The first round of the 2025 County Championship concluded today (April 7), marking the start of the English domestic summer. Here's how the England incumbents and hopefuls got on, ahead of a packed international summer.
Ollie Pope - 45 & 1
England's vice-captain put together a promising partnership with Rory Burns after Essex declared on 582-6 at Chelmsford. However, his wicket sparked a collapse which saw Surrey slip from 111-1 to 180-6, and they were eventually made to follow-on still needing 217 to make Essex bat again. Pope contributed just one run to their second innings effort, nicking off behind with a big booming drive.
Jamie Smith - 25 & 32
A couple of starts for Smith in an early wobble from Surrey. He was run out in a horrible mix up with Dom Sibley in the second innings.
Dan Lawrence - 3 & 18, 3-169
Three wickets was Lawrence's most important contribution to the draw at Chelmsford, as he starts a second consecutive season making an impact as a frontline spinner. He was out for 3 and 19 in the first and second innings respectively.
Jordan Cox - 117
After injury disappointment over the winter, Cox started his Championship campaign in similar fashion to his form last year. He blitzed 117 on day one of the competition, the first of three hundreds in Essex's innings, taking his first-class average for the club to 72.71.
Sam Cook - 2-67 & 0-22
Two wickets in the first Surrey innings for Cook, as he makes another bid for England honours. He trapped Dom Sibley early in Surrey's first innings and before getting Jordan Clark as his second. He went wicketless on the final day, as Essex used eight bowlers in a bid to induce a collapse.
Josh Tongue - 2-92 & 5-66
A successful Notts debut for Tongue, who finally pulled on his home counties' colours a year after joining them. A brutal spell on the final day, including four wickets in two overs, gave him five-for and pulled Notts back into a winning position.
Dillon Pennington - 1-70 & 2-61
Pennington made two crucial breakthroughs on the last day at Trent Bridge, dismissing the dangerous Ollie Robinson for 7, as well as getting Will Rhodes shortly after. He took three wickets in the game.
Ben McKinney - 5 & 37
After being touted as England's next Test opener over the winter, McKinney had a quiet opening Championship round, managing just 5 in his first innings and 37 off 74 in his next before he was dismissed by Tongue.
Ollie Robinson - 16 & 7
Robinson was given a late-notice call-up to New Zealand over the winter after Cox's injury, having impressed with his run volume and tempo last season. He was slow to get going this year, however, scoring 23 runs across both innings at Trent Bridge.
Matthew Potts - 4-112 & 1-10
Potts started his campaign with a four-wicket haul albeit on a bruising couple of days for Durham as they conceded 579. He also dismissed Ben Slater with his second ball of Nottinghamshire's fourth-innings chase of 89.
Tom Banton - 371
Banton was the talk of the weekend's action, with a mammoth innings at Taunton. He piled on a triple hundred, and passed the highest score ever made for Somerset in the County Championship, scoring 371 before he was out on day three. For a brief time, Brian Lara's 501* record was whispered as being under threat, with plenty of time left in the game and Banton seemingly impenetrable. Considered a way off England selection a year ago, Banton is rapidly climbing in the pecking order for England's Test squad.
Tom Banton vs Worcestershire
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 7, 2025
Justin Langer vs Surrey
Viv Richards vs Warwickshire
Tom Banton's incredible 371 is the highest individual score in Somerset's first-class history👏#Countycricket2025 pic.twitter.com/UIpyMMZv9c
Jack Leach - 1-26 & 4-107
Leach took four wickets at Taunton against Worcestershire, and bowled a marathon spell in the second innings as Somerset desperately searched for a victory. He finished with figures of 4-107 off 65 overs.
Ollie Robinson - 2-76 & 0-14
On a wicket with plenty of runs in at Edgbaston, Robinson toiled for 24 overs in Warwickshire's first innings, taking two wickets as they put on 454 but showed again the control and skill that makes him an ever present question for England to justify omitting. Neither side could force a result, however, and Warwickshire batted out two sessions on the final day for the draw.
Zak Crawley - 1 & 31
After a difficult winter, and with his place at the top of England's order once again under pressure, Crawley endured a torrid time in Northampton. He lasted less than 10 minutes at the crease on the morning of day one before both his middle and off stumps were flattened by left-armer Liam Guthrie. While he had a better outing in Kent's second innings, his innings came to an end for 31 when he slapped a ball from Justin Broad to cover. Despite Crawley's struggles, Kent won a low-scoring match inside three days to claim an opening victory in their Division Two campaign.
Shoaib Bashir - 0-92
On a loan stint at Glamorgan, Bashir had a quiet first round, bowling 22 overs without taking any wickets in the only innings he was required to bowl. He finished with figures of 0-92.
Liam Dawson - 3-8 & 0-43, 20 & 22*
Calls mounted for Liam Dawson's presence in England sides across formats over the winter, and he gave another reminder of his credentials against Yorkshire. He rattled through the tail on day one at Utilita, taking three wickets before scoring a handy 20 with the bat. He also combined with Tom Prest to get Hampshire over the line in the fourth innings, and was unbeaten at the end of the game.
England's Test pace options are shrinking fast, with injuries ruling out Mark Wood and Olly Stone for the start of the international season.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 6, 2025
Who will rise to the challenge and bolster England’s attack?
Check here ➡️ https://t.co/AWjp9DuP7M pic.twitter.com/kKZXr788WB
Sonny Baker - 1-17 & 2-58
Having received a pace development contract over the winter, new England hopeful Sonny Baker showed his raw speed on debut at his new county. Aside from dismissing Jonny Bairstow twice, he took one other wicket in a low-scoring game that Hampshire won by five wickets.
Jonny Bairstow - 10 & 56
Bairstow's reign as Yorkshire captain started with a defeat in Southampton. From a personal standpoint, looking to get himself back in the England reckoning, he was dismissed by Baker twice in the game. He slapped the ball straight to the fielder in the first innings but made a half-century in the second before he was bowled by a beauty.
Rehan Ahmed - 1-14 & 0-23, 2 & 13*
Rehan was barely needed in an impressive Leicestershire win, but was promoted in Nighthawk style to seal a 10-wicket margin on the third evening.
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