County Championship Round 4 Day 4/4

Gloucestershire 134 (Dent 61, Masters 6-48) and 251 for 2 dec (Tavare 100*, A Gidman 119*) drew with Essex 305 for 8 dec (Foakes 132*, Foster 91)

Unbeaten centuries from Alex Gidman and Will Tavare guided Gloucestershire to a draw with Essex in Bristol.

The visitors took control of the Division Two clash on Tuesday after two days blighted by bad weather. Essex reached 305 for 8, with Ben Foakes unbeaten on 132, and their first act on the final morning was to declare.

That left Gloucestershire, who made just 134 in their first innings, 171 adrift and facing a testing day in order to secure a draw. And it looked like defeat could well be on the cards when both openers went early but Gidman and Tavare guided them to 251 for 2 and a draw was agreed upon.

Gloucestershire lost their first wicket in the third over when Chris Dent, who was last man out in the first innings, edged behind, giving David Masters his seventh wicket of the match.

Captain Michael Klinger then fell for 7, bowled by Tymal Mills to leave the hosts wobbling at 18 for 2.

But there was nothing Essex could do to part Tavare and Gidman, who batted together for more than 70 overs, putting on 233 runs. 

It was the second 200-plus partnership of the match, with Foakes and James Foster putting Essex in control with 218 on the third day.

For 24-year-old Tavare, who was on exactly 100 when a draw was declared, it was a second century in three matches this season. Gidman scored at a faster rate to reach 119, his 21st first-class century.

Essex collected 11 points from the match with Gloucestershire picking up seven. Both sides have drawn two of their three matches so far this season, with Essex beating Derbyshire in their opener and Gloucestershire losing to Hampshire. 

Hampshire 400 for 6 dec (Vince 159, Adams 65) drew with Surrey 99 for 2 (Burns 53*)

Hampshire's James Vince made the best of a heavily rain-affected draw with Surrey by hitting an impressive 159.

The result became inevitable after the third day at The Ageas Bowl was completely washed out after the first two days had been heavily interrupted by the weather and the captains could not come to an agreement over a manufacture result despite Graham Ford's positive talk the night before.

Hampshire resumed their first innings on 289 for 3 on day four and their opponents did not take long to make an impact as Will Smith added only three more to his overnight total of 23 before being caught off the bowling of Matt Dunn.

Vince, though, soldiered on and took his total past the 150-mark. Hampshire began to settle at the crease but Joe Gatting handed the momentum back to Surrey as he was caught by Dominic Sibley for 11 off the bowling of Stuart Meaker.

Just two overs later, another wicket fell and this time it Vince who was removed as Tom Curran (two drew a nick that went through to keeper Steven Davies. Vince's 159 was his third highest score for Hampshire and his second century of the season after he hit 144 against Gloucestershire a fortnight ago.

Sean Ervine (21) and Michael Bates (28) guided the hosts to 363 for 6 at lunch, and the unbeaten pair took their team to 400 before Hampshire declared.

The home side then enjoyed a strong start after the turnaround as Surrey captain Graeme Smith was dismissed lbw by James Tomlinson. Fellow opening batsman Rory Burns made use of the time available with a composed half-century that included seven fours and the 23-year-old was still unbeaten at the close of play.

The draw means Hampshire remain unbeaten and are now second in the table while Surrey are sixth and still looking for their first win of the season. 

Leicestershire 500 (O'Brien 133, Taylor 63, Naik 59*, Wagg 4-107) and 179 for 8 dec (Smith 97, Wagg 4-65) drew with Glamorgan 359 (Rees 72, Rudolph 65, Wagg 57) and 250 for 7 (Rudolph 63, Walters 57*, Goodwin 50)

Glamorgan battled to a draw against Leicestershire at Grace Road after being seven wickets down with an hour remaining.

Having set the visitors a target of 321 for victory on the final day, Glamorgan looked in trouble at 204 for 7 but Stewart Walters (57 not out) and John Glover put on 46 to deny the home side.

Leicestershire resumed on 77 for 1 in their second innings, already 218 runs ahead, and that lead was extended to 320 when they declared on 179 for 8. Graham Wagg, who took four wickets in the first innings, was again the chief threat as he added another four wickets to his haul.

Dean Cosker chipped in with the other three but it was Will Owen who denied opener Greg Smith a century with a sharp run out. The bowler got a fingertip to Jigar Naik's shot and diverted it onto the stumps at the non-striker's end when Smith was on 97.

That prompted a declaration from Leicestershire and Glamorgan made the steady start they would have hoped for. Jacques Rudolph and Gareth Rees took the visitors to 49 without loss before the latter edged Charlie Shreck behind to Niall O'Brien.

William Bragg was then bowled by Rob Taylor for 7 but Rudolph and Murray Goodwin added another 60 runs before Rudolph was caught by Ben Braine off the bowling of Naik for 63. Goodwin also chalked up a half-century but his departure for 50 was swiftly followed by Jim Allenby for a duck as Leicestershire sensed the chance of a victory.

Naik then snared captain Mark Wallace as well and when Wagg fell, too, Glamorgan were seven down with more than 16 overs left. Leicestershire had up to seven men around the bat but Walters' unbeaten half-century and Glover, 19 not out, resisted the pressure impressively to guide Glamorgan to safety. 

Middlesex 123 (Sidebottom 4-34) and 472 for 3 (Rogers 241*, Robson 77, Dexter 72*) beat Yorkshire 178 (Plunkett 56*, Finn 4-50) and 416 (Ballance 130, Root 63, Lyth 54, Finn 4-89) by seven wickets

The queue of spectators waiting to buy a copy of the scorecard at the end of this match told its own story: those present on the final day of this game at Lord's knew they had seen something special. You might even call it the miracle of Lord's.

Chris Rogers, with a chanceless and unbeaten double-century, led his Middlesex side to a remarkable victory. Only twice in the history of the County Championship has a side successful chased more than the 472 achieved here. Only five times has a side scored more in the fourth innings of a Championship match. Middlesex have never scored as many to win at Lord's.

But so masterful was Rogers' innings that he made this run chase - this almost impossible run chase - appear simple. While no other batsman looked comfortable, the 36-year-old Rogers made a highly impressive Yorkshire attack look ordinary in recording the 67th first-class century and the 10th double-century of a career that keeps rising to new heights. 

Angus Fraser, the Middlesex director of cricket and a man not prone to hyperbole, rated it "as good an innings as I've seen from a Middlesex player in my time at the club."

"I've seen special innings from Desmond Haynes, Mike Gatting, Mark Ramprakash and Jacques Kallis, but I don't think I've seen anything to better that," Fraser told ESPNcricinfo. "I'm numb, to be honest. It's a big statement, but I think that's one of the great Middlesex performances. It's a game supporters will be talking about in decades time. It was special."

Rogers, who struck 37 crisp boundaries in his 290 ball master-class, rated it the best innings of his career and admitted afterwards he gave his side little hope when their chase began. He also confirmed afterwards that participation in the 2015 Ashes series remains a target.

"I didn't give us any chance," Rogers said. "I just wanted us to go and play without fear. I was so disappointed with the way we batted in the first innings.

"So to play an innings like, be not out and win chasing 470 that's the kind of thing you dream about as a cricketer. It was almost a perfect run chase. Yes, I think it was [my best innings].

"People tell you that once you get to your mid- thirties it's time to call it a day. But I keep surprising myself with my body and my enjoyment. I'm hoping to get to the Ashes next year. That would be an amazing way to finish."

It was not, perhaps, as awe-inspiring an innings as Gordon Greenidge's match-winning performance here in 1984. But for strength of character, for determination and for sheer inevitability, this was an innings of the highest-class. Yorkshire's bowlers will be having nightmares about his cover drive - a shot he played so often and so well that Joe Root, in his first match as captain, was powerless to stop it - for weeks to come.

