County Championship 2025, round 1 live blog: Live score, match updates and team news

Ben Foakes and Jordan Clark had done a decent job rebuilding for Surrey, with each passing 40. But Shane Snater, another hugely unrated player, has snaffled the latter to leave the champions seven down and trailing by 327 runs. 

Luis Reece, one of the county game's most underrated cricketers, finishes with four in the innings and 10 in the game as Gloucestershire are bowled out for 259. Derbyshire need 91 to wrap up a thoroughly professional victory.

A holding pattern has been established across many of the country's games. Surrey have recovered somewhat through Ben Foakes and Jordan Clark, though there's still lots of work to do. Middlesex had staged a recovery from 7-3 through a century stand between Max Holden and Ryan Higgins, but the latter's dismissal has reasserted Lancashire's ascendancy.

Some effort from Adam Lyth, who is last out in Yorkshire's 275 for 106 off 275. He hasn't quite managed to stay not out and thus carry his bat, but he has allowed his side to set Hampshire 148 to win. You'd think they should knock it off comfortably, but stranger things have happened.

Middlesex have recovered after being 7-3 early on, but still trail by 21. Leicestershire have Gloucestershire four down and lead by 158, so are well on top. Gloucestershire are into the lead six down, but only just, and with centurion Ben Charlesworth out, Derbyshire will hope to wrap things up today, as Kent already have, surging to victory through Dudgeon's seven.

We're getting to lunch across the country.

Five wickets in the session, including three for the untiring Simon Harmer, have Essex on top at Surrey.

Notts are into the lead against Durham at Trent Bridge, with Lyndon James racing to a half-century. With four wickets still in hand, they will harbour hopes of batting just once in the game.

Hampshire have made good progress at Southampton, Yorkshire eight down and the lead only just into three figures, though Adam Lyth is 91* and doing his best.

Warwickshire are five down and need another 58 to avoid the follow-on, though even if they do, they will want to get up close to Sussex to stop the newly promoted side from racing to a declaration.

Somerset declared after Banton's dismissal for 371 and have Worcs two down. Surely only a matter of time there.

Leicestershire are marching on in Cardiff. Ian Holland has taken three wickets in his opening spell to reduce Glamorgan to 33-3. They require another 165 to make the Foxes bat again.

Is a big result brewing at Chelmsford?

Simon Harmer gets his second, dismissing Dan Lawrence for 3. Ryan Patel joins Ben Foakes. There's still Jordan Clark to come, but after him Essex will be into the tail proper.

With just seven wickets falling across the first two days, the early-season heavyweight clash between Essex and Surrey looked to be heading towards a bore draw.

Essex have brought the game back to life with three first-hour wickets on day three. Surrey are 148-4, and still need 284 more runs just to avoid the follow-on. Ben Foakes and Dan Lawrence are together now.

Tom Bailey is on fire! He has taken three wickets in his opening spell to reduce Middlesex to 12-3. They still trail Lancashire by 87 - a heavy defeat looks on the cards. 

At one point in the first innings they were 215-3. Since then, they've lost 10-58.

It didn't take long for Kent to wrap things up at Wantage Road, Keith Dudgeon snaffling the last three wickets to finish with the stunning figures of 7-36. It's a career best for him, and will take some beating by anyone all season. 

There'll be no 502* today then, I'll tell the children. Banton finishes on 371, and with that, Somerset have declared.

A slight dampener on Banton's assault on history, Somerset have revealed that Matt Henry's arrival at the club has been delayed. The star New Zealand quick was ruled out of his country's ODI series against Pakistan with injury, and will continue his rehab back home for the time being. No arrival date has been set, but expect him to be out for at least a few weeks.

Kent need three wickets for the first victory of the season, Northants 107-7 in pursuit of 260. Gloucestershire trail Derbyshire by 41 and are three down, but Ben Charlesworth's overnight 77* has given them some hope of setting a tricky total.

Middlesex need one wicket to wrap up Lancashire's innings at Lord's, and will be about 100 behind when they do so. A century stand for the ninth wicket has put Leicestershire in a commanding position against Glamorgan, leading by 197 runs.

