opponents who had been 158 for one in mid-afternoon.
Tom Aspinwall was the most successful of the quicker bowlers with three for 96 but leg-spinner Luke Wells matched his contribution with 3 for 69 from 19 overs.
Related: Ahmed shines on debut as 16-year-old leads Notts fightback against Surrey
Rory Burns maintained his impressive run of form (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for Surrey CCC)
Trent Bridge (day one of four): Surrey 339-5, Nottinghamshire
Rory Burns followed his double-hundred against Lancashire last week with 161 as champions-elect Surrey ended day one of their County Championship match against Nottinghamshire on 339 for 5.
But by the close of proceedings at Trent Bridge, the Surrey skipper found himself pushed out of the spotlight by 16-year-old off-spinner Farhan Ahmed, who not only claimed the wicket of Burns and two more Test players in Ben Foakes and Will Jacks but finished a sensational first day in Championship cricket with figures of 4 for 69 from 28 overs.
The younger brother of Leicestershire and England prodigy Rehan Ahmed, at the age of 16 years and 189 days, Farhan is the youngest first-class player in Nottinghamshire’s history. Earlier this month, he set another record on his first-class debut as the youngest player to be selected for England Lions when they faced Sri Lanka at Worcester.
Nonetheless, with half-centuries from Jacks and Ryan Patel against a depleted and relegation-threatened Nottinghamshire side, the defending champions and runaway Division One leaders are in a good position as they seek to edge closer to a third consecutive title.
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