County Championship Round 3 Day 1/4

Surrey v Essex Div 2

Heavy rain saw day one of Surrey's clash with Essex at The Oval washed out without a single ball bowled.

After a dry morning, persistent drizzle had moved into the capital by the scheduled 11:00 BST start time and got heavier as the afternoon wore on.

With the ground under full covers, umpires Jeremy Lloyds and Peter Willey were left with little choice but to abandon play at 15:40 BST.

Prospects on Easter Monday look better with just a couple of showers forecast. 


Kent v Leicestershire Div 2

Leicestershire were left waiting to get their 2014 season underway after persistent rain meant day one of their game at Kent was washed out.

A brief dry slot allowed Kent to win the toss and choose to bowl.

But with a 15:00 BST start scheduled rain returned and play was abandoned.

Leicestershire are still yet to play any cricket this campaign after their opening match against Derbyshire was postponed following the death of Tom Poynton's father in a car crash.



Glamorgan 47/6 v Gloucestershire Div 2

Gloucestershire had Glamorgan reeling on a rain-affected first day of the Division Two match at Cardiff.

The hosts were reduced to 47-6, with opener William Bragg (25) the only batsman to make double figures.

Gloucestershire's decision to bowl first was immediately vindicated when Will Gidman (2-9) took a wicket with the first ball of the match.

And seamer David Payne (3-14) was left on a hat-trick when the rain came down just before lunch.

Only 90 minutes play were possible because of the rain and after several pitch inspections throughout the afternoon play was finally abandoned for the day at 5.45pm.


Durham 308 all-out, Somerset 7-0 Div 1

Keaton Jennings hit his second County Championship 50 of the season to help Durham post a competitive score on day one against Somerset.

The 21-year-old struck 12 boundaries in his innings of 80 with Gareth Breese (45), Paul Collingwood (36) and Jamie Harrison (37 not out) also contributing in the hosts' 308 all-out.
Lewis Gregory did the damage with the ball for Somerset, taking four wickets.

Marcus Trescothick and Chris Jones then helped the visitors to 7-0 at stumps.

Somerset, who bolstered their attack with the returning Peter Trego following an arm injury, won the toss and elected to field first.

Gregory made early inroads when Mark Stoneman edged behind for 11 and Trego dismissed Scott Borthwick (14) in the same fashion.

Michael Richardson shared a partnership of 65 with Jennings before he fell to Jamie Overton for 29 and Phil Mustard made 19 before he was out lbw to Craig Meschede.

Skipper Collingwood's breezy innings was cut short when he was trapped in front by Gregory, who had Jennings caught by James Hildreth in his next over to leave Durham 222-6.

Usman Arshad was dismissed by Johann Myburgh shortly after, before Breese and Harrison helped last year's county champions past 300.

Trego returned to remove Breese and Graham Onions in the same over to finish with figures of 3-61 and Gregory wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Chris Rushworth to end with 4-59.

Trescothick and Jones then battled through six overs at the end without any alarm.


Lancashire 247 all out, Warwickshire 63-0 Div 1

Chris Woakes' five-wicket haul helped Warwickshire fight back to take control against Lancashire at Old Trafford.

Woakes (5-63) received good support from Keith Barker (3-52) as the hosts collapsed from 168-3 to 247 all out.

Opener Paul Horton hit 83 as he shared fifty partnerships with Andrea Agathangelou (48) and Luke Procter (37), while England's Jos Buttler made 28 in his first match for the county.

Varun Chopra and William Porterfield saw Warwickshire to 63-0 at the close.

After returning captain, Glen Chapple, won the toss and elected to bat, Lancashire lost Luis Reece (10) early when he edged behind off the bowling of Barker to become the first of Tim Ambrose's six victims.

Agathangelou and Horton put on 68, before Woakes dismissed the former, and Ashwell Prince for nought, either side of lunch to leave the hosts 85-3.

