Mark Church
BBC Radio London commentator

As an opening day goes, it was an interesting opening day yesterday.

It was a very good toss for Essex to win and they made very full use of a pitch that is very good to bat on.

I thought Paul Walter played very nicely for his 95 and it was a very well constructed innings from Jordan Cox.

Surrey bowled pretty well but I think they were at their best an hour after lunch yesterday where they tied up the runs.

Had Surrey been really off it, Essex could have been another 150 on the board for four down.

Image source, Rex Features

Durham's last pair of Matthew Potts (8*) and Paul Coughlin (6*) make their way to the wicket looking to add a few more runs and heap on the frustration for the hosts.

Notts will be looking to wrap this up very quickly and begin their reply before it gets any trickier.

Dillon Pennington to open the bowling this morning at a sun-splashed Trent Bridge.

Not the only thing that's splashing.

There'll be a slight delay as the sprinkler nearer the bower's run-up suddenly bursts into life.

It will take a few minutes to dry out after that bizarre incident so the players are sent back to the pavilion.

First ball of the day at Chelmsford - in comes James Taylor and there goes the ball racing to the extra-cover boundary off the bat of Matt Critchley.

Essex will want to pile on the runs here with Jordan Cox making it clear they are after as many batting points as possible.

Looks like we are set fair for another day of uninterrupted action, although temperatures may be a few degrees lower.

Don't take our word for it, though - here's the BBC Weather summary: "Patches of low cloud and fog in eastern England will soon diminish leaving sunshine. Elsewhere, it will stay dry and sunny. Breezy."

Image source, Rex Features

Yorkshire showed the resolve that head coach Anthony McGrath will look for this summer after a below-par batting performance on the opening day at the Utilita Bowl.

Promoted from Division Two last summer, McGrath has a super-positive on-field lieutenant in skipper Jonny Bairstow and he was unafraid to try some unorthodox field placings as they fought their way back into the game.

Pace bowler Jack White made a good first impression following his move from Northants and Ben Coad was his usual reliable self.

Their challenge now is to try and keep Hampshire's lead down to manageable proportions and they could go a long way towards achieving that if they can remove Liam Dawson early.

Image source, Getty Images

Tom Clark made his fourth first-class century for Sussex on the opening day against Warwickshire and shared in a fifth-wicket stand of 200 with his captain, John Simpson.

"It's the first time I've properly batted with John Simpson and he makes it look so easy and plays so freely. It takes the pressure off you a bit and the scoreboard is always ticking over," Clark told BBC Sussex.

"Coming into Division One you never know, but you want to get a score on the board and prove you're up to it, so it's probably my proudest century because maybe at times in the past I'd have given the innings away on 30 or 40.

"We want to be ruthless in the morning, get as many runs as possible and our seam attack will be good on that pitch because there's a bit in it."

Martin Emmerson
BBC Radio Newcastle

It's another lovely, sunny morning on the banks of The Trent, but it does feel a bit cooler compared to yesterday. We have a northerly breeze as well.

Paul Coughlin and Matthew Potts are the last pair in for Durham and as we head into day two they need another 30 runs to reach a fourth batting point, which would be nice from the visitor's point of view.

Both batsmen boast centuries in the County Championship so it could quite easily happen. If not they already appear to have a decent total, given the fact they were put in yesterday morning, but there is an extremely short boundary on the Bridgford Road side of the ground, which only measures 49 yards at one point.

Image source, Rex Features

Jordan Cox made a sparkling century for Essex on day one of their match against the defending champions Surrey and is looking for them to make the most of the good batting conditions on the second day at Chelmsford.

"To contribute was pretty awesome - everyone was saying where's Dean (Elgar) but family takes priority and us as a team have to accept that and adjust and Paul Walter and Charlie Allison were awesome," said Cox.

"To get a good amount of runs and face a good number of balls is good for my confidence and rhythm.

"We need to get as many points as possible - the one or two could be crucial - and with what the openers have done to set the platform for myself, Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper to express ourselves, hopefully we can get a good amount of runs on the board and some points."

Opening day centuries from Tom Clark and skipper John Simpson have got Sussex in a strong position as we go into day two at Edgbaston.

That was after they had been reduced to 40-3.

The Edgbaston pitch did not offer much to the bowlers after the new ball had been used for a few overs so this could be hard work for both attacks.

Nottinghamshire will start day two anxious to wrap up the Durham innings as quickly as possible after a frustrating opening day at Trent Bridge.

Home skipper Haseeb Hameed won the toss and put the visitors into bat but were held up by a battling display from Durham’s batting unit.

It was underpinned by Colin Ackermann’s resilient knock of 116 after an outrageous lifeline when Lyndon James clipped his off-stump but did not dislodge the bail.

It’s a strong situation for the Durham bowling unit who have had a decent rest and will be fresh and firing when it's Notts’ turn to bat.

The hosts will need to bat patiently and well to get on terms and go past the visitors’ total.

Image source, Getty Images

It all started so well for Worcestershire.

And then Kasey Aldridge happened.

The Pears were mooching along nicely as Gareth Roderick (58) helped ease the visitors to 70-0 and then 102-1.

But Aldridge's introduction changed all that, removing five of the top six batters either side of lunch before Craig Overton clicked with three late wickets as the visitors lost their last nine wickets for 52 runs.

Tom Taylor did his best to haul Worcestershire back into the game with two early wickets as Somerset stumbled to 39-3.

But an unbeaten 84 from Tom Banton, aided by Tom Abell's 52 took Somerset past the hosts' first innings knock. They lead by 33 with six wickets in hand.

Can Banton go on to make a fourth first-class ton as the hosts pile up a big lead, or can the Pears keep Somerset in sight?

It is safe to say that this was not quite how Yorkshire had imagined their return to the top flight during the long winter months following promotion.

Despite winning the toss and electing to bat, Jonny Bairstow’s side found themselves shelled out short of eight overs after lunch on day one with Kyle Abbott and Liam Dawson doing the majority of the destruction job with three wickets apiece.

Worryingly for the White Rose, Yorkshire’s last five wickets fell in a sorry 27 balls.

That said, a night’s sleep can do wonders for a side’s enthusiasm and belief and having managed to take five Hampshire wickets before stumps – the home side finished on 164-5 with a lead of 43 – the prospect of staying in touch in this game remains.

Yorkshire obviously need early wickets and the dangerous Dawson's will be top of the list but there is no need to panic just yet.

Image source, Rex Features

Jordan Cox's opening day century and 95 from Paul Walter have Essex into a healthy position but they will know on a Chelmsford track offering precious little assistance they need to bat big to put the champions under pressure.

They will need Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper to get them off and running with youngster Noah Thain due in next.

Surrey may look at the Essex batting line up and think if they can get rid of one of Critchley or Pepper early there's a chance to run through the rest and then look to put the home bowling under pressure.

Division One

Essex 356-4 v Surrey

Hampshire 164-5 v Yorkshire 121

Nottinghamshire v Durham 370-9

Somerset 187-4 v Worcestershire 154

Warwickshire v Sussex 386-5

Division Two

Derbyshire 127-2 v Gloucestershire 222

Glamorgan 229 v Leicestershire 65-1

Middlesex 260 v Lancashire 68-0

Northamptonshire 118-7 v Kent 231

Image source, Rex Features

There may well be a few moaning muscles and aching joints after a first day of competitive action for our hardy band of county cricketers.

Despite the blue skies, wall-to-wall sunshine and unseasonably kind early season temperatures, plenty of wickets fell, with first-innings replies having begun in all but three of our matches.

So what will day two have in store?

First off, let's see where the land lies in each of our nine matches.