In Division One, we've got run-fests in progress at Chelmsford and Edgbaston. Sussex and Essex put up big first-innings totals, but will do well to threaten a result in either contest.

Yorkshire, six down in the third innings and leading Hampshire by just 61, need a fightback, and Adam Lyth, 51* overnight off a stoic 192 balls, is the man they are looking to to provide it.

Matters are intriguingly poised at Trent Bridge, where Notts are 297-5 in response to Durham's 378. A good day for either side could set up a victory push.

Ben here, clocking on for the day. Let's be honest, we're mostly on #BantonWatch. He will resume on 344*, already Somerset's highest first-class score. How much higher will he go? And how long will Somerset give him to get there? They are 637-6, leading by 483, so they already have enough. But with two days left to play, why not let Banton have some fun and take a shot at Brian Lara's 501* until drinks in the second session?

Another moment of history at Taunton.

In the final over of the day, Tom Banton overtakes Justin Langer to claim the all-time Somerset record for the highest score in a first-class game.

An extraordinary performance, one that will be fondly remembered for decades to come.

Given the match situation, he's got a real shot at Lara's all-time record...

For the second time in the game Sonny Baker gets Jonny Bairstow.

Bairstow's first innings dismissal was soft, this was very different. Fast, angled in and castling into his middle stump – a really eye-catching piece of fast bowling.

A few deliveries later and Baker had another. Hampshire back in control.

Away from Taunton, Surrey have recovered well at Chelmsford after losing Dom Sibley early in their first innings.

Yorkshire are rebuilding nicely through Adam Lyth and Jonny Bairstow while Warwickshire and Durham have started strongly in response to hefty first innings totals.

In Division Two, Northants are one down in their fourth innings chase against Kent – this game is set up really nicely – Lancashire are making steady progress at Lord's, while Derbyshire and Leicestershire are looking good in their respective encounters.

What a moment for Tom Banton!

He becomes just the seventh triple centurion in Somerset's history, a stunning knock from a man who has gone from strength to strength over the past 12 months. 

Not long ago he was not guaranteed a spot in the Somerset County Championship XI, now he's knocking firmly on England's door.

A bit of history at Taunton to start the club's 150th year.

It briefly looked like Sonny Baker had dismissed Jonny Bairstow for the second time in the match.

Bairstow miscued a pull shot off a sharp bouncer towards square leg. The fielder Joe Weatherley charged in, dived forward and initially looked to have caught the ball cleanly.

Bairstow and, more importantly, the umpires were unconvinced however. The Yorkshire captain bats on with his side in a bit of strife.

Sam Cook has his first wicket of the season, and it's a good'un.

He traps Dom Sibley in front with a ball that just jagged back in subtly off the seam.

He's now bowling to the England vice-captain Ollie Pope.

I reckon very few people in England are having better days than Somerset supporters sitting in the sun, watching two sons of Somerset piling on the runs.

The Banton-Rew partnership is now worth 300. Rew has been chanceless while Banton has looked a class above. At the speeds the Worcestershire bowlers operate at, their margin for error is miniscule against a player of Banton's quality.

He's on 227, one run short of Ian Botham's highest score for Somerset. 

What a way to go!

Lewis Hill is run out for 96 in Cardiff.

It's a brilliant piece of fielding from Sam Northeast whose direct hit leaves a diving Hill just short.

Leicestershire are looking good, though. They have a first innings lead of 45.

For those on Bashir-watch, the England spinner has figures of 0-65 from 17 overs.

For the second time today Tom Banton acknowledges a standing ovation at Taunton. 

It's the first double hundred of a career that seems to have gone up a level in the past 12 months.

Is he a future Test cricketer?

Noah Thain's departure for a quickfire 26 signals the end of the Essex first innings on a whopping 582-6.

How will Surrey go on what has so far looked a very benign surface? Over to Cook and Porter...

This is turning into a really fun game.

Harry Finch is the latest Kent player to depart – they're now six down with a lead of 196. We're inching towards a potentially very interesting run chase...

Northants are just about staying alive against Kent

They've just picked up their fifth second innings wicket – Kent currently lead by 190.