There will be, inevitably, some criticism of the Yorkshire bowling. While they were not at their best - they failed to maintain a consistent enough line or length to build any meaningful pressure - they were unfortunate to encounter a fine player in the best of form and a slow pitch that had eased considerably in the warm summer sunshine.

When a man is in the sort of touch where he can drive length balls for four and treat back of length balls as if they are long-hops, any faults are going to be magnified. Yorkshire really did not bowl that badly and Root really could not have done too much differently. Sometimes you just have to accept that someone has played better than you.

Still, their coach Jason Gillespie was disappointed in their performance. "We didn't get our skills right and we paid the price," Gillespie said. "We were pretty poor on the third day. There were far too many half-volleys, far too many short balls. We gave Rogers too many four balls and it gave them a lot of confidence. To some extent we let him play the way he did. You can't afford that at first-class level. Our bowlers have to take stock and learn from this."

The defeat is not a fatal blow to Yorkshire's Championship credentials, though. Even at this early stage of the season, only two sides - Durham and Somerset - have yet to suffer defeat. 

While Yorkshire will surely suffer more from England call-ups than most, they also have the likes of Tim Bresnan and Jonny Bairstow to come back into the team. Still, it is worth noting that, for all the international players produced by the club, none of the first-class counties has currently gone so long (since 2002) without winning some silverware (including Division Two titles) as Yorkshire.

They did not enjoy much luck on the final day, either. Dawid Malan, on 28, edged just short of the slips and Neil Dexter, whose late barrage followed a sticky start, was controversially given the benefit of the doubt on 21 when it was unclear whether his edge behind had carried. When Ryan Sidebottom, armed with the second new ball, beat Rogers with a couple of beauties, Yorkshire's hopes rose once more but, after that threat ebbed, victory become inevitable. 

Even with the game beyond them, though, Liam Plunkett had the hostility to inflict a painful blow on Rogers' body with a short ball.

While an Australian produced the match-defining contribution, there was plenty here to cheer England followers, too. Both Sam Robson and Gary Ballance batted well and Steven Finn showed signs of improvement after his chastening winter with England. 

It seems unlikely England will rush him back into the fold - in Rogers' words "his confidence is still a little bit fragile and even he would say he's not bowling as well as previously" - but from the husk of the man who was sent home early from Australia, a fearsome fast bowler is starting to emerge once again. His international career is not over.

The match was less positive for Eoin Morgan. His unconvincing second innings ended when he gloved a somewhat frenetic sweep and, with the ODI against Scotland likely to rule him out of the next round of games - it seems England will not allow substitutions to be made and instead rest players for the first two days and then stage a training game on Tuesday and Wednesday - he will have few more opportunities to impress in red ball cricket. 

If England really do see him as part of their Test plans, a strong case could be made to allow him to miss the ODI to play another round of Championship matches. 

Lancashire 119 and 284 (Buttler 72, Smith 54, Stone 4-65) beat Northamptonshire 164 (Spriegel 62, Anderson 5-48) and 179 (Middlebrook 87, Anderson 5-41) by 60 runs

James Anderson completed a 10-wicket match as Lancashire sealed a 60-run win over Northamptonshire in their first match without Peter Moores at the helm.

Moores has already started work as England head coach and will be thankful to have Anderson at his services in that role, as the seamer claimed the first two wickets on the final morning at Wantage Road to tee up victory and finish with combined figures 10 for 89.

Northamptonshire resumed on the fourth morning 145 for 5 with 95 still to get but instead mustered only 34 as the visitors finished the job in just 15 overs.

James Middlebrook, 78 not out overnight, resumed alongside Ben Duckett, with Anderson beginning alongside skipper Glen Chapple. The former got Lancashire going with the second ball of his third over, snapping up a low return catch off Duckett's leading edge to send him back for 26.

Just two runs were added before Anderson struck again, former team-mate Steven Crook attempting to pull a short ball from outside off stump only to be caught by Luke Procter at mid-on.

That allowed Anderson to finish with 5 for 41 to go with his first-innings effort of 5 for 48, a statement of intent ahead of the international programme.

Northamptonshire retained a theoretical chance as long as Middlebrook remained but when he drilled Chapple to the waiting Ashwell Prince for 87, the result was all but settled. Kabir Ali applied the finishing touch, accounting for Olly Stone and Azharullah to close with 3 for 17 as Lancashire banked 19 points.

Off the field, Lancashire announced the appointment of former club captain Mark Chilton to the coaching staff. Although Chapple has taken an expanded leadership role in Moores' absence, a vacancy behind the scenes was still created and Chilton, who retired in 2011, will be a popular choice at Old Trafford.

Director of cricket Mike Watkinson said: "Following the recent changes in our coaching structure, it was vital that we had some continuity to enable us to carry on our progress.

"He has demonstrated his leadership skills in his role of club captain and he will have a great influence on the squad. He is Lancashire through and through and had a successful career at Emirates Old Trafford. He hasn't been out of the first-class game for long and is in touch with the requirements of the modern day cricketer."

Chilton added: "I am thrilled at the prospect of returning to Lancashire. We have an exciting crop of emerging young players and I am looking forward to working with them." 

Somerset 372 (Trescothick 116, Petersen 76, Jordan 5-76) beat Sussex 142 (Wells 79*, Gregory 5-49) and 219 (Joyce 93, Gregory 4-48) by an innings and 11 runs

Somerset needed just 75 minutes of the final day to record their first win of the season by an innings and 11 runs against the leaders Sussex.

Starting the day 68 runs short of making their visitors bat again, Sussex saw their hopes of taking the game into any sort of a contest ended when Ed Joyce chopped on for 93.

Joyce represented Sussex's best chance of salvation and, after he fell just short of a third century of the season, Somerset quickly wrapped up the tail and Sussex's innings for 219.

They started as they went on with an early wicket as England hopeful Chris Jordan, a useful lower-order batsman Sussex will have hoped could stick around, edging Jamie Overton to James Hildreth at first slip for 7.

James Anyon joined Joyce in the middle and the pair at least looked like sending Somerset out again before Joyce perished. Marcus Trescothick's decision to make a bowling change 45 minutes in paid off with Lewis Gregory, the game's stand-out bowler, coming on and removing Joyce, who tried a nudge to third man but ended up diverting the ball onto his stumps.

That was the main breakthrough Somerset had sought, before another bowling change produced dividends in the next over. Peter Trego was handed the ball by his skipper and he needed five balls to snare Anyon, who dragged a short delivery from the all-rounder down the throat of Chris Jones at midwicket for 10.

The game was pretty much up at that point, and it was for sure when Jon Lewis lost his middle stump to Gregory for seven, giving the bowler impressive match figures of 9 for 97. 

Worcestershire 432 for 9 dec (Kervezee 110, Moeen 99, Andrew 71*) beat Derbyshire 219 (Madsen 111*, Ajmal 4-60) and 149 (Madsen 56, Ajmal 4-40) by an innings and 64 runs

Saeed Ajmal led the charge as Worcestershire ripped through Derbyshire to secure their second LV=County Championship victory of the season at New Road.

The Pakistan offspinner claimed 4 for 40 from 20 overs as the hosts removed Derbyshire for 149 to seal their victory by an innings and 64 runs. Ajmal finished the match with combined figures of 8 for 100 from 46.3 overs, the statistics alone indicating his pivotal role.

Worcestershire felt no need to add to the mammoth 432 for nine first-innings tally racked up on day three, declaring at the start of the final day's action. That sent Derbyshire into their second innings trailing by 213 runs, and Worcestershire did not need long to close in on victory.

