A play and a miss from Ben Slater as Lewis Gregory tightens his line outside off stump.

Josh Davey is a little bit more loose first up and Nash gets an easy single down to fine leg.

Huge lbw shout third ball, but it looks like Slater is just outside the line.

A four off a legside ball eases the pressure.

Image source, Reuters

Cameron Bancroft's Durham career as captain is off and running.

He's the new man in at three after Cameron Steel was bowled by Ollie Robinson to give Sussex an early wicket at Chester-le-Street.

This is not great bowling from the hosts so far this morning.

Henry Brookes drifts one into the pads and Zak Crawley easily clips it away for his second four. He's on 11 now.

Sean Dickson has a couple of fours of his own and is on 13 not out.

Image source, Getty Images

A good start for Chris Nash, as he steers Lewis Gregory safely down to third man for four. Four more through mid-off.

After the early loss of Duckett, the Notts dressing room can breathe. For now.

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Who are your contenders for the title? Anyone get past the sheer strength in depth Surrey possess?

With three promotions spots up for grabs in Division Two this season, who might make the step up?

Jimmy Anderson has the ball on a string, as Sam Robson plays and misses at a near-perfect outswinger form the England stalwart.

Three overs for two runs from Anderson.

Who said cricket was a batsman's game?

Image source, Rex Features

Rory Burns seems to have picked up from where he left off last Championship campaign.

A couple of legside boundaries off Jamie Porter's bowling take him into double figures already.

So far so good for the visitors, as Zak Crawley pats a legside ball safely away for four off Henry Brookes and Dickson gets away with a streaky four wide of the slips.

Craig Miles to continue at the other end.

Sam Robson and Nick Gubbins have the unenviable task of facing Jimmy Anderson and Graham Onions at Lord's, as visitors Lancashire bowl first.

Haseeb Hameed will feature at number three for the visitors later on in the game, who also have Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell in the side.

Image source, Rex Features

And Surrey's title defence has begun.

Jamie Porter takes the new ball for Essex to England opener and one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year, Rory Burns.

Nicely negotiated first three balls from the left-hander.

Sean Dickson and Zak Crawley are the men in the middle for visitors Kent.

Henry Brookes to open the bowling.

And here we go!

Lewis Gregory has the ball and Bens Slater and Duckett are in the middle.

Ben Slater on strike.

Sean Dickson and Zak Crawley will don the pads first up for the visitors as they look to build a competitive score against Warwickshire.

It's the Bears' first Championship action of the campaign as they begin against the side who came up with them from Division Two last season.

Here's how the two sides line up.

No toss in Nottingham, where Somerset will field first against Notts, where the two Bens will open - Ben Slater and Ben Duckett.

Here are the XIs...

A year can be a long time in cricket and Cameron Bancroft has certainly had a past 12 months or so in the full glare of the cricket world's media after his role in Sandpaper-gate.

Today, the 26-year-old begins his reign as Durham captain after joining the county as overseas player.

Speaking at his first press engagement yesterday, he revealed how his nine-month ban from the game almost forced him to completely turn his back on the sport.

Image source, PA

Hampshire were big winners in the opening round last week as they hammered Essex by an innings and 87 runs.

Captain James Vince saw his side rack up a first innings total of more than 500 before bowling the visitors out twice in just over two days and bagging the full set of 24 points for the win.

He'll hope for more of the same as Hampshire host a Yorkshire side in this round who came away with a gritty draw against Nottinghamshire.

"We know that if the pitch here is a similar surface again, it'll take a lot of hard work on the bowling front to put them on the back foot," Vince told BBC Radio Solent.

"All we can do is focus on doing the little things right and hopefully the big picture will take care of itself."

The right-hander will also hope to impress watching England captain Joe Root as he looks to press his case as a potential Test match opener later this summer.