Elsewhere, Surrey finally have their first wicket of the day – Matt Critchley cue-ended a sweep shot straight to mid-wicket.

Worcestershire are still yet to claim a wicket today as the clock ticks towards 3pm...

James Rew has just reached three figrues for the ninth time in first-class cricket.

For a young man who only recently turned 21 that is some going.

Rew and Banton have been a delight to watch today. Rew, a slightly steadier accumulator than Banton, has been in complete control.

There will be no double hundred for Sussex skipper John Simpson.

Their tail folded in quick time to leave him stranded on 181.

Sussex are all out for 528 – a great effort in their first innings back in Division One.

Derbyshire have had a wobble over the past hour, tumbling from 271-2 to 290-7, but as ever, Wayne Madsen remains firm.

The veteran top-order bat has just brought up his 40th first-class hundred in his first game back as Derbyshire captain. Only Kim Barnett has more hundreds for the county. 

Critchley and Pepper are both still batting. Critchley has his century – his sixth for Essex – while Pepper is in the 80s.

Elsewhere in Division One, John Simpson and Tom Banton are both closing in on double hundreds...

Three wickets in two overs at Wantage Road!

Zak Crawley first chips a short-ish, wide delivery from Justin Broad to cover point before Raphy Weatherall saw off Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye with consecutive deliveries. 

Meanwhile at the Utilita Bowl, Brad Wheal has just taken two wickets in two balls to leave Yorkshire 4-2 in their second innings.

Generally speaking, it's been a good morning for batters around the grounds.

Essex and Somerset both batted throughout the morning session without losing a wicket, while John Simpson has passed 150 for Sussex at Edgbaston.

We'll be back in 40 minutes with reaction to all the action from the afternoon session. 

The England offie has had a relatively heavy early workload for Glamorgan.

He's wicketless after 14 overs but has been tidy, going at around three runs per over.

Leicestershire are 153-3 in response to Glamorgan's 229.

The general assessment at Chelmsford seems to be that the Essex groundstaff have delivered a belter of a pitch for the opening round. 

The Essex middle-order are making the most of it – Michael Pepper has just passed 50 as Matt Critchley inches closer to three figures.

Essex are 427-4.

This has been an unintentionally Somerset-heavy blog this morning.

Banton and Rew have looked a million dollars against a Worcestershire attack that is lacking a bit of bite.

Banton races on to 134* – his highest score in first-class cricket. 

The immensely impressive James Rew passes fifty at Taunton. 

Somerset are building an imposing first innings lead having bowled Worcestershire out 154.

Is there a better middle order in the country? That 3-7 of Lammonby, Abell, Banton and Rew is really quite formidable. 

Durham have been bowled out for 378 at Trent Bridge.

Notts' overseas signing Fergus O'Neill finishes with 5-81. Keep an eye out for him this month – the uncapped Aussie seamer is a wicket-taking machine in the Sheffield Shield.

He averages 20.25 in first-class cricket!

Ryan Higgins is up and running with the ball this season. 

He's claimed the all important wicket of Keaton Jennings for 55.

A timely breakthrough for Middlesex – they're up against it after their mid-afternoon collapse on day one.

Surrey took 37 out of a possible 42 bowling bonus points in their 2024 title win.

Four sessions into the season and they've already dropped two bowling bonus points.

Essex reach the 110-over mark just four wickets down – they are on course for a potentially mammoth first innings total.

A tidy start to the morning for Kent at Wantage Road.

They wrap up the Northants innings in quick time. Young seamer Jas Singh finishes with career-best figures of 4-35. 

It's nearly time for Zak Crawley's second knock of the summer...

There it is, Banton reaches three figures with a nonchalant flick through the leg side. 

He averaged 50 in the Championship in 2024 – he's up and running already in 2025.

This was just displayed on the excellent Somerset live stream. 

He's mightily strong square of the wicket, basically nothing in front of square on the off side. 

He's on 95 not out...

Sussex skipper John Simpson is 126* at Edgbaston.

That is his career-best Division One score. This is his 16th first-class hundred, 12 of which have been scored in Division Two.

What a signing he's been since moving from Middlesex.