County Championship returned for second phase of the season
18 teams split into three divisions of six depending on placings earlier in season
Winners of Division One will be crowned county champions after next four matches
Warwickshire's Chris Benjamin makes 127 on Championship debut
Sam Hain also finished 113 not out v Lancashire
Zak Crawley scored 50 for Kent v Leicestershire following England omission
Robbie White scored maiden first-class ton for Middlesex v Derbyshire
Somerset v Nottinghamshire 55-2
Josh Davey has switched to the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End and he has found some movement to put Sam Northeast under pressure. But the batsman hits back with a four of his own.
An eighth boundary of the morning for Notts, which has stopped the hosts from putting them under more pressure.
Somerset v Nottinghamshire 51-2
Between them, the six contenders for this year's County Championship have won 55 previous titles. However, there is a big asterisk next to Somerset, as they are the only ones yet to lift it.
How Taunton regulars would love that curse to be lifted. But they need a little bit of patience this morning as the 50 comes up for Notts.
Hampshire v Yorkshire 23-1
Runs still proving hard to come by for Yorkshire under overcast skies at the Ageas Bowl.
Brad Wheal has come on to replace Keith Barker for Hampshire while Kyle Abbott's first spell appears to be done for now after he got the earlier wicket of Adam Lyth.
Opener George Hill (11 off 42 balls) battling hard for the visitors.
Image source, Rex FeaturesTime for a look at the scores outside of the top tier.
In Division Two, Glamorgan are 39-2 against Essex after the early loss of David Lloyd for a duck and Steven Reingold for nine.
At Bristol, Northamptonshire are 41-0 against Gloucestershire after being put in.
While Dom Sibley has not had a happy return to county colours this morning another recent member of England's Test top order, Zak Crawley, has got off to a better start for Kent in Division Three.
He (22 not out) and Joe Denly (25 not out) are building a partnership for the second wicket against Leicestershire after the early loss of Jordan Cox for a duck. Kent 47-1.
At Lord's, Middlesex's decision to bat first against Derbyshire has spectacularly backfired.
The hosts slumped to 14-3 with the loss of Sam Robson, debutant Mark Stoneman for a duck and Stevie Eskinazi as Sam Conners took two of those wickets.
They've mounted a slight recovery to 44-3.
And at New Road, Sussex are 30-1 after opting to bt first against Worcestershire. Tom Haines the only wicket to fall so far.
Somerset v Nottinghamshire 44-2
Ben Duckett has absolutely gifted his wicket away here.
Jack Brooks drops short outside off-stump, and Duckett, having tried to pull Marchant de Lange in the previous over, cannot resist. But the angle is against him and he can only spoon the ball skywards with Roelof van der Merwe getting underneath to take the catch at cover.
Hampshire v Yorkshire 13-1
First breakthrough of the match for Hampshire!
Adam Lyth looked to be settling in after showing some doggedness during his 30 balls at the crease.
But Kyle Abbott does the trick with a ball that nips back into the left-hander and traps him on the back pad.
Up goes the finger from umpire James Middlebrook and in comes Tom Kohler-Cadmore at number three.
Lancashire v Warwickshire 21-2
Chris Benjamin is in for his Championship debut and this is a real test for the 22-year-old against opening bowling pair Tom Bailey and Saqib Mahmood. Warwickshire won't want to lose many more early wickets, having decided to bat.
Tweet using #bbccricket
Pete Bancroft: This year's County Champ format is overcomplicated. I'd favour 3 pools of 6 playing home & away. Winners of each pool + the best 2nd placed team then go though to a semi-final and final. Pools could be randomly selected each year with seeding based on previous season.
Keep sending through your thoughts and suggestions on what's being dubbed "Super September" this season.
Somerset v Nottinghamshire 31-1
Good response to the early loss of Slater as Ben Duckett and Sam Northeast have hit a flurry of boundaries to get the scoreboard moving.
If you've just joined us, let's bring you up to date with how things have started and also who opted to bat or bowl first this morning.
Division One:
Ageas Bowl: Hampshire v Yorkshire 4-0 - Hampshire won toss and elected to bowl
Old Trafford: Lancashire v Warwickshire 11-2 - Warwickshire won toss and elected to bat
Taunton: Somerset v Nottinghamshire 21-1 - Somerset won toss and elected to bowl
Division Two:
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 12-1 v Essex - Glamorgan won toss and elected to bat
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire 23-0 - Gloucestershire won toss and elected to bowl
Division Three:
Leicester: Leicestershire v Kent 26-1 - Kent won toss and elected to bat
Lord's: Middlesex 15-3 v Derbyshire - Middlesex won toss and elected to bat
Worcester: Worcestershire v Sussex 13-0 - Sussex won toss and elected to bat
Lancashire v Warwickshire