County Championship Division One roundup: Rocky Flintoff debuts, Worcestershire and Durham take control

The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action during day one of round 11 of the Vitality County Championship in 2024

Worcester: Kent 171, Worcestershire 137-2 - Worcestershire trail by 34 runs with eight wickets remaining

Worcestershire allrounder Joe Leach made a successful return to action after injury with a six-wicket haul on day one of the Vitality County Championship encounter with Kent at Visit Worcestershire New Road.

Leach finished with 6 for 52 from 11.5 overs – the second-best figures of his career – as Kent were dismissed for 171 in 49.5 overs after being put into bat.

It was his first appearance since the Championship match against Nottinghamshire in late May because of a recurrence of a knee problem, and he is hanging up his spikes at the end of the campaign.

Gareth Roderick then continued his fine form with a half century to spearhead Worcestershire's reply, and they closed 34 in arrears with eight wickets in hand.

Edgbaston (day one of four): Warwickshire 277-6, Somerset

Warwickshire fought back superbly in the final session to reach 277 for 6 against Somerset on a hard-fought opening day of their Vitality County Championship match at Edgbaston.

Needing a win to maintain their pursuit of Division One leaders Surrey, Somerset chose to bowl and their seamers reduced the home side to 165 for 6, but Jacob Bethell (60 not out) and Michael Burgess (63 not out) added an unbroken 112 in 30 overs.

The seventh-wicket pair bailed out a top order which contributed little apart from Rob Yates (69). Craig Overton and Josh Davey both took two wickets, but Somerset's bowlers mixed good balls with too many loose offerings which prevented them building the required pressure.

Warwickshire, mired in a relegation battle, were very grateful for the work of Bethell and Burgess as they try to build a position from which to push for their belated first Championship victory of the season.

^{Rocky Flintoff made his County Championship debut (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)}

Kia Oval (day one of four): Lancashire 204, Surrey 83-0 - Surrey trail by 121 runs with 10 wickets remaining

Rocky Flintoff made a creditable 32 on debut, as Lancashire's youngest first-class cricketer at the age of 16 years and 137 days, but it was champions Surrey who ruthlessly took first day honours at the Kia Oval.

Put in, Lancashire were bowled out for 204 inside 59 overs, with no one making fifty, and Surrey then replied with 83 for no wicket before bad light ended play 15.4 overs early. Skipper Rory Burns is 44 not out, including straight-driving George Balderson's medium pace for successive fours, and Dom Sibley remains unbeaten on 37.

Jordan Clark (4 for 57) and Dan Worrall (3 for 31) continued their fine red-ball seasons by spearheading a five-pronged seam attack in which Conor McKerr also took two wickets and Sam Curran one in what was, for both, their first Vitality County Championship appearances of the summer.

Matty Hurst, with 46 from 64 balls, played Lancashire's best and most assertive innings, while Balderson's 33 and Josh Bohannon's 26 were other worthy efforts in seam-friendly overhead and pitch conditions.

Related: Rocky Flintoff first-class debut brings wave of Oval nostalgia

Southampton (day one of four): Hampshire, Essex - no play due to rain

Utilita Bowl saw mizzle, drizzle and outright rain, but no cricket as no play was possible on day one of Hampshire's Vitality County Championship clash with Essex.

The covers remained untouched, other than by water, all day until the umpires abandoned play at 3.40pm.

Both sides would have been left frustrated by the lack of action with eyes on chasing Surrey down at the top of the table. There is forecast to be more rain overnight but there is more promise that there will be play on Friday.

^{Sam Curran returned to red-ball action for Surrey (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)}

Chester-le-Street (day one of four): Durham 393-5, Nottinghamshire

A magnificent maiden first-class century from Ben McKinney and a dogged hundred from Alex Lees put Durham in a dominant position on day one of their Vitality County Championship clash with Nottinghamshire.

McKinney, who is playing in just his second County Championship match, smashed an experienced Notts bowling attack around the park at the Seat Unique Riverside after Haseeb Hameed put the hosts into bat at the toss, while Lees anchored the Durham innings to reach three figures for the third time this season in the County Championship.

McKinney was very much the aggressor in the early stages of the day as the pair put on 189 runs for the first wicket, which is the hosts' highest opening stand of the season.

The visitors then made a mini fightback and picked up three wickets for 58 runs, but Lees combined with Ashton Turner for a partnership worth 122 to leave the hosts 393 for 5 at close.

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