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

New Zealand's Yorkshire-bound seamer Ben Sears took 5-34 as the Black Caps beat Pakistan in Mount Maunganui overnight.

It was a difficult first day back in Division One for Yorkshire – they were bowled out for just 121 on the first morning of the season down at the Utilita Bowl.

Hello, it's Yas Rana on the tools for day two of the 2025 County Championship.

We're under way across the grounds...early eyes will be on Tom Banton at Taunton – he's 12 runs away from a fourth first-class hundred...

It will be Yas Rana and Katya Witney on the tools tomorrow. Join them then!

We're reaching stumps across the country. Essex are 356-4 against Surrey, Jordan Cox bowled by Kemar Roach after a stellar century. Sussex have piled on the runs too, building to 386-5. John Simpson has reached stumps unbeaten on 116, with his side in sight of maximum bonus points tomorrow. Durham, on 370-9, would surely shake your hand on 400 and a fourth out of five now.

Hampshire lead Yorkshire by 43 but are five down after a 15-wicket day. That's one more than we had in Taunton where Somerset lead Worcestershire narrowly with six wickets still in hand.

In Division Two, we've had 17 wickets tumble at Northampton, Kent on top there, 113 runs ahead with three wickets left to take. All the other Div Two games have had between 10 and 12 wickets fall and are in the balance to varying degrees. Derbyshire are 127-2 in response to Gloucestershire's 222, Lancs 68-0 to Middlesex's 260 and Leicestershire 65-1 to Glamorgan's 229.

Having bowled Gloucestershire out for 222 earlier today, Derbyshire have raced away in response, Caleb Jewell leading the way with 61 off just 48 balls. He's out now, but he's given his side a fast and strong start.

Kent's total of 231 seemed middling at first, but it might be plenty, with the wickets shared around the bowlers to peg Northants back to 73-5.

The first first-innings lead of the season goes to Hampshire, who have moved past Yorkshire's 121 for the loss of three wickets. Somerset, four down and two behind Worcestershire's 154, will join them soon.

Sussex have made 316-1 since being 40-3 early in the piece against Warwickshire. Some recovery!

James Coles chipped in with a half-century, but the stars have been Tom Clark (136*) and John Simpson, who is four short of his sixth hundred since joining Sussex at the start of last season.

Somerset had looked in danger of squandering their advantage when they slid to 39-3 in response to Worcestershire's 154 all out. But Toms Banton and Abell have put on a century stand to take them close to the Pears' total, with each passing fifty.

Abell, however, has now fallen for 52. Worcestershire need to strike quickly now to stay in the game.

A century for Jordan Cox, a statement of intent after a winter that promised a Test debut that was cruelly taken away from him by a broken thumb.

He now has five tons in 12 County Championship games for Essex since moving from Kent, and has pushed his first-class average above 40. England's batting order is not short on players, but more innings like that will ensure he remains in the conversation.

Three wickets for Ben Mike and Ian Holland have kept Glamorgan to 229. Shoaib Bashir, at the heady heights of No.10, notched 20 before being pegged back by a Rehan Ahmed googly. Wither the spinners' union?

Four wickets in the first session, two more before tea, and four more soon after. Luis Reece ends up with five while Anuj Dal settles for four.

From 215-3, Middlesex have subsided for 260. Tom Aspinwall finishes with 4-32.

We're back on at Trent Bridge, where Durham have passed 250 to bring up the season's first batting bonus point. With five wickets still in hand, they will be eyeing an imposing total.

Gloucestershire head to tea on 198-6. Two wickets lost in the afternoon session, both to Anuj Dal, who has four in the innings. James Bracey fell two shy of his half-century, but Graeme van Buuren is 67* with power to add.

Stoneman's gone for 46, but Hampshire could hardly have dreamt of a better start to the season. They're 77-1 in response to Yorkshire's 121.

Six wickets in the middle session have seen Lancashire erode Middlesex's position of strength. They head to the break on 245-8.

Essex reach tea against the champions healthily placed on 231-3. Jordan Cox is 59 not out, and will be hoping to become his side's first centurion of the season in the evening session following Paul Walter's dismissal for 95.

Two in two from Saif Zaib completes the job for Northants. It's less than Kent would have hoped for having been 164-3, but perhaps more than they expected having been 60-3. The end of innings also brings tea.

Colin Ackermann brings up three figures! He gets there from 174 balls with a boundary off Josh Tongue. It's been an important innings, coming in with Durham 24-2 and taking them within reach of the season's first batting bonus point. Well played.

That's tea as well. He can enjoy his coffee and cake comfortably as a centurion, rather than nervously in the nineties.

Paul Walter's gone for 95! Ben Foakes with an excellent take down the leg-side. Any other keeper, and he's one away from his ton right now.

The Seaxes had looked to be cruising towards the season's first batting bonus point, having been 178-2, 215-3 and 232-4. But they've lost fourwickets in four overs to slide to 241-8, and still need nine runs to get on the board. Toby Roland-Jones the latest to go, undone by some wicked inward movement from Tom Aspinwall.

After Bamber's early triple-strike, it's been almost all Sussex at Edgbaston. Tom Clark and James Coles dug in, and while the latter fell for 51, the former has pushed on to 72*, with John Simpson adding some impetus. They are 232-4 at tea.

"Since when does Walter open the batting? And since when is he so good?" asks Joe Feno on the Patreon.

