Warne blasts back for Hampshire

Division One

Shane Warne rescued Hampshire from a poor start in their clash with Middlesex and ended the opening day seven short of his second century of the season. Hampshire slumped to 61 for 4 after choosing to bat as a result of a double strike from Scott Styris. But the turnaround was started by John Crawley's 62 and even when Chris Peploe took three wickets Hampshire didn't fall apart. Warne found an able ally in Dimitri Mascarenhas who helped him add 100 and then Shaun Udal partnered him until the close. Warne has only faced 73 balls, hitting 11 fours and three sixes, in another display of his all round skills.

An unbeaten seventh wicket stand of 136 between Azhar Mahmood and Martin Bicknell ensured Surrey made the most of batting first against Gloucestershire. The pair exposed a tiring attack which, until the final session, had plugged away manfully after Scott Newman opened with an aggressive 82. Graham Thorpe also spent some much-needed time at the crease, making 73 off 116 balls. Richard Clinton (66) and Jon Batty (55) also cashed and Mahmood added the final flourish, hitting 11 fours and three sixes in his 91-ball 88.

Glamorgan had another dispiriting day in the Championship, watching Nottinghamshire take control at Trent Bridge. No Glamorgan batsmen reached a half-century, although four passed 40 including Sourav Ganguly who top-scored with 47. He became a first first-class wicket for Mark Footitt, who was making his first-class debut. Greg Smith was the pick of the attack for 4 for 64 and Andy Harris took 3 for 62. Nottinghamshire's top-order made sure the good work in the field wasn't wasted with a solid opening. Darren Bicknell was run out for 61 but Stephen Fleming raced to 30 from 28 balls before the close.

Division Two

Durham wasted a solid start against Lancashire as a batting collapse resulted in them slipping from 72 for 0 to 167 all out. Glen Chapple and Gary Keedy took three wickets each to precipitate the rush of wickets and James Anderson helped with a brace. Nathan Astle tried to shore up the innings with a patient 58 but the tail folded quickly. Lancashire, on the other hand, built on a opening stand of 77 between Mark Chilton and Iain Sutcliffe. Chilton was unbeaten at the close 39, while Sutcliffe took 86 balls for his 48 before falling to Gareth Breese's gentle offspin.

Sturdy middle-order batting from Leicestershire allowed them a share of the honours against Somerset. Leicestershire slipped to 81 for 3 before lunch, but Chris Rogers made 48 on his county debut before the young and the old combined. John Sadler grafted to 52 until he became Charl Langeveldt's second wicket - on his county debut - and Paul Nixon used his wealth of experience to nurture the tail. He was given valuable support by Claude Henderson, who made 25 in an eighth wicket stand of 52. However, Taunton has produced some high scores in the recent Twenty20 matches so Leicestershire may be left to rue the fact that no one progressed to a more substantial innings.

Matthew Hoggard made a welcome return to form with three wickets - including Graeme Hick - as Yorkshire and Worcestershire exchanged the advantage on a fascinating day at Worcester. From 98 for 0, Worcestershire were then wobbling at 187 for 5 but Gareth Batty and Kabir Ali both struck 57. Yorkshire's seam attack plugged away with Tim Bresnan and Deon Kruis chipping in with two each, as did Richard Dawson the offspinner. Yorkshire survived the final nine overs without losing a wicket, settling a solid platform for the second day.