Alex Davies gets away with a cut over the slips for four.

Rob Yates gets four with a controlled edge on the front foot, running the ball safely through third man.

Frustration for Josh Davey.

The runs flow in the next over two as Craig Overton spears a ball down leg and Yates glances fine for four.

And now fellow Hampshire opener Fletcha Middleton gets off the mark.

It's two boundaries in three balls for him off Grant Stewart - on through leg and one through the offside.

Having decided to bowl, Kent won't want to waste the new ball.

Rain stops play at the Ovalpublished at 11:12 British Summer Time 30 June

11:12 BST 30 June

Surrey 8-0 v Essex

That's a shame.

That was a real contest between Shane Snater and Dom Sibley.

The bowler beats the bat multiple times in the over but the third ball is a bit too full on leg stump and firmly clipped through mid wicket for four.

The rain doesn't look heavy so hopefully just a short delay.

Dan Whiting
BBC Radio London

This will be a cracking game, we're really looking forward to this one.

Top of the table, first v second, and it should be a decent crowd in as well.

Tom Taylor is on at the other end and his first over causes Alex Lees a few problems.

He serves up a no-ball first up, but coming round the wicket he keeps the Durham opener honest, shaping the ball away from the left-hander.

Lees is then properly squared up by the penultimate ball which pitches on leg stump.

Six dots. Sharp start.

A nice way for Toby Albert to get off the mark with a lovely firm push through mid-off that runs all the way to the boundary.

That's how any batter would love to get going at the start of a match.

A good first over from Josh Davey, who completes a maiden by squaring Rob Yates up playing defensively outside off.

Craig Overton will start proceedings at the other end and Alex Davies is off the mark to the third ball, pushing into cover.

Very tight single but he's made it safely.

Rob Yates gets one at the end of the over to keep the strike.

It is not particularly warm in Southport, but we have a sell-out at Trafalgar Road, which is great to see.

Olly Stone has the ball in hand and gets a couple of balls to lift a little on Luke Wells, which strike higher up the bat than Wells would have liked.

But both he and Keaton Jennings get a single to get the innings up and running.

Dave Bracegirdle
BBC Radio Nottingham commentator

Many congratulations to Dillon Pennington for getting called up for the first time to the England Test squad and we may see him bowl very early on.

Dave is right - Dillon is sharing new-ball duties with Olly Stone.

Scott Read
BBC Radio Lancashire

It's a full house here at Trafalgar Road.

It's perhaps not quite as warm as we were hoping for but at least it's dry.

This pitch appears to be a bit on the slow side as Rory Burns gets off the mark with a single nudged to long leg.

A fine delivery from Jamie Porter, who forces Dom Sibley to play and gets the ball to nip away outside off.

Shane Snater will bowl the first ball from the Pavilion End.

Welcome to Taunton.

Bears openers Rob Yates and Alex Davies are ready to start.

Visiting captain Alex Davies is at the non-striker's end first up and Josh Davey will bowl to Yates.

If today’s cricket just couldn’t get any more enticing, there is discounted entry today around the nine grounds for the inaugural County Cricket Day.

It was the brainchild of supporters Alex and Tim, working with the County Cricket Members Group.

Entry with advance tickets for adults starts from as little as £14 at Chester-le-Street, while kids can get through the gates at The Oval for a measly quid.

So what are you waiting for?

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Surrey openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley are in the middle and this pitch has a green tinge to it.

It should flatten out later in the day though.

Jamie Porter will bowl first up to Rory Burns.

What a spoil sport Notts captain Haseeb Hameed is!

He has won the toss and decided to field first, meaning we will not have the pleasure of watching Jimmy Anderson bowl first up this morning.

To recap, there are seven players selected in England's Test squad for the first two matches against the West Indies, who are on Championship duty this week.

Ben Stokes, Matt Potts (Durham)

Jimmy Anderson (Lancashire)

Dillon Pennington (Notts)

Jamie Smith, Dan Lawrence (Surrey)

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

What do you make of the squad? Is anyone unlucky to miss out? Please feel free to share your thoughts on X, using #bbccricket

Pears skipper Jake Libby guesses right and fancies a bowl.

His opposite number Scott Borthwick scurries back to the dressing room to pad up.

The Durham skip opens with Alex Lees.

The coin lands in favour of acting host captain Craig Overton, who has chosen to bowl first.

The host XI has one change since the last round with seamer Josh Davey coming in for Jake Ball.

Shoaib Bashir misses out on this occasion and Jack Leach plays as the sole spinner.

Two changes for the Bears in this round with Michael Booth coming in for Craig Miles and Rob Yates replacing Danny Briggs.