County Championship 2026

[Arthur Crabtree]

Wasn't expecting Woakes to be down at 8. Nice to see he got a few runs though.

[The Professor]

Really thought Kent might do well this year......Northants look a class above

[sussexpob]

Crocombe has started this season on fire. Good to see his talent finally coming out, although I give it till next week before he is injured again

[Arthur Crabtree]

4-fer for Bashir on day 1. Nice to see.

[sussexpob]

McKinney is touted everywhere as the next cab off the rank, a coming of age 215* today may just have given him the England spot to lose at this stage. Crawley needs to bash some runs sharpish if he wants any hope of playing vs NZ. Miserable day for Kent and Gloucestershire.

Elsewhere, George Hill rips through Hampshire. Bashir gets some wickets. Jamie Smith and Ollie Pope make hundreds, and Foakes is on fire too for Surrey so far, on his way to another if he hangs in for another session. James Rew fell just before a 50 to add to his solid start.

Sonny Baker currently whipping up a late day storm in Leeds

[sussexpob]

Ouf Baker has 3 in the over, absolutely brutal yorker that....brilliant bowling.

As good as it gets, first ball..no chance. Baker on a hattrick

[Arthur Crabtree]

No Tests until June, so these decisions are still some way off... I presume there will be at least one new/recalled opener, plus a spinner. Probably going to be Atkinson Tongue and Archer still, if fit, but they always pick a lot of extra pace bowlers for the squad. Could still be Carse though.

Hope they don't go with Jacks as spinner. So depressing.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Baker has 3 in the over, absolutely brutal yorker that....brilliant bowling.

So he'll be back!

At least he's playing.

[sussexpob]

Baker is very raw, but when he gets it in the right areas the extra pace and swing can be deadly. Was unlucky not to get Lyth, gave him 2-3 great balls that scrapped past his outside edge.... just needs to cut out the rubbish stuff, Revis blocked the hattrick ball then got three consecutive bouncers fly 2 metres over his head.

[Durhamfootman]

Revis blocked the hattrick ball then got three consecutive bouncers fly 2 metres over his head.

ah.... one eye on England then?

[Durhamfootman]

I did wonder what Somerset were up to yesterday, opening with Jack Leach. This is Somerset, though, and they have developed a penchant for opening the batting with bowlers for some reason, so I let it pass. Turns out TKC has a thumb the size of his head after picking up an injury and so has been replaced, not with Archie Vaughan who was there in the squad and who opened for half of last season (who wouldn't have been allowed to bowl as a sub), but with Will Smeed, who was a hundred miles away and couldn't have got there in time to feature on day 1.

It makes me wonder whether Somerset figured Smeed had a better chance of coping with the conditions (15 wickets on day 1) than Vaughan, but I'm not sure that's entirely what having an injury replacement trial is meant to be about. There was a perfectly good replacement available, so are Somerset simply trying to gain an advantage by selecting an aggressive, big hitting white ball player, coming in down the order when the ball has softened, instead of a more traditional red ball opener with the ball moving about? After all Overton (also carrying an injury) came in and plundered 50 runs in 36 balls, so are they using the replacement system to adjust the balance of their side in response to the prevailing conditions rather than simply replacing a player. There is nothing fishy about the injury to TKC... he can't hold a bat or fit his hand in a glove, seemingly

[Durhamfootman]

no joy for Duckett again

run out for 1 this time

[andy]

I did wonder what Somerset were up to yesterday, opening with Jack Leach. This is Somerset, though, and they have developed a penchant for opening the batting with bowlers for some reason, so I let it pass. Turns out TKC has a thumb the size of his head after picking up an injury and so has been replaced, not with Archie Vaughan who was there in the squad and who opened for half of last season (who wouldn't have been allowed to bowl as a sub), but with Will Smeed, who was a hundred miles away and couldn't have got there in time to feature on day 1.

It makes me wonder whether Somerset figured Smeed had a better chance of coping with the conditions (15 wickets on day 1) than Vaughan, but I'm not sure that's entirely what having an injury replacement trial is meant to be about. There was a perfectly good replacement available, so are Somerset simply trying to gain an advantage by selecting an aggressive, big hitting white ball player, coming in down the order when the ball has softened, instead of a more traditional red ball opener with the ball moving about? After all Overton (also carrying an injury) came in and plundered 50 runs in 36 balls, so are they using the replacement system to adjust the balance of their side in response to the prevailing conditions rather than simply replacing a player. There is nothing fishy about the injury to TKC... he can't hold a bat or fit his hand in a glove, seemingly

Overton doing the damage at the moment

[The Professor]

Really thought Kent might do well this year......Northants look a class above

Genuinely gutted

[Arthur Crabtree]

Genuinely gutted

Looks like some mental disintegration going on there with that delayed declaration.