Proctor and Horton then added 83 but Oliver Hannon-Dalby removed Procter and Barker returned to trap Horton in front.

Tom Smith and Wayne White fell in quick succession before 40-year-old Chapple and Buttler launched a mini counter-attack with the captain hitting a flurry of fours.

After Buttler edged Woakes behind, the Warwickshire seamer then picked up the wickets of Chapple for 29 and Jimmy Anderson for a duck in his next over to restrict Lancashire to just one batting bonus point.

Chopra (29 not out) and Porterfield (30 not out) then capped a fine day for the visitors by batting through 19 overs in the last hour and a half of play.


Yorkshire 328-7 v Northamptonshire Div 1

England batsman Gary Ballance hit an unbeaten 117 as Yorkshire closed day one against Northamptonshire on 328-7.

He shared a 156-run stand with opener Alex Lees to drag the hosts from 57-3.

But Lees fell for 90 when Andrew Hall struck him in front, leaving Ballance to guide his side to stumps amid a flurry of wickets as Adil Rashid (33), Andy Hodd and Liam Plunkett departed.

Earlier, Hall trapped Kane Williamson either side of Mohammad Azharullah dismissing Adam Lyth and Andrew Gale.

Gary Ballance for England

• Tests: one match, 25 runs, high score 18
• ODIs: five matches, 132 runs, high score 79

For 24-year-old Ballance, his hundred will no doubt aid his bid for a place in new England head coach Peter Moores' first squad.

The Zimbabwe-born batsman was part of this winter's disastrous Ashes tour and received his Test cap in the series' final match, before managing a high score of 79 in four one-day international appearances.

And his county side were in need of a contribution from their younger top-order players after losing three early wickets under some morning clouds at Headingley.

Lyth nicked Azharullah behind and shortly after play had resumed following a brief shower, New Zealand international Williamson departed cheaply to leave Yorkshire 21-2.

Lees briefly rebuilt alongside Gale, but really got to work after Azharullah sent the home skipper back to the hutch lbw for 13.

The young opener patiently got to his half-century before immediately being given a life when Hall dropped him at first slip off the bowling of Maurice Chambers.

And moments later, former Tykes off-spinner James Middlebrook was cursing his luck after wicketkeeper David Murphy spilled the ball with Lees out of his crease.

The 21-year-old made them pay as he marched onto 90, although he could not quite reach his fifth first-class ton.

Ballance gave Northants' not but a sniff, despite bludgeoning 11 fours on his way to 50, and hitting another 34 runs in boundaries as he reached three figures.

Rashid became the fourth leg-before victim of the day when he fell to Steven Crook for 33.

Hodd added 21 before falling in the same manner to Chambers, although the keeper was
lucky to get that many having been dropped on one.

Plunkett (11) too went lbw to Hall, leaving Ryan Sidebottom (four not out) alongside Ballance at stumps.


Hampshire 231-5 v Derbyshire Div 2

Will Smith hit 70 as visitors Hampshire reached 231-5 on a much-interrupted day one against Derbyshire.

Both openers were gone before lunch as Jimmy Adams (seven) nicked Mark Turner behind and Tony Palladino trapped Michael Carberry for a quick-fire 45.

After James Vince (30) and Liam Dawson (39) contributed, Smith and Joe Gatting (25 not out) rebuilt from 164-4 to 231 until Smith fell to Chesney Hughes.

With Kyle Abbott on nought, stumps were called soon after because of bad light.

A rain-delayed start meant only 22 overs could be bowled in the first session and, having struggled to just seven from 51 balls, Adams chased a wide one from Turner, feathering to Richard Johnson to be put out of his misery.

Carberry soon followed, leaving Vince and Dawson to take Hampshire beyond 100, only for them to be trapped lbw by Tim Groenewald and bowled by Mark Footitt respectively having made encouraging starts.

Smith calmly reached his first half-century for the club since his summer switch from Durham, but hauled out to Hughes's off-break just before the close.