The Essex man was pushed up in the absence of Dean Elgar, on paternity leave, but he's 92 not out and making a case for a permanent promotion.

Contrasting fortunes for the two sides batting in the second innings so far. Hampshire have breezed their way to 55-0, new recruit Mark Stoneman leading the way, with Yorkshire's 121 well in sight.

But Somerset are finding things much tougher in response to Worcestershire's 154, slipping to 34-2 with Archie Vaughan and Tom Lammonby each falling to Tom Taylor. Remember, Worcs were 102-1, so that's a combined score of 86-11 across both innings.

It's an entirely confected race, but that doesn't mean it's not an entertaining one.

Middlesex are 231-4 at the Home of Cricket, but Durham are hot on their heels on 222-5. And it could be a Durham one-two with Ackermann (89*) one behind Essex's Paul Walter in the race for the season's first ton.

It was all going so well for Kent, a century stand between Tawanda Muyeye and Jack Leaning propping them up after they had been 60-3. But the latter's dismissal has prompted a slide to 197-8, Raphael Weatherall taking three wickets. Can they haul themselves to a batting bonus point?

The race for the first batting bonus point of the season, brought up when a team crosses 250, is on, and Middlesex are leading the way. They are 201-3.

The first century of the season looks to be between Paul Walter (85*) and Colin Ackermann (75*). Hold onto your hats.

It had all started so well for Worcestershire, who made it to three figures just one down. Somehow, they've been bundled out for 154, with Kasey Aldridge the wrecker-in-chief and Craig Overton also chipping in with three wickets.

Dawson ends with three-for. He's quite good. Worcestershire (eight down) are also being read the last rites, while Glamorgan, six down after losing two wickets in two overs, aren't far behind.

Liam Dawson is spinning a web around Yorkshire, bowling Will Luxton with a beauty before pinning fellow tweaker Dom Bess lbw. Yorkshire 119-9 in the first innings of the McGrath-Bairstow era.

...goes to Kasey Aldridge, who has made it five wickets in five overs by bowling Brett D'Oliveira. Worcestershire have lost 5-28.

Yorkshire have lost their eighth. Kyle Abbott has three, but even if he cleans up the tail, he won't have the season's first five-for.

Two more wickets after lunch and the end is nigh for Yorkshire's first innings. They are 110-7, with George Hill (second top scorer with 20) and William Luxton (the only man in the top seven dismissed in single figures) the latest to go.

With four wickets in four overs, he's reduced Worcestershire from 102-1 to 126-5.

Theo Webster on Patreon says: "First time seeing Farhan Ahmed, love his action"

Who has caught your eye so far?

No post-lunch dismissals yet. Lord's provided a carrot and coriander soup and a falafel and sweet potato wrap, if you were wondering. Lovely stuff.

Glamorgan are 90-3 against Leicestershire. More as we get it.

Middlesex shrugged off the early loss of Nathan Fernandes through a trademark early-season half-century from Sam Robson. However, his dismissal on the stroke of lunch, pinned lbw by Luke Wells' leg-spin, has put the game back in the balance.

Two wickets apiece for Luis Reece and Anuj Dal have Gloucestershire 84-4 at the break.

And in Division Two, Kent have bounced back from the early loss of Zak Crawley (and the slightly later losses of Ben Compton and Daniel Bell-Drummond) through a fluent 53 from Tawanda Muyeye. No.4 looks a good fit for the highly rated youngster.

An intriguing session of punch and counterpunch at Trent Bridge. Durham were 24-2 after Aussie overseas Fergus O'Neill's double strike before Alex Lees and Colin Ackermann dragged them past three figures. Lees' dismissal, this time caught O'Neill off the bowling of Farhan Ahmed, has given the hosts the first-morning honours.

A bit of a battle from Sussex on their return to Division One. They were 40-3 inside nine overs after three wickets for Ethan Bamber. They remain three down at lunch, but have added just 48 more in 20.2 overs. Tom Clark is 16 off 80 and James Coles is 17 off 54. Proper cricket. 

Gareth Roderick and Jake Libby's 70 was the country's best opening stand, but from 102-1 shortly before the interval, three quick wickets, all to Kasey Aldridge, have left the Pears 110-4.

Yorkshire are the worst off of the country's batting sides at lunch, precariously placed on 106-5. All of the top six have made it to double figures, but only Dawid Malan - run out for 31 - has made it past 30 thus far. Much rests on keeper George Hill, 16 not out at the break.

A tale of two first hours for Paul Walter, who made 50 of Essex's first 55 runs, but goes to lunch on 54 with his side 114-1. Charlie Allison made 25 before being pinned lbw by Dan Lawrence, while Tom Westley has raced to 32 from 35 balls.

We're reaching the interval across the country after intriguing first sessions throughout. Ball has been on top, with 28 wickets across the eight games so far, but there haven't been any truly calamitous collapses yet. 

Dawid Malan, the only member of the Yorkshire top five to make it past 15, has fallen for 31, run out by Mark Stoneman. They are 102-5, with all of Hampshire's quicks having taken one a piece so far.

We've now had a wicket in every game across the country. Charlie Allison had caught up a bit after Tall Paul Walter had dominated the early scoring, but he's been pinned lbw by former Essex man Dan Lawrence.

He's the only spinner in the Surrey XI, so expect him to get through a decent workload.