Trescothick century lifts Somerset

Marcus Trescothick passed 500 first-class runs for the season with his second Championship century, as Somerset posted a competitive 314 for 9 against Sussex at Hove. His innings consisted of 182 balls and contained 17 fours, and with Arul Suppiah providing diligent support with 49, Somerset gave themselves an excellent platform with an opening stand of 138. But Piyush Chawla's marathon spell of legspin undermined the innings, as he claimed 5 for 95 in 33 overs to destabilise the middle-order. The pivotal moment was the run-out of Trescothick at 191 for 2 - after that, no-one was able to dominate the innings in quite the same way, even though Zander de Bruyn and Peter Trego both chipped in with 50 from 88 balls - the latter unbeaten at the close.

Daryl Mitchell and Steve Davies gave Worcestershire the upper hand against Yorkshire at New Road. John Ward watched the first day's play.

The County Champions, Durham, continued to defend their title in style at Edgbaston. Full report to follow.

Graham Napier overcame the disappointment of missing out on a starting berth in England's World Twenty20 campaign, as he rescued Essex with a hard-hitting 68 not out from 64 balls against Kent at Tunbridge Wells. After winning the toss and batting first, Essex immediately ran into trouble when they slumped to 18 for 3 at the hands of Robbie Joseph and Amjad Khan, with Alastair Cook labouring to 8 from 28 balls. Essex regrouped strongly, however, first through Matt Walker and Mark Pettini, who made 41 and 55 respectively, and then through the efforts of Ryan ten Doeschate (40) and James Foster, who made 36 only hours after England's elimination at the hands of West Indies at The Oval. Napier's late onslaught lifted their total to 280, whereupon he finished Essex's day on a high with the first-ball dismissal of Robert Key, only moments after Joe Denly had also gone for a duck, lbw to David Masters.

Surrey assumed total control of their clash with Leicestershire at Grace Road, thanks to an impressive onslaught from the new-ball pairing of Jade Dernbach and Chris Jordan, who claimed nine wickets between them in Leicestershire's modest first-innings effort of 165. Dernbach claimed both openers for single figures en route to 6 for 47, the best figures of his first-class career, while Jordan chipped in with 3 for 54. Only the wicketkeeper, Tom New, found any effective means of countering their aggression as he thwacked a meaty 44 from 49 balls, with eight fours. In reply, Surrey found runs far easier to come by. Scott Newman provided a rapid start with 40 from 69 balls, and Michael Brown dropped anchor with 46 not out from 142. With Mark Ramprakash ominously placed at the close on 29 not out, more toil in the field is anticipated on the second day.

Mark Cosgrove reached his second century of the season and promptly retired hurt, as Glamorgan compiled a handy 308 on the opening day against Northamptonshire at Cardiff. Cosgrove's innings, from 139 balls with 18 fours and a six, was one of the two pillars of Glamorgan's performance, the other being Michael Powell's 88 from 238 balls, a doughty performance that prevented Northants from assuming control after Cosgrove's departure. David Wigley was the pick of the visitors' attack with 5 for 78, while Andrew Hall provided excellent support with 3 for 37. Northants had time at the end of the day to play out a solitary maiden in their first innings.