The Cricketer reflects on round one of the 2022 County Championship season by nominating a standout XI after a run-laden four days...
Joe Weatherley (Hampshire)
Moved up to open the innings alongside Ian Holland, after a disappointing first-class campaign in 2021, Weatherley responded in wonderful fashion.
His career-best 168 - spread across just over six-and-a-half hours, and from 281 balls faced - was the hammer blow from which an already shellshocked Somerset simply could not recover.
Weatherley, who had not made a ton for four years, shared in an opening stand with Holland worth 180 - matching the score Somerset's entire side had managed, and laying down a huge marker for the season to come.
Alex Lees (Durham)
After a solid if unspectacular start to life in England's Test side in the Caribbean, Lees returned to county cricket and emphasised why he had been selected in the first place.
The opening batsman carried his bat for 182 not out, spending nearly eight hours at the crease unbeaten, in Durham's draw with Glamorgan in Cardiff.
Lees is unlikely to be dropped for the New Zealand series in June, despite a top score of 31 against West Indies, and this additional example of his staying power will have done his international chances no harm at all.
Joe Weatherley was in excellent form for Hampshire [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]
Hassan Azad (Leicestershire)
If you wanted to see old-fashioned rearguard batting, Grace Road was the place to be last weekend.
Hassan Azad and Beauran Hendricks combined to ensure Leicestershire picked up a share of the points in their meeting with Worcestershire, seeing out more than 25 overs together as the final Foxes pairing on the final day.
Azad, who batted the whole way through the fourth innings of the match, contributed a steadfast 104 from 280 balls, spanning more than six hours.
Ben Compton (Kent)
Zak Crawley opted to sit out the first game of the campaign, and Ben Compton made the most of the opportunity.
Crawley chose to rest after a winter away with England, and in his place debutant Compton - signed from Nottinghamshire over the winter - hit 129 as Kent made sure they did not buckle after conceding 514 to Essex in the first innings of the game.
Compton shared hundred stands with Tawanda Muyeye and Jordan Cox as Kent responded with 581 for 9 in the drawn match. Drop him now.
James Bracey (Gloucestershire)
In a round full of runs, and stacked with 20 individual centurions, James Bracey's hundred was probably the best.
Bracey, who has been open about dealing with the effects of his poor start to life in the international arena last summer, has focused on showing his class for his county and it was there in abundance at Wantage Road.
The wicketkeeper-batsman made 117 out of Gloucestershire's first-innings 223, more than half of the team's total, and batted for all bar the first two overs of the innings. Without him, it could have been a miserable start to the season for Gloucestershire. In the end, they managed to secure a share of the points. For good measure, Bracey also claimed seven victims behind the stumps.
Ben Compton made a debut hundred for Kent [Jacques Feeney/Getty Images]
Ryan Higgins (Gloucestershire)
Why on earth did Middlesex let this fella go?
Ryan Higgins is among the very best allrounders on the circuit right now, and this all-aspects performance in Gloucestershire's draw at Northamptonshire underlined that statement.
Higgins chalked up 167 runs in the match and returned figures of 7 for 115. A fantasy cricket manager's delight.
Matt Critchley (Essex)
As far as debut's go, this was not a bad one.
Matt Critchley swapped Derbyshire for Essex in the off-season and, in the absence of Simon Harmer, is the county's primary spin option.
He took to the limelight without a flinch, making 132 with the bat in his first knock for his new side, and then returned 4 for 114 with the ball, getting through 46 overs in the process.
Michael Burgess (Warwickshire)
Michael Burgess has competition for the gloves at Warwickshire, following the off-season arrival of Alex Davies. Against Surrey, he showed he is not going to be usurped without a serious fight.
Burgess cracked a magnificent hundred from No.8, bulldozing his way to 178 from 221 balls and playing a huge part in the Bears' recovery from a position of some trepidation at 41 for 4 to reach 531.
The keeper-bat's partnership with Olly Hannon-Dalby for the final wicket was particularly standout. Hannon-Dalby took 67 balls to get off the mark and ended with 11 from 89 (from two hours at the crease), yet between them he and Burgess added 122 in 33-and-a-bit overs.
Matt Critchley was in the runs and wickets for Essex [Jacques Feeney/Getty Images]
Mohammad Abbas (Hampshire)
Hampshire's much-vaunted new-ball pair of Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott were always like to do damage this season, and in the opening round Abbas immediately got in on the act.
He claimed match figures of 6 for 50 as Hampshire ripped through Somerset to win their opening game at a canter.
Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire)
For a spinner in early April, Liam Patterson-White got through a huge amount of work in Nottinghamshire's hard-fought win at Sussex.
The off-spinner bowled 76.1 overs in the match, returning figures of 8 for 138.
Ben Sanderson (Northamptonshire)
An excellent start to the season for Northamptonshire's dependable opening bowler.
Ben Sanderson claimed 9 for 132 in the match - 4 for 66 in the first innings followed by 5 for 66 in the second.
He could not quite deliver victory for his side, but he could them mighty close.
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