County cricket day one: Sussex v Surrey, Hampshire v Somerset, and more – live

Well played Cameron Green, 84 and counting on debut and some nice glue for Gloucestershire’s middle order. I didn’t know, before I read it here, that Green has a kidney condition that he has to control through diet. His parents were warned that he might not live to become a teenager. But here he is at Bristol, all strapping six foot six of him. And Leicestershire’s players trudge the 200m back across the soggy OT grass to their digs at the Hilton. “Sussex 222 as rain falls,” writes Tim Maitland. “I’m in heaven!” And there it may stay, the forecast for the rest of the day is downbeat. “Windy with spells of rain in the south and west which will turn heavy at times.” Better propects tomorrow though. Worcestershire have started batting at Chelmsford and have survived one over of Jamie Porter. No Sam Cook, which should make their task easier. Worcestershire have finished their filleting of Essex: four for Duffy, three for Waite. Jordan Cox the only man to pass 30: Essex 179 all out. And make that seven wickets in the afternoon session at Canterbury as Leonard is caught for 12 on the brink of tea. Glamorgan had a positive morning at Lord’s. They have since lost six wickets during a calamitous afternoon session. Kellaway and Leonard have stemmed the flow. Two wickets each for Roland-Jones, Paterson and Higgins. Glamorgan 170-7. I think we’re done for the day here at OT. Solid, drippy, dampness. There were six books shortlisted for the MCC/Cricket Society book of the year: Striking Summer, How cricket united a divided nation, Stephen Brenkley, Fairfield Books One Hell of a Life, Brian Close, Daring, defiant and daft, Stephen Chalke, Fairfield Books Worrell, The brief but brilliant life of a Caribbean pioneer, Simon Lister, Simon & Schuster The Cricketers of 1945: Rising from the ashes of World War Two, Christopher Sandford, Pitch Publishing Blood on the Tracks, England in Australia, The 1974-75 Ashes, David Tossell, Fairfield Books Forgotten Pioneers, The story of the original English lady cricketers, Giles Wilcock, Pitch Publishing A fabulous-sounding shortlist and the winner is…. Simon Lister’s book on Worrell. Congratulations! This attack of the rain-clouds is giving me flashbacks to last April, a month of cold hands and long delays. Only a handful of games still going today. Cameron Green gets the batting prize of the day now James Wharton has been out at CLS (caught off Doggett for 69) Green: 66 not out in his first game for Gloucestershire – he and James Bracey have nearly put on a hundred for the fifth wicket. DIVISION ONE Chester le Street: Durham v Yorkshire 174-5 Chelmsford: Essex 159-7 v Worcestershire Southampton: Hampshire v Somerset 94-6 Hove: Sussex 222-2 v Surrey rain stopped play Edgbaston: Warwickshire 34-2 v Nottinghamshire rain stopped play DIVISION TWO The County Ground: Derbyshire 210-4 v Northamptonshire rain stopped play Canterbury: Kent v Gloucestershire 192-4 Old Trafford: Lancashire 61-3 v Leicestershire rain stopped play Lord’s: Middlesex v Glamorgan 146-6 Essex may have thought Worcestershire were easy pickings. Not so. They’ve just limped past 150, seven wickets down. Harmer 12 not out. Four wickets for Duffy. And they’re off for rain at Hove, Sussex 222-2. No play either at OT, Edgbaston or Derby. Turn on the Sussex comms and the seagulls squawk on cue. Hains and Alsop have now put on 108 for the third wicket. Surrey dropped their customary zing down the back of the sofa early this season and are yet to fish it out. The Metrobank Cup starts tomorrow with three matches. A shout out here to the ECB for getting a sponsor rated as “a leader in climate responsibility” by bank green. Not so many plaudits for new principal ECB partner, car maker Toyota, who were slapped down by the ASA for adverts that “condoned the use of vehicles in a manner that disregarded their impact on nature and the environment.” The pigeons have now congregated on the covers at OT for some paddling. YJB has made a very thorough one from 17 balls at Chester-le-Street. Yorkshire 108-2. Essex in trouble, five down plus Pepper retired hurt after pulling something before lunch. Sussex clap-happy at Hove: against Surrey: fifty for Tom Haines at Hove, 167-2 at quite the lick. Probably a challenging watch, this. He’s such a brave man ( I guess we know that anyway) to throw himself back out there in the public gaze. Sam Northeast jags at Dane Patterson and, at the place of his grand triumph last year, is caught behind. Glamorgan lose a second for 110. A second wicket for Jas Singh at Canterbury and, unfortunately for Gloucestershire, it is Myles Hammond for 48. The new, huge GLoucestershire Australian, Cameron Green, has smacked four fours in his unbeaten 32. Glos 127-4. Fifties for Madsen and Guest at The County Ground, Derby 166-3. “Are you sure you were in a bookshop in Carlisle? asks Gary Naylor. “It sounds like a fever dream after watching one too many Lancashire collapses and going to bed with a Jorge Luis Borges anthology.” I did! Far too cold and damp for a fever dream, a day where your hair starts brushed but finishes as a birdsnest. Rain, rain, rain at OT. The covers settle and spread. Wisden’s editor Lawrence Booth has listed his top 18 county HQs. Rain at Southampton, at Birmingham, at Manchester. A brief flurry of excitement at Lord’s where the 12th man seemed to have swapped the ball when fielding on the boundary. But further video coverage has convinced the commentators that the fielder did actually throw the right