First over safely seen off by Somerset nightwatchman Jack Leach.

Although not without a scare.

He very nearly chops on to Ben Raine's fifth ball of the day. Thick inside edge that shot just over the top and down to fine leg for four.

Close.

Obviously Durham will want to see the back of Leach asap. Nearly did it there.

First boundary of the day as Dom Sibley nudges Shane Snater down to third man. Risk free shot - all along the ground. He is 28 not out.

It's overcast at The Oval as Dom Sibley and Sam Curran trudge out to resume Surrey's first innings.

This may be a day when Sibley's adhesive qualities are needed by the reigning champions - but Essex are going to have to bowl well to get themselves back into this game.

Shaner Snater will bowl the first over of the day.

OK. Scenes having been set for the majority of our nine Championship games, it is time for some actual action.

Martin Emmerson
BBC Radio Newcastle

Image source, BBC Sport

We have had a bit of rain in the North East overnight. Good for the garden and all that, but it's made for really muggy conditions in CLS.

It's humid and about 19C. I think we could see the ball swinging around as a result of that - on a track where nobody really looked particularly comfortable yesterday.

The highest score in the match so far is Ollie Robinson's 52.

BBC Sounds

You can follow every ball of every County Championship match with the BBC this summer.

Along with our live text coverage our BBC Local Radio and 5 Live Sports Extra commentary teams will be out in force to ensure you do not miss a thing.

You can listen via the BBC Sport website and app but also on most smart speakers - just ask BBC Sounds to play the game you want but also state the day as well.

For example, ask BBC Sounds to play Durham against Somerset, day two.

Image source, Getty Images

Worcestershire's big issue this season has been first-innings runs.

Matches are very difficult to control without them, as we know, and the Pears' failure to register one batting point before the match against Essex underscored why they've struggled so far.

But that all changed at New Road last week when they scored 358 in their first innings as they dominated a low-scoring game to claim their first win.

They need a repeat on day two against the Bears after Jake Libby and Gareth Roderick gave them a superb platform by seeing off 16 overs of Chris Woakes, Chris Rushworth and Ethan Bamber to reach stumps unscathed.

The rest of the the order needs to follow their lead when called today, although the more overcast conditions in Worcester, will no doubt sharpen Woakes and co's threat.

The Bears will wonder how it all got away from them with Tom Latham and Sam Hain both past 50 early yesterday afternoon, a telling score looked inevitable.

But a collapse of eight for 66 ruined their plans and means they need a big morning to get back on the rails.

If any attack can, it's this Bears one.

Image source, Getty Images

All-rounder Jordan Thompson is hoping the partnership between Joe Clarke and Lyndon James does not come back to bite Yorkshire as this game progresses.

The Notts pair put on 71 for the sixth wicket on day one as they recovered from 121-5 to finish on 228 before putting the hosts under the pump at 10-2 at the close.

And Thompson is keeping his fingers crossed that spell where they could not chip out the Notts pair does not prove pivotal.

“We’ve spoken about it already this season, just losing it a little bit in moments. I think we did that again today - not as much as we have done previously.

"We dragged it back well after lunch and again after tea, taking some wickets. But it was just either side of tea with Clarke and James together.”

Nottinghamshire opening batter Ben Slater was the second highest scorer with 52 but paid tribute to Clarke’s 64 as a potential game-changer

“We know how good he is and for him to get 60, it looks like a lot of runs on that wicket. To get over 200, especially with how much it’s done, we’d have taken that.”

Image source, Getty Images

Surrey and England paceman Jamie Overton was happy to be back "bowling with a red ball" after taking 2-29 as they ran through Essex on the opening day at The Oval.

It was Overton's first taste of action this season since returning from the IPL and he worked up a decent pace despite being the last of the six seamers in their team to be called into action.

"It’s been a while since I played in the Championship [April 2024] so the plan was to build myself up a bit before going to England for the West Indies white-ball series next week. I’ve felt in good rhythm and it was just nice to be playing at the Oval again," he said.

