An unbeaten half-century from all-rounder Felix Organ helped Hampshire build a solid total against bottom club Gloucestershire on a shortened opening day of the 150th Cheltenham Festival.
Because of the heatwave, play was restricted to 72 overs. Organ made 93 not out, while fellow opener Ian Holland reached 48 before he was lbw to Zak Chappell as the visitors – just 15 points behind Surrey in the LV= Insurance County Championship table – reached 203 for two when stumps was called early.
Gloucestershire – chasing a first win of the season in red-ball cricket – stuck to their task in energy-sapping conditions. Ollie Price claimed the other wicket to dismiss Nick Gubbins, caught behind on 35, as Hampshire were restricted to 2.88 runs an over.
Rob Keogh and Lewis McManus both scored half-centuries as Northamptonshire put the heat on Lancashire’s bowlers at Wantage Road, where another opening day’s play was shortened by excessive temperatures.
Lancashire’s attack had reduced Northamptonshire to 124 for five in soaring temperatures, before Keogh (54) led the counter attack, passing 5,000 career first-class runs, as he and McManus (59 not out) shared a 77-run partnership in 18 overs.
India off-spinner Washington Sundar finished with four for 69, including the dismissal of Keogh in the slips, as the hosts ended 218 for seven.
At the Oval, Division One leaders Surrey set about Essex, with Dan Worrall taking six wickets as the visitors were all out for 271 in which Adam Rossington struck a fine century.
Simon Harmer, batting one down the order from Rossington at number eight, also contributed 50 before he was trapped lbw, one of Worrall’s dismissals.
Earlier, Worrall had taken three for nought in just five balls as Surrey reduced Essex to 91 for six by lunch. In their 9.1 overs reply, Surrey had made 24 for the loss of Ryan Patel, with Rory Burns 18 not out.
At Taunton, where it was decided not to set an earlier finish, Tom Abell’s third Championship century of the season pushed Somerset to 262 for five against Yorkshire.
The Somerset captain finished the day unbeaten on 114, off 217 balls with 14 boundaries and two sixes, while George Bartlett (46) and Matt Renshaw (43) also made important contributions.
Matthew Waite was the pick of the Yorkshire seamers, with two for 35, while former Somerset off-spinner Dom Bess took two for 29.
Olly Hannon-Dalby helped put Warwickshire in charge before Kent then hit back in the field themselves as the wickets fell on the opening day at Edgbaston.
With both teams perched precariously above the relegation zone, Warwickshire had won the toss and their seamers exploited the conditions to bowl Kent out for 165. Jordan Cox (48) was the only batter to really trouble the scorers as Hannon-Dalby plundered six for 40 and Henry Brookes claimed three for 56.
However, Warwickshire then struggled with the bat to close on 155 for six. Sam Hain finished 68 not out after captain Will Rhodes had made 32.
Navdeep Saini took three wickets in his first outing for Kent, with Matthew Milnes also claiming a pair.
In Division Two, a double century from Ben Duckett and a career-best hundred by Haseeb Hameed put leaders Nottinghamshire in a dominant position on the opening day against Derbyshire.
Duckett made 237 not out, from just 263 balls with 36 boundaries, and Hameed an unbeaten 165 as the pair shared a stand of 393 – the highest for the second wicket by any county against Derbyshire, breaking a record which had stood for 122 years.
As temperatures soared, Derbyshire’s attack wilted in the punishing heat, with Nottinghamshire closing at 439 for one. Ben Slater was the batter out for 12 back in the 15th over.
At Lord’s, Tom Alsop and Cheteshwar Pujara both posted centuries as Sussex capitalised on Middlesex’s decision to bowl by reaching 328 for four.
Alsop hit 135 while Pujara registered his fifth Championship hundred of the campaign to sit 115 not out at stumps.
Tom Helm finished with three for 63, including two late wickets when dismissing Alsop and nightwatchman Archie Lenham, for a duck, in the space of four balls.