ball back on the sward. Chick pea curry from the OT kitchen, a hearty dish. While I remember, a shout out to Bookcase, a mind-blowing labyrinthine second-hand bookshop in Carlisle with rooms that lead to more rooms and blocked off rooms and sheet music rooms and anything-you-fancy rooms. I spent five hours there with cricket writer Christian Ryan on Wednesday – though interspersed with coffee in the cafe and small nap in the floral armchair planted thoughtfully in the poetry section. And on come the OT covers for the first time this season. Time for a quick lap of the ground. DIVISION ONE Chester le Street: Durham v Yorkshire 75-2 Chelmsford: Essex 94-4 v Worcestershire Southampton: Hampshire v Somerset 94-6 Hove: Sussex 126-2 v Surrey Edgbaston: Warwickshire 34-2 v Nottinghamshire rain stopped play DIVISION TWO The County Ground: Derbyshire 115-3 v Northamptonshire Canterbury: Kent v Gloucestershire 96-3 Old Trafford: Lancashire 61-3 v Leicestershire Lord’s: Middlesex v Glamorgan 92-1 Essex have lost four, three now to Duffy.For those who want to brush up their Duffy dossier, here is a thing from cricinfo. Hampshire are riffing on a Somerset theme – Archie Vaughan and Toms Lammonby and Banton have joined Dickson in the pavilion. Somerset 93-4. This was a lovely thing to eat my muesli to this morning. An accidental education. A dive, a tip of the glove, and Hurst is dropped by Cox off Scriven. And again, a simpler chance, Rehan Ahmed at third slip off Mike. Dropped twice in his first nine balls – a century seems assured. And then they were three (down). Leicestershire look extremely perky, a-swigging their bottles with a swagger. Bohannon gone for nine after last week’s big un. A wicket for Mike in his first over. In Division Two, some solid consolidation from Harris and Bohannon: six doughty runs in seven doughty overs until a couple of boundaries break the spell. Lancs 40-2. Derbyshire lost three early wickets to Northants, but Madsen and Guthrie are hauling them out of a hole. Derbyshire 72-3. New vigorous Kent have predictably slice through Gloucestershire’s top order, Bancroft lbw to Gilchrist for 2; ul Hassan and Northeast are keeping Middlesex at bay at Lord’s, Glam 51-1. And as rain hits Birmingham, let’s wander around the grounds. Division One: Lyth and Bean are making steady progress against Durham (Yorkshire 31-0). A couple of wickets for Worcestershire his morning at Chelmsford, both to young Jacob Duffy, who hasn’t played much red-ball cricket. (Essex 54-2) At Southampton, Somerset have lost Sean Dickson cheaply (Wheal) (Somerset 44-1) while Brett Hutton winkled out both Warwickshire’s openers before the rain fell (Warwicks 34-1). And Sussex are pancaking the 2024 champs around the ground – 78-0 from 13 overs. And a second at OT, as KJ advances, squares up, and nicks Holland (2-11) to first slip who gently collects the creme egg. Jones looks befuddled, stands holding his pose most beautifully, but his middle stump is lying flat behind him. Ball nips merrily between bat and pad. Lancashire 18-1. Enter Josh Bohannon, who Paul Edwards tells me nearly cut the top of his thumb right off while chopping lettuce in the winter. Sam Cook has been rested by Essex, presumably under instruction from England selectors on high. The first Test against Zimbabwe, at Trent Bridge, is just over a month away. David Lloyd drops into the press box. He fancies Yorkshire’s James Wharton as the best fielder in county cricket and likens him to a young Clive Lloyd. Any other nominees? They’re on at OT, and Ken Grime’s radar says it should be ok until tea-time. Leicestershire won the toss and are bowling. The last time Leicestershire won here was in 2005, when Ken helped carry Mal Loye out to bat after he’d had a back spasm. Mal was strapped to a crash mat which was put on a porter’s trolley and lifted through the pavilion. He made three not out and screamed every time he hit the ball but was so angry after Jimmy was out at the other end with just a few runs to win that he managed to stamp back up the pavilion steps unaided. Incidentally, it looks quite spicy out there this morning. What a lovely vignette, and so true. DIVISION ONE Chester le Street: Durham v Yorkshire Chelmsford: Essex v Worcestershire Southampton: Hampshire v Somerset Hove: Sussex v Surrey Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire DIVISION TWO The County Ground: Derbyshire v Northamptonshire Canterbury: Kent v Gloucestershire Old Trafford: Lancashire v Leicestershire Lord’s: Middlesex v Glamorgan Hello! This year, the cricket season marks Good Friday with the start of round three. The tables are set quite unexpectedly, with Warwickshire, Sussex and Nottinghamshire at the top of Division One; Leicestershire, Kent and Derbyshire heading Division Two. It’s overcast but dry in Manchester where there are plenty of evil-beaked magpies but still no swallows. I’m off to Old Trafford to watch Lancashire take on table-topping Leicestershire. Elsewhere in Division Two, momentum-rolling Kent prepare to eat Gloucestershire, Derbyshire entertain near neighbours Northants, while Glamorgan and Middlesex fight it out for the early-season wooden spoon. In Division One, Yorkshire, fresh from victory on Monday, go to moribund Durham, Worcestershire travel to Fortress Chelmsford, winless Somerset need to try to dig a result out of Southampton, while the big beasts of the Midlands battle it out at Edgbaston. Last year’s champions Surrey, also without a win, go to Hove. Play starts at 11am. Please grab a hot-cross bun from the tray and join us.