"The plan now is to bat as long as we can. The pitches here tend to flatten out a bit on days two and three and we’ll be looking to take advantage and get as big a lead as we can.”

Image source, Getty

Sussex fast bowler Henry Crocombe says a Dale Steyn masterclass on how to bowl quicker helped him produce a productive return to Sussex action on day one.

Crocombe’s 4-27 - including 3-1 in six balls - opened up Hampshire’s middle order on his first outing of 2025 after four and a half months out with injury.

And he believes an England Lions tour mentored by Steyn encouraged him to find “an extra five mph”.

“Dale would say that in practice he didn’t necessarily care where the ball went as long as his speeds were up," said Crocombe

“He had to be at match intensity all the time and that is something I have been guilty of at times. Even five mph makes a massive difference for me so speaking to him about it was handy.”

Hampshire’s John Turner, who took 3-24, agreed that the Southampton pitch rewarded pace.

“There is something in there for fast bowlers and spinners. I don’t think all the wickets they got were unbelievable balls, they got a bit lucky with some dismissals,” he said.

“We didn’t get a big enough score but it is going to be a shootout and we are definitely in it.”

Image source, Getty Images

You could say one ball decided where the balance of power lay after a very watchable first day at Chester le Street.

It was delivered by 20-year-old Championship debutant Mitchell Killeen, who produced a beauty that zipped off a length and grazed the outside edge of Tom Lammonby's bat and into the gloves of keeper Ollie Robinson.

Not only was it a lovely moment for Killeen and watching family, witnessing his first wicket, it sapped Somerset's momentum and put added bounce into Durham's collective step as they walked off at stumps.

Things can change very quickly of course, but any sort of lead will be very handy given this is far from the surface that enabled Durham to wrack up 664 last week against Notts.

With James Rew back from England drinks duty at the crease and the likes of Tom Abell, Andy Umeed and Archie Vaughan to come, Somerset will have confidence they can get close to parity.

But last night's shift has them starting with their heels on the ledge.

Image source, PA Media

Kent head coach Adam Hollioake admitted it had been a "really hard day" for his side as Caleb Jewell's unbeaten 152 put Derbyshire in a dominant position at the County Ground.

After beginning the season with back-to-back wins, Hollioake's side have lost their three previous games this month and again lacked penetration with the ball.

"We didn't bowl very well with the new ball and it was important we did having lost the toss because as we've seen this year the first 30 overs have been the chance to get the wickets," said Hollioake.

"It was a tough toss to lose because it's a good wicket and I think it will deteriorate as it goes on. To be fair the boys stuck at it well, they kept going and I guess that's all you can really do in that situation and we'll see when we get our turn to bat how the wicket plays."

Looks like we could be in for a stop-start day at some of our games.

Here's the Saturday summary from BBC Weather: "Today will be unsettled and largely cloudy with patchy rain across the UK. A few glimpses of sunshine are likely in the far east of England and eastern Scotland. Breezy for many."

For more localised info, go to the BBC Weather website and use the search box.

Division One

Durham 277 v Somerset 63-3

Hampshire 154 v Sussex 110-5

Surrey 94-3 v Essex 217

Worcestershire 53-0 v Warwickshire 227

Yorkshire 10-2 v Nottinghamshire 228

Division Two

Derbyshire 352-2 v Kent

Glamorgan 334-7 v Middlesex

Leicestershire 59-2 v Lancashire 206

Northamptonshire 327-6 v Gloucestershire

Image source, Rex Features

County cricket or practice for Strictly?

By and large, bowlers led batters a merry dance in Division One on the opening day of the latest County Championship matches.

It was a different story in the second tier, with seamers and spinners having to 'put in the hard yards' at Derby, Cardiff and Northampton.

What will day two bring? An iffy weather forecast for one thing, but we are here as usual to bring you full coverage. Play is due to start at 11:00.