Only Wayne Madsen offered credible resistance as the hosts took control, the Derbyshire captain battling to make 56 from 139 balls. After his unbeaten 111 in Derbyshire's disappointing first-innings total of 219, he could have been forgiven for despairing at his misfiring team-mates.

Gareth Andrew removed opener Stephen Moore caught by Daryl Mitchell for 4 and Charles Morris trapped Billy Godleman leg before for 10, before removing the key figure Shivnarine Chanderpaul for just 4, caught by Tom Kohler-Cadmore.

Ajmal then claimed a three-wicket burst to help his side lay one hand on the victory. First he had Chesney Hughes caught by Mitchell for 12, before Wes Durston holed out to the same fielder for 21.

By the time he snared Dan Hodgson leg before, Derbyshire were reduced to 97 for 6. Ross Whiteley then ran out David Wainwright for 13, and Ajmal completed his four-wicket haul by removing the last pivotal opponent.

Madsen's stubborn 56 was rendered all the more impressive given the frequency of wickets falling all around him, but he too fell prey to Ajmal in the end, trapped lbw.

Tim Groenewald lasted just six balls for his duck, Jack Shantry claiming an lbw dismissal. Shantry then clean bowled Mark Footitt for four runs to complete the demolition job. 

County Championship Round 4 Day 2/4

Gloucestershire 104 for 6 (Masters 4-39) v Essex 

Essex made a strong start to their LV= County Championship Division Two game against Gloucestershire but the visitors were frustrated as the match was interrupted by bad weather for the second day running.

David Masters led the Essex charge, taking 4 for 39 as Gloucestershire were reduced to 104 for 6 before play was prematurely stopped for bad light and rain after 31.1 overs.

Winning the toss and choosing to field, Essex looked to make up for lost time after the elements had ensured not a single ball had been bowled on the opening day.

Gloucestershire made a disastrous start as they fell to 0 for 2 after just three overs with both Michael Klinger and William Tavare removed for ducks by Masters. 

Klinger, who has now scored just three runs in his last three innings, was the first to go as he was clean bowled and, three balls later, Tavare joined him when he played straight into the hands of Ben Foakes.

Opener Chris Dent dug in and together with Alex Gidman, Gloucestershire looked like they might begin to build a platform. In the seventh over, however, Gidman fell to the bowling of Graham Napier, nicking the ball behind, leaving the hosts in trouble at 23 for 3.

Gloucestershire's morning went from bad to worse soon after as Napier took his ninth wicket of the Championship season when he bowled Hamish Marshall for 4.

Will Gidman managed eight better than his brother but was unable to turn an encouraging start into a big score as Masters induced the edge and Alastair Cook held on at first slip. However, Dent, fresh from a half-century at Glamorgan, kept the Gloucestershire score respectable as he hit eight fours on his way to 47.

Just as the opener looked to reach his half-century, play was stopped for bad light before heavy rain extended the delay. The action temporarily resumed later and it took just eight balls for Essex to add another scalp to their tally as Cameron Herring edged Masters' delivery to Foster.

Ian Saxelby joined Dent at the crease but in the 32nd over the umpires again sent the players back into the pavilion for bad light before more rain saw the day's play brought to an early close. 

Hampshire 289 for 3 (Vince 118*) v Surrey

There are any number of cabs on the rank, engines running. But a second high quality century of the season ought to have moved James Vince up the queue of traffic hoping to benefit from England's miserable winter.

The 23-year-old Vince took complete charge of another weather-hit day to strike an unbeaten 118, at virtually a run-a-ball, and put Division Two leaders Hampshire in a position that would be even stronger but for rain allowing just 31 overs.

Vince's innings, which followed a knock of 144 against Gloucestershire, and a couple of unbeaten half-centuries, means the stylish right-hander has now accumulated 400 Championship runs and currently lies a close second in the early season hit list to Ian Bell.

Being mentioned in the same paragraph as Bell is no bad thing - and, given the way Vince is playing (and played last season) he could soon be named in the same England squad as him, be that at limited-overs or even Test level.

"A year ago I would have said he was a better one-day player but I feel he has found a method in this form of the game that holds him in good stead in first-class cricket as well," said Giles White, Hampshire's director of cricket.

Last summer was Vince's breakthrough campaign as a Championship player. He topped 1000 runs (1101 at 61.16 to be precise) for the first time after some hard work with the county's batting coach, Tony Middleton.

"He changed his technique two years ago, altering his set up and the way he lines up the ball," explained White. "He has reaped the rewards from that, has a very straightforward method and executes his game plan very well.

"The way he strikes the ball, his range of stroke - he looks at a different level to other players. That's a credit to the hard work he has put in and to what a talent he is."

County coaches quite understandably push their own players, and White accepts that Vince is far from alone in the race for England recognition. 

But he says: "We see him every day and he looks every bit a potential England player, and has done for a season and a bit now. If he keeps on putting in these performances he will be knocking pretty loudly on that door. I'm sure he is one of those players the selectors area aware of.

"I wouldn't be surprised [if he stepped up this season]. He seems to learn very quickly and is maturing as an individual. He has to continue to do it and churn out runs, day in and day out, but he has shown over the last year he is very capable of doing that."

Well though Vince batted, Surrey made life easier for him than they should have done on a pitch still offering enough assistance when the ball was put in the right place. 

But it went in the wrong place far too often from the visitors point of view, as 136 runs in 31 overs during the morning session might suggest.

And when Surrey did create a chance, they missed it. Having been reprieved behind the stumps on the opening day, Vince was given a second life - on 44 - when edging Stuart Meaker through Jason Roy's hands at third slip.

Those blemishes apart, though, Vince was a joy to watch, missing few opportunities to drive and cut an attack featuring Jade Dernbach, Meaker and Matt Dunn.

England, it would appear, have not washed their hands of Michael Carberry just yet - or, at least, their current batting coach, Graham Gooch, is still working with the opener. Gooch, or whoever has that job through this summer, may soon be working every bit as closely with Vince before too long. 

Glamorgan 126 for 0 (Rudolph 63, Rees 53*) trail Leicestershire 500 (O'Brien 133, Cobb 63, Taylor 63, Naik 59, Wagg 4-107) by 374 runs

Glamorgan openers Gareth Rees and Jacques Rudolph made good progress with a half-century each as they looked to reel in a large Leicestershire total at Grace Road.

After a Niall O'Brien century, his 13th in first-class cricket, helped steer the hosts to 500 all out, Glamorgan responded in solid fashion with Rees and Rudolph unbeaten on 53 and 63 respectively as they reached 126 without loss at close of play.

Leicestershire had resumed on Monday at 221 for 4 with Josh Cobb on 49 and O'Brien on 46. Cobb reached 63 before he was caught and bowled by Dean Cosker as the hosts fell to 257 for 5, but O'Brien reached his ton in 117 balls and went on to make 133 where he was caught by Murray Goodwin off Graham Wagg.

Rob Taylor (63) and Jigar Naik (59no) also passed their half-centuries, adding 101 for the eighth wicket in 17 overs, and Leicestershire's strong batting performance continued right through their order with last man Charlie Shreck reaching a career-best 31 before his run-out brought an end to their resistance.

Wagg was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, taking 4 for 107 from his 27 overs. 

Yorkshire 178 and 213 for 4 (Root 63, Lyth 54) lead Middlesex 123 (Sidebottom 4-34, Brooks 3-47) by 268 runs

Like perms, mullets and onesies, some fashions are best forgotten.

So it may well prove with the current fashion to play 'positive' cricket. Where once county batsmen were brought up to graft their way through tough sessions of play, many of the current generation react to tricky conditions by attempting to blast their way to success. Even at the end of the Ashes series, with England thrashed inside three days, the mantra from inside the camp was that they had to find a way to attack the Australian bowlers and play positive cricket.

The irony of England's approach was that it played into Australia's hands. While England's strength, with a couple of exceptions, was to play patient, attritional cricket, they were lured into altering their game-plan partially by the drip feeding of propaganda into the media by the likes of Shane Warne. Instead of trying to frustrate Australia by blocking for session upon session, they sought to counter-attack and tended to neither score quickly or survive for long. When you are beaten in two-and-a-half days, strike-rate is largely irrelevant.

In the longer forms of the game, defence can remain the best form of attack. A batsman who has the discipline and technique to leave, defend and wait can survive to damage their opposition not just in the next four overs, but the next four sessions. The old values of patience and denial may be unfashionable in the age of T20 and broadcasters demanding action, but they remain as valuable now as ever.

There was a fine example of the virtues of attritional cricket on the second day of this game. While Middlesex, unable to summon the patience to fight for their runs, lost their last eight wickets for 66 runs, Yorkshire were prepared to grind out their total and, by the close of play, had established what may well prove to be a match-defining advantage.

They had a little fortune. For a large part of their second innings, the clouds dispersed and the sun shone at Lord's. Local wisdom suggests, despite scientific evidence to the contrary, that the ball misbehaves far less often when the sun shines.

Generally, though, Yorkshire made their own fortune. By bowling tremendously well in the morning session - Ryan Sidebottom claimed 3 for 11 in nine overs of wonderfully skilful and accurate swing bowling and was well supported by the hostile Liam Plunkett and the nagging Jack Brooks - they gained a first innings lead of 55; a fine achievement from a position of 113 for 7 in their first innings.

They then capitalised on their advantage by seeing off the new ball and the Middlesex bowlers at their freshest and gradually began to carve out a match-defining advantage. Where Middlesex chased the ball, Yorkshire left it. Where Middlesex panicked, Yorkshire were patient. Where Middlesex sought the poor ball, Yorkshire waited for it. Where Middlesex played failed, Yorkshire succeeded.

The contrast in approaches was typified by the experiences of England rivals Joe Root and Eoin Morgan. While Morgan battled for a while, desperately trying to resist the urge to chase the ball, his patience was eroded after a spell where he scored just nine runs in 34 balls and he fell to an outrageous thrash - and an excellent catch - at a ball well wide of off stump.

Root, by contrast, denied himself such indiscretions. Early in his innings, he was admirably compact and refused to be drawn into deliveries outside his off stump. While there was one early hook for six, Root hit only one other boundary in the first 63 balls of his innings.

But, as Middlesex's three-man seam attack tired, the run began to flow with Root hitting four boundaries in seven balls at one stage - three of them off Steven Finn - and the support bowlers conceded almost four-an-over.

There was little wrong with the Middlesex bowling. Finn again generated sharp pace - though probably no sharper than Plunkett's - and maintained good consistency, while James Harris and Tim Murtagh hardly delivered a poor ball.

While Root's resistance will have done him no harm in the eyes of the England selectors, he was building on a platform established by his side's opening batsmen. Alex Lees and Adam Lyth, in particular, again impressed in a stand that drew the sting from the attack and set the tone for the rest of the day.

While none of the batsmen could go on to establish the dominant innings that would have put this game out of reach - Lees left a straight one, Lyth was drawn into a flirt outside off stump and Root was, as in the first innings, punished for being stuck in the crease - a lead of 268 might prove enough already against a Middlesex line-up that appears oddly brittle.

"We've bowled well as a quartet all season," Sidebottom said afterwards. "The way they batted is credit to the way we bowled. The way Plunkett is performing, England should take note. He is bowling fast; I wouldn't want to bat against him. He is bowling quick and fantastically well.

"They bowled well, too, so we had to battle really hard. They gave us nothing for a couple of hours. 

There's a lot of cricket to play in this game, though. It could still go either way." 

Lancashire 119 and 244 for 5 (Buttler 66*) lead Northamptonshire 164 (Spriegel 62, Anderson 5-48) by 199 runs

Jos Buttler is undoubtedly one of the most talented young players that England can currently call upon and it should therefore come as no surprise to hear he is capable of game-changing innings. That his first significant contribution in a Lancashire shirt came on a seaming track when his side were struggling is more worthy of note.

Buttler's unbeaten 66, replete with thumping drives down the ground and through the covers, would have been eye-catching even if it had come in more favourable circumstances for batting. Given the importance for his team, as well as the counterpunching nature of the innings, it tempted a comparison with Matt Prior, England's Test firefighter for so many years. 

Buttler will need to increase the volume and frequency of his first-class run-scoring - converting this effort into a fourth hundred would be a good start - but, with Prior's Achilles still troubling him, this was a timely knock.

When Lancashire's fifth wicket fell, with the scoreboard reading 130 for 5, their lead was 85 and Northamptonshire would have been hopeful of starting off in pursuit of a small total before the close. Instead, Buttler and Tom Smith, a couple of vocational surnames if ever there were any, did a thorough job on them, adding 114 in less than 25 overs to carry Lancashire giddily into the ascendency. Northamptonshire would have been wary of chasing anything above 200 but the target is likely to be more daunting still.

The last time Buttler passed fifty in a first-class match was almost a year ago, when he made 85 against Middlesex at Taunton, although his involvement with England has limited his Championship appearances since then. Last season was his most successful in red-ball cricket and he began his Lancashire career by making a battling 42 last week in the drawn game against Warwickshire. On the evidence of the World T20, it is still his keeping that needs polish but Peter Moores, who first picked a rough-and-ready Prior for England and brought Buttler to Lancashire, may already be formulating his stratagems.

As Buttler and Smith became more comfortable, Northamptonshire's composure slipped. After Steven Crook conceded six no-balls and four byes from consecutive deliveries that gave David Murphy little chance behind the stumps, a trenchant call of "Rubbish!" rang out from the members' stand. Smith was later dropped on 31, though it would have been brilliant catch by Kyle Coetzer, and Murphy then missed a leg-side stumping with Buttler overbalancing a few yards out of his crease as the home side unravelled a little further.

Lancashire had been vocal in their complaints about the pitch after the first day, when they were shot out for 119, although it may have involved an element of kidology, after Northamptonshire's criticism of the surface for their game at Old Trafford last year. That fixture finished inside two days but the ECB pitch inspector saw nothing untoward; neither will there be any sanction for Northamptonshire here, after an official visit from Tony Pigott.

The pitch certainly had some moisture in it but conditions eased appreciably, even though the wind blowing in from the east at times felt as if it had come all the way from the Baltic. The partnership that began to warm Lancashire came between Paul Horton and Ashwell Prince and provided some much-needed fibre after they had lost their first two wickets shortly after lunch while still attempting to erase a 45-run first-innings deficit.

In terms of turning things around, it was more horse and carriage than Hackney carriage but they initiated the process of reeling in a game that was trundling steadily away from Lancashire. Azharullah succeeded in breaking Prince's bat handle but his defence was otherwise impenetrable. They were separated only by a piece of misfortune, as a delivery from Andrew Hall deflected on to the stumps off Murphy with Prince out of his crease. That went down as a stumping but there was a run-out to follow, as Horton left Luke Procter stranded in mid-pitch without having faced a ball.

Although the ground was swaddled with grey clouds when Northamptonshire resumed, it took Lancashire over an hour to separate the ninth-wicket stand between Matthew Spriegel and Olly Stone. Spriegel, whose flinty innings was perfectly suited to adversity, progressed to his second half-century in as many matches - and only his third for Northamptonshire since joining at the end of 2012 - before becoming the last man out, well taken by Buttler running back underneath a top edge. Lancashire fans may be beginning to think they have got themselves a keeper. 

Nottinghamshire 116 (Patel 54, Woakes 3-13, Wright 3-34) and 126 for 3 (Jaques 64) need 174 more runs to beat Warwickshire 263 and 152 (Siddle 3-38, Gurney 3-42)

This match is in the balance, with Nottinghamshire needing 174 runs to win with seven wickets standing on a pitch that has been unpredictable, even in a generous assessment. Whatever the outcome, the home county will be face a nervous time at the close, when a pitch panel convened by the ECB will meet to determine whether action is taken after 33 wickets fell during the first two days.

Nottinghamshire, of course, are at risk of a points penalty if the surface is judged to be of less than a reasonable standard. That could range from eight points if the panel concludes that its position is poor, to 24 points if it is considered to be unfit. They may escape unscathed.

There will be a debate to follow, either way, over the alteration to the Laws that allows the home captain to decide if the heavy roller is available for use, by either side, during the course of the game. Nottinghamshire may not have helped themselves in this instance by deciding it is not available, the consequence of which is that dents to the surface caused by the ball can remain a factor for longer than previously, leading potentially to uneven bounce and unpredictable sideways movement.

Nonetheless, the state of the surface remains their responsibility and the panel may ask why Nottinghamshire, who tend to prepare 'result' wickets without apology, chose to use a pitch well towards the Bridgford Road side of the square so early in the season.

Whatever the panel decides, three innings completed by tea on the second day can be no one's idea of acceptable progress in a first-class match, not when there are eight Test players involved. Batting is no picnic at this time of year, with moisture still close to the surface, but the balance between bat and ball here has been too heavily tilted in the bowlers' favour.

Even Ian Bell, capable of mastering any conditions, as he did in the first innings with the outstanding century that may ultimately be Warwickshire's match-winning factor, found the going tough this time. He had made only 5, having already been beaten twice in the over, when he gave a catch to Chris Read off Harry Gurney as the left-armer slanted a ball across him.

That Nottinghamshire have a chance of winning is a turn-round, however, which may help their cause. Tony Pigott, the ECB pitch liaison officer, arrived at tea to see the target of 300 to win, one that had looked too much at first in view of what had gone before, reduced by 92 during a partnership between Phil Jaques and Michael Lumb for the second wicket, with the demons in the pitch seemingly gone to ground.

Yet there was another twist to come as Lumb was leg before, playing back to Jeetan Patel's offspin, and Jaques, whose 64 is his best score so far for Nottinghamshire, succumbed to an unplayable lifter from Chris Wright that took the edge and had him caught behind.

Warwickshire had been bowled out inside 40 overs, with three wickets each for Gurney and Peter Siddle, the Australia Test bowler, whose value to Nottinghamshire is becoming apparent now that he has some overs in his legs.

Earlier, Nottinghamshire, 43 for 6 overnight, had recovered a little when Samit Patel (54) and Chris Read put on 72 for the seventh wicket. But their last four wickets fell in the space of eight balls, three of them in one over to Chris Woakes. 

Sussex 25 for 1 trail Somerset 372 (Trescothick 116, Petersen 76, Jordan 5-76) by 347 runs

County cricket has sustained Marcus Trescothick for nearly eight long years since his England career came to such a premature end. It has given him professional consolation and personal contentment and he has given a huge amount of entertainment in return. For those who care only for England, he has been a player lost from view before his time. On the county circuit, where the best players are often absent, his presence has been a blessing.

This is an age when so many England cricketers retire without a second thought of finishing their days traversing the county grounds of England, but Trescothick because of personal circumstance has been an exception. His commitment has been unconditional as he has galumphed around the circuit, despatching attacks in that amiable and big boned manner. He symbolises much that is good about Somerset but he has gained a popularity that goes beyond mere partisanship.

That bond between the player and those who watch has rarely been stronger than on the second day of this contest at Hove. This time the applause for his hundred was tinged with relief. It marked Trescothick's first Championship century since September 2012. Last season he went without one for the first time since 1998 and, at 38, unsuccessful runs so prolonged are not often reversed.

Trescothick's 116, an innings ended when he spectacularly lost his middle stump driving ambitiously at Steve Magoffin, armed with the second new ball, would not figure in the list of the most dominant of his 57 first-class centuries, but it would deserve a mention for difficulty.

He turned around his form in exacting circumstances, labouring for five hours in overcast conditions and on a surface where Chris Jordan, coming down the hill, finished with 5 for 76 in 27.3 overs and did much to advertise his claims for a Test debut against Sri Lanka at Lord's in June. Jordan earned the hill on the first day; he won it by right on the second. "I like coming down the hill," he said.

When Trescothick assesses a player he does so with a wealth of experience behind him, no more so than when considering the attributes of a new-ball bowler. He recognises in Jordan a player whose threat is developing, and views him of capable of making the grade in a Test debut against Sri Lanka at Lord's if he outdoes rivals for the place such as Tim Bresnan and Chris Woakes.

Quite how Chris Adams, who has been brought in by Sri Lanka as a consultant for their tour of England, will explain that he saw fit to release Jordan at Surrey is hard to imagine. He, too, thought Jordan was going downhill - though not in the way he did at Hove.

"He bowled a heavy ball: he is probably quicker than most," Trescothick said. "I didn't bat against him much last season because I got a pair. But from two seasons ago I would say he has come on a long, long way. He looks a good prospect.

"He has a big chance at the start of the summer. There is a very good chance he could make the starting line-up because his batting has also been good in the one-day games. He will be fresh on the lips of the selectors."

The groundwork for Trescothick's hundred was laid on the first evening when he negotiated a passage of 32 overs that could easily have seen Somerset lose half a dozen wickets; to lose three, one of them a nightwatchman, represented a job well done. Jordan continued to find alarming bounce at times with the slope in his favour on the second day, but Trescothick's peace of mind never wavered. He progressed in relaxed fashion, as contented as if he was tucked under a duvet watching a favourite DVD.

When he brought up his hundred half-an-hour after lunch, it banished more bad memories. Last year - now very much last year, a year put behind him - he made the first pair of his Championship career against Sussex, his fourth successive duck in all competitions. On both occasions, the bowler was James Anyon. It was Anyon again who this time was pulled through the legside to reach 99 and then pushed wide of mid on the next ball to rid himself of the leanest run of his career.

"It was tough at all times," he said. "The new ball in particular was pretty hard to face. I had to graft and dig in." The pair had not crossed his mind when he made his hundred, he said. But it had crossed his mind on nought. "I was pretty twitchy to begin with," he said.

Packing up the footballs on the dressing room balcony as he spoke was David Houghton, who was released by Derbyshire last October as part of a coaching reshuffle and who has been centrally involved in Trescothick's drive as Somerset's new batting coach.

"We were lucky to pick him up when left Derby and we have done massive amounts of work. John Pitt is also our mind coach - our sports performance coach - and these sorts of people are always vitally important, building individuals back up into the right frame of mind."

Somerset look a reliable fast bowler short of a good season, but they have played some solid cricket so far with draws against Yorkshire, seen as prospective champions by many, and the defending champions Durham. They are commandingly placed midway through this game and have already picked up the in-form Ed Joyce in the 11 overs faced by Sussex before the close.

Trescothick's accomplice in a fifth-wicket stand of 139 was Alviro Petersen, whose assertive 76 needed two let-offs - by Joyce at third slip off Jordan and by the wicketkeeper Ben Brown, who missed a low chance as Petersen sought to cut the slingy slow left-armer Ashar Zaidi.

England are taking a cagey approach with the management of Matt Prior's Achilles problems. He is expected to return as a batsman against Lancashire at Old Trafford, returning to wicketkeeping duties the following week against Durham.

Upon Trescothick's departure, the second new ball seemed likely to bring Somerset's innings to a quick conclusion - James Hildreth received a brute from Jordan to be caught at third slip - but the use of two nightwatchmen meant that Lewis Gregory walked out at No. 11. 

He is a clean hitter and the knowledge that nine wickets were down did not constrain him. He added 75 in 15 overs with Johann Myburgh, playing with great gusto for 47 from 51 balls before he perished on the cover boundary, leaving Jordan with an eye-catching return. 

Worcestershire 31 for 0 trail Derbyshire 219 (Madsen 111*, Ajmal 4-60) by 188 runs

Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen led the recovery as the visitors shrugged off their Sunday nightmare on the second day against Worcestershire at New Road.

Openers Billy Godleman and Stephen Moore were both dismissed despite only 3.5 overs being possible on the first day which Derbyshire ended on a distinctly unhealthy 3 for 2.

But Madsen compiled an unbeaten 111, bolstered by a third wicket stand of 75 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, as Derbyshire recovered to post a respectable total of 219 in difficult batting conditions.

 

Chanderpaul's departure lbw off Gareth Andrew for 32 threatened to bring an end to Derbyshire's encouraging comeback. But despite a middle-order collapse largely inspired by Saeed Ajmal who finished with figures of 4 for 60 off 26.3 overs, Tim Groenewald arrived at the crease to frustrate the hosts' quest for a quick finish.

Groenewald, whose impressive month has already seen him take a hat-trick against Essex alongside two half-centuries, formed a ninth wicket partnership worth 56 with Madsen before he was caught by Matthew Pardoe off Charlie Morris for 24.

And there were more difficulties for Worcestershire as last man Mark Footitt scored a gutsy 17 before Ajmal belatedly brought an end to his resistance.

Worcestershire avoided a repeat of their opponents' early problems as they reached 31 without loss at close, with Daryl Mitchell and Pardoe sitting on 13 and 10 not out respectively. 

County Championship Round 4 Day 1/4

Gloucestershire v Essex (Div 2, No Play Day 1 due to rain)

Hampshire 153 for 2 (Adams 56*) v Surrey (Div 2)

To say that not much has gone to script for Surrey over the last few years is a bit like suggesting England were a touch off their game in Australia last winter. But while the national side might start to put matters right this summer, there is a feeling Surrey may have to experience a few more lows before the good times roll again.

Thanks to morning rain delaying start of play by four hours and then returning for a time after tea to lop off another eight overs, this match is still in its early stages. Already, though, the visitors are some way short of where they hoped to be after Graeme Smith won what looked a useful toss and understandably chose to bowl.

Wickets were already tumbling elsewhere in the land and Smith hoped that a green-tinged pitch, cloud cover and his potent-looking pace attack would combine to prove a real handful for second division pace-setters Hampshire. Instead, the hosts built a promising platform with first Michael Carberry and then Jimmy Adams to the fore.

Carberry's days as an England opener may have ended - that seems to be the widely held belief, anyway - following his small part in England's Ashes humiliation, but the 33-year-old will be cherished by Hampshire supporters for as long as wants to play.

Here, he did most of the early scoring while fellow left-hander Adams took stock at the other end. And, probably to Smith's dismay, there were a few too many opportunities for Carberry to execute his shots after Jade Dernbach and Stuart Meaker had initially failed to make either opener play quite enough against the new ball.

Even with Chris Tremlett unable to face his old county because of a back injury, Surrey had enough firepower in the locker with Matt Dunn, who took a five-for against Essex last weekend, coming on first change. But this time he released the pressure valve, instead of tightening it, and Hampshire were up and away.

Dunn, strongly built, is a fine prospect - one of eight members of this team to have come through Surrey's academy. But the 21-year-old needs to be nurtured - and anyone expecting him, or any member of Surrey's crop of talented juniors, to be a match-winner, game in and game out, should prepare for a nasty shock.

Both Dunn and Tom Curran - even younger, at 19 - were deposited for sixes by Carberry, who pulled and cut them with the greatest of glee as Hampshire, far from being put into difficulty, reached 66 at four an over.

Curran it was, though, who stopped Carberry in his tracks by finding an outside edge that Smith snaffled low at first slip despite the chance brushing the glove of diving keeper Steven Davies on its way to Surrey's captain.

A second wicket should have come Curran's way with Liam Dawson being dropped by Davies - two hands away to his right. That missed opportunity mattered little with Dawson being pinned lbw by Meaker without addition but Hampshire were in no mood to surrender their early advantage.

Having already passed 50 twice in six innings this season, Adams made it three in seven following the evening interruption and walked away a happy captain, unbeaten on 56 out of 153 for 2. Smith, on the other hand, wandered off with a bit to ponder. 

Leicestershire 221 for 4 (Cobb 49*, Boyce 49, Wagg 3-68) v Glamorgan (Div 2)

Leicestershire recovered from losing three quick wickets to Graham Wagg to finish in the ascendancy after an abbreviated first day against Glamorgan.

Wagg removed Matt Boyce and Angus Robson in successive deliveries and added the scalp of Ned Eckersley shortly afterwards. His colleagues in the attack at Grace Road were not as penetrative, though, and Josh Cobb and Niall O'Brien were able to see the home side through to an early close on 221 for 4, with no play possible after tea.

Glamorgan won the toss and chose to field, but Leicestershire openers Greg Smith and Boyce stood firm early on as 38 runs came in a wicketless first hour. With the score on 45, Boyce survived a strong caught-behind appeal off the bowling of John Glover having made 17.

The half-century partnership did not arrive, though, as Smith threw a loose drive at Jim Allenby and Wagg's diving catch in the covers made it 49 for 1, the batsman departing for 28. Boyce escaped after offering a straightforward slip chance to the usually reliable Stewart Walters and at lunch it was 82 for 1.

After the interval, and a brief rain stoppage, Boyce began playing with increasing fluency and finding the boundaries - but he was to miss out on a half-century. 

The left-hander pushed half-forward to a Wagg outswinger and was taken by diving wicketkeeper Mark Wallace to end a partnership of 68. His 49 came from 122 balls, with eight fours.

Wagg struck again with his next ball, bowling Robson for a golden duck, but stand-in Leicestershire captain Cobb survived the hat-trick ball and hit the last of the over for four.

Eckersley reached 42 before edging behind to give Wagg his third wicket and new man Niall O'Brien unusually got off the mark with a five, substitute fielder David Lloyd throwing at the wrong end and the ball skipping on to reach the boundary.

The fifty partnership came up in the 54th over and O'Brien took 11 runs from Dean Cosker's sixth over - the veteran spinner's previous five having yielded just two in total.

There were few alarms and both batsmen were closing on half-centuries in an unbroken stand of 84 when more rain intervened. Cobb was just one run short, with O'Brien on 46 from 56 balls, but both were left to wait overnight as the post-tea session was wiped out in its entirety. 

Middlesex 64 for 3 trail Yorkshire 178 (Plunkett 56, Finn 4-50) by 114 runs

A few years ago a fellow turned up for a job interview at the BBC and, in a series of misunderstandings that would have seemed improbable even for a Carry On film scriptwriter, found himself being interviewed live on-air about an on-going legal case.

While it would stretching the point to suggest that Joe Root could identify with such a case of mistaken identity, it does seem fair to question whether he is benefiting from the over promotion that seems to have come his way over the last year.

Root, making his first-class return after sustaining a broken thumb in Antigua, found himself promoted to the captaincy for this match. At 23, he is believed to be the youngest man to captain Yorkshire in a first-class match since Lord Hawke who, in 1882, was appointed to the position as a 22-year-old.

The logic was sound enough: Yorkshire's regular captain, Andrew Gale felt, characteristically selflessly, that he should be the man to make-way in a Yorkshire attack bursting with players of England potential. He also reasoned that Root was the sort of character who could well go on to be an option as England captain one day and thought he would benefit from this experience. So he might.

Equally, however, Root might benefit from a period where he was able to concentrate on his batting. He might benefit from a settled position in the batting order - he has batted in every position from No. 2 to No. 7 in his 15 Tests - and he might benefit from a spell without anyone trying to turn him into an opening batsman when, at present, most of the evidence suggests he is better suited to a middle-order role.

His talent and potential is undisputed but, just as it appeared his promotion to opening batsman did him few favours ahead of the Ashes series in England last year, it is debatable what he will gain from the extra pressure and complication of captaincy at a time he is trying to win back a Test place.

Gale admitted that he had endured "sleepless nights" before coming to the captaincy decision.

"It's a great opportunity for [Joe]," Gale told the Yorkshire website. "We see it as he's been targeted as a future England captain and there are a lot of people in the past who have captained without the experience of doing so in county cricket. So hopefully this will give him some experience going forward.

"We all know what type of character Joe Root is. He'll stick his chest out and absolutely love the experience. He's a good lad, commands respect of his fellow peers and I'm sure he will grasp this opportunity and do a great job in my absence."

It was noticeable here that Root batted at No. 4. While the identity of England's Test openers is becoming clearer - it looks as if Sam Robson will have first opportunity to build a partnership with Alastair Cook - the No. 3 position is still causing consternation. 

With Ian Bell and Root both batting at No. 4 for their counties - Root confirmed after play that it would be his preferred position "in an ideal world" for England - there may yet be room for a return for the likes of Nick Compton or Michael Carberry. Indeed, in the unlikely event that Root does not win a recall, one wonders whether Gale's logic will see the experimentation with his captaincy extended further into the summer.

Here a rusty-looking Root - he has enjoyed only one second XI game since the broken thumb and, though he has regained full mobility, it still looks uncomfortable - was unfortunate to come up against a fired-up Steven Finn with a point to prove. 

Finn generated good pace and generally maintained a nagging line and length in conceding under three-an-over and, in a particularly good mini-spell, trapped Root on the crease with one that seemed to beat him for pace.

"He's obviously a fantastic bowler and, if he bowls anything like he did today that then yes [he is an international bowler]," Root said.

Finn's other wickets came when Adam Lyth was caught down the legside, an unworthy end to an innings studded with fine strokes, before he accounted for two tailenders courtesy of his extra pace.

That Yorkshire, inserted in conditions that offered some assistance to the bowlers, surpassed 150 was due almost entirely to Liam Plunkett. Coming in with the score 98 for 6, Plunkett counterattacked intelligently. Having taken three singles from his first 15 deliveries, he then thumped nine boundaries in his next 40, throwing his hands at anything wide or over-pitched and providing another reminder of the all-round skills that may well interest England's selectors.

Confronted with a demanding bowling attack and tricky conditions, most of Yorkshire's batsmen appeared to lack the requisite application. Alex Lees was drawn into pushing at one that swung back into him, Kane Williamson was punished for attempting a loose drive to a wide ball on the brink of lunch, Adil Rashid and Andrew Hodd wafted at deliveries they could have left and Gary Ballance pushed hard at one and edge to slip.

Had Ryan Sidebottom, on 4, been taken by Ollie Rayner at second slip, Yorkshire would have been 117 for 8. But, as it was, he helped Plunkett add 48 for the eighth wicket and give their side some sort of competitive total.

While there has been plenty of attention about the international credentials of several of the players involved in this match - at least five players have realistic chances of inclusion in England's squad for the first Test - there might also be some on the Middlesex bowling coach, Richard Johnson. Judging by the improvement in both Finn and James Harris, who has added a yard of pace to a package of skills that was already attractive, Johnson is managing to coax skills out of his bowlers that have seemed beyond David Saker of late.

Middlesex found life little easier in reply. Chris Rogers, pushing outside off stump, fell to a slip catch before Robson, who had flirted outside off on a couple of occasions, edged a good one from the impressive Jack Brooks and Dawid Malan, after a pleasing innings, was beaten by a straight one after a series of balls that left him. By the time bad light and rain brought an early finish, 13 wickets had fallen in a day of only 76.2 overs.

"I'm really proud to have the opportunity to captain Yorkshire," Root said. "There's a lot of experience in that dressing room and they almost captain themselves. Things haven't gone to plan just yet, but it just makes it more exciting for tomorrow. I'm relishing it." 

Northamptonshire 133 for 8 (Anderson 5-37) lead Lancashire 119 by 14 runs (Div 1)

Eighteen wickets fell at Wantage Road as Northamptonshire and Lancashire punched themselves to a standstill. These two sides were promoted together last year and began this round of the new Championship nestled alongside each other at the bottom of Division One. 

Once again, there was not much between them and, on the evidence of some desultory batting, both may have to get used to being on the ropes this season.

That Northamptonshire took a slender lead was down to the tenacity of Matthew Spriegel whose unbeaten 43 was the highest score of the day. 

After Stephen Peters had won the toss, his seam attack bundled out the visitors in less than two sessions before James Anderson's 5 for 37 ensured the visitors remained in the contest. More surprising was the fact that Lancashire were also indebted to Anderson for his efforts with the bat.

Lord Mancroft's famous aphorism about the English having invented cricket to "give themselves some conception of eternity" was turned on its head.

 Batsmen instead seemed intent on offering the crowd an object lesson in brevity. In physics, the shortest measurable unit of time is known as a Planck. As 15 wickets went down before 4.30pm, it seemed as if the teams were trying to re-establish the fashion for Plancking, though rather than lying prone in public places this version involved getting back to the dressing room as quickly as possible to stare at the ceiling in private.

Lancashire's scorecard appeared as if it had been inverted, with No. 11 Anderson's 28 the top score. There was appreciable swing under frowning skies and enough assistance from the pitch to further fray the nerves of two fragile batting line-ups. When the sun did come out during the evening session, it was the cue for Spriegel and Ben Duckett to put on the most substantial partnership of the day. Their stand of 57 spanned 20.5 overs - more than twice as long as the next best - and helped Northamptonshire to eke out an advantage.

When Glen Chapple took his second wicket in the second over after tea, 

Northamptonshire were precariously placed at 35 for 5. Chapple himself had come in with Lancashire 33 for 6 before playing a bustling innings of 26, the captain now doubly responsible for rallying his side in his first match as coach, after the departure of Peter Moores. Even after a career as long and eventful as his, this was quite a start to life as the gaffer.

"I think in the end, we've done really well to be somewhere near level with them," Chapple said. "I think if we're honest, it was a really bad toss to lose. It was damp this morning, and I've not seen a pitch seam around as much as that for a long time. Whilst we've got to be honest with ourselves and say we would always like to score more heavily, it was decking around and really difficult for batting up until about 4pm.

"I genuinely haven't seen a pitch do that much for quite a while. They've had a bit of rain down here. Their pitches tend to be flat in general, and tomorrow could be a different story. It's made for an entertaining day's cricket, and the big thing is we're still in the game."

For the faithful who did choose to spend Sunday at worship, it was an occasion to take a pew with the thermos under one arm and a spirit, holy or otherwise, in the hip flask. With a bank of grey clouds parked above the ground, one Northamptonshire member was vocally pessimistic about the chances of play. His face, in keeping with the skies, may have brightened a touch by the end of the day.

Chapple would not have been surprised to be asked to bat, with the light so poor that play was interrupted after less than four overs and the delay extended to around half an hour by light drizzle. When the teams came back on, Lancashire's batsmen continued to grope unavailingly in the gloom. Olly Stone and Azharullah initially did not force the batsmen to play enough but Lancashire's openers dug in so doggedly they were soon stuck a hole that would take some escaping.

Paul Horton lasted 22 balls for his duck, though he was outdone for excruciating crease occupation by Andrea Agathangelou, who was dropped at slip from his 29th ball, picking up a single to get off the mark, and then played on to his 30th. Luis Reece could at least console himself with the knowledge that he received a very good delivery from Stone, one that swung in and then seamed away to knock out off stump.

Luke Procter was first man into double figures with a driven four - possibly the first runs scored in front of the wicket - off Andrew Hall in the 28th over. 

His partnership with Chapple was worth 29 and the lower order lifted Lancashire clear of total ignominy, though it required the highest partnership of the innings, 39 of 32 balls from the last-wicket pair of Anderson and Simon Kerrigan, to do so. Anderson smacked Steven Crook through the covers and Azharullah down the ground with the fury of a man who was not best impressed by what had gone before. 

Nottinghamshire 43 for 6 (Wright 3-7) trail Warwickshire 263 (Bell 122, Porterfield 56, Carter 5-55) by 220 runs (Div 1)

The pleasures of watching cricket come in many shades and this was a day that could be enjoyed for high quality and high farce, although possibly not if your team happens to be Nottinghamshire.

The quality came from Ian Bell, whose 122 was witnessed, at least at various stages of it, by not one but three England selectors, not that his place in the side can be in any doubt. Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket, is wearing two hats for the first time, having been co-opted to the selection panel last week. James Whitaker, the head honcho, was also here, as was Peter Moores, taking in his first game since he resumed his role as head coach.

The farce was saved for last, a run-out muddle of the classic ingredients, with Luke Fletcher, the nightwatchman, going for a second run that his partner, Samit Patel, declined and both ending up at the same end before Fletcher, with an angry swish of the bat, accepted his fate, looked daggers at a team-mate by now contemplating the turf in front of him and trudged off.

It might have provoked laughter on the home balcony had it not left Nottinghamshire 43 for 6, although the real damage had been done in the overs before as Chris Wright and Keith Barker unleashed their well-honed skills on a pitch that was offering just enough movement and variable bounce to make batting a hazardous business all day.

Wright's eight-over opening spell in the evening session yielded three wickets for seven runs, the second aided by a superb slip catch by Bell to remove Steven Mullaney before Michael Lumb left one with a flourish facing Barker, only to find his off stump missing.

 James Taylor, who had more reason than Bell to make a memorable impression, hit one cracking leg-side boundary off Barker but was then leg before trying to work one off Wright, at which point Nottinghamshire were 17 for 4.

After momentary calm, Riki Wessels was trapped in front by a ball from Oliver Hannon-Dalby that perhaps kept a little low before the run-out chaos brought the day to a close. Nottinghamshire are not making the heavy roller available and after 16 wickets on the opening it would seem unlikely that this contest lasts beyond Wednesday.

All of which provides a context that makes Bell's performance quite special. It was not flawless. Twice in the early stages, on 7 and then 15, he was close to being out caught at midwicket, the ball each time just failing to carry to Phil Jaques. "Perfectly judged," Bell said afterwards, tongue firmly in cheek.

Later, Mullaney was convinced he had him leg before, on 78, and risked incurring the displeasure of the umpires by lingering at the end of his followthrough, making his feelings plain to the batsman.

It is true also that he benefited from the pitch being cut well across on the Bridgford Road side of the square, bringing the boundary in front of the new stand close enough for a firm push or a well-timed clip to have a chance of getting four. Of Bell's runs, 75% were scored on that side of the ground, including 16 of his 18 fours and both sixes, the second of which, off Andy Carter, was smacked over cover.

If Bell stood out, honourable mention should be made too of William Porterfield, who has been given the chance to make a belated impression in four-day cricket in place of the stricken Jonathan Trott and is doing well so far. He made 77 against Lancashire last week and looked set to go on beyond his 56 today when he checked his shot after Mullaney, the fifth seamer, had introduced a change in pace and gave a simple return catch.

Peter Siddle, making his county debut on a ground where he took eight wickets in the Ashes Test last summer, claimed his first Nottinghamshire wicket at the end of his 11th over but the best of the home side's bowlers was Carter, tall and with good pace, who took his chance in the continued absence of Andre Adams to claim his first five-wicket haul for Nottinghamshire. 

Somerset 83 for 3 v Sussex (Div 1)

Marcus Trescothick has been the mainstay of Somerset cricket for so long that any sign that he is beginning to rediscover some of his old poise is bound to quicken West Country hearts. 

There were enough Trescothick clumps to record on an abbreviated first day at Hove, interspersed in an innings of staunch resistance, to encourage the belief that the old mastery can yet return and provide the sort of finish he deserves as the shadows lengthen on a grand career.

Sussex's seam attack has possessed an early-season potency that has carried them to the top of Division One, their first two matches won, and once the grouchy South Coast skies had finally relented, 32 overs represented a daunting proposition for Somerset: more than enough time, as events elsewhere in the country indicated, for carnage to ensue.

When Chris Jordan, in turquoise-backed boots, twinkled in with a loosener which may not be bettered all season, Chris Jones edging his first ball to the wicketkeeper, that impression was heightened, but their line was astray too often. It was only in the nick of time that Sussex made further inroads after Trescothick and Nick Compton gradually asserted themselves with impressive deliberation.

Compton was 14 balls away from seeing out the day when he became the second batsman to be caught at the wicket, this time off Steve Magoffin. Sussex looked at their most dangerous when Jordan had the slope in his favour in his second spell. 

He made several deliveries bounce steeply and, from one of them, the nightwatchman Jamie Overton fell to a cracking reaction catch at second slip, low to his left, by Mike Yardy.

The Sussex keeper, incidentally, remains Ben Brown as Matt Prior's Achilles problems are yet to relent. A season in which he must have yearned to make heavy runs to re-establish himself in the England side has so far deepened concerns about his longevity at international level.

Prior habitually credits cycling with assisting his recovery, but this time his ailment has been so troublesome that he might have to put in enough miles to have an outside chance of a Tour de France spot when the tour comes to Yorkshire later this summer.

Trescothick stood firm to the close. Somerset's hopes must be that when he finally retires, his 2013 Championship season will be seen as an aberration: an average of 28 and, more strikingly, no Championship century for the first time since 1998, a shortfall which encouraged much chat about whether he should reduce the burden by relinquishing the captaincy. 

The player himself saw no burden and remains, a player whose big presence on the county circuit continues to be prized by the crowds and whose wicket is still valued by the professionals he pits himself against.

Never particularly fleet of foot, he took his first run from a pushed drive a little slowly - setting off like a second-hand tractor on a damp morning. There are many farmers in Somerset who will tell you that a second-hand tractor is not to be trusted, but this particular variety has proved its serviceability more than most.

More than 20 overs elapsed before Trescothick's first belligerent moment - an overpitched delivery from James Anyon which he barndoored through cover. The old boy clearly got a taste for it and so nearly got out as he failed to connect with an attempted repeat against a wider delivery. 

But his authority had been announced and when Anyon went in search of a similar dismissal in his next over Trescothick deposited him for three boundaries in a row. A sumptuous straight drive near the close was the highlight. Another tough examination lies ahead. 

Derbyshire 3/2 (3.5 ov)

Worcestershire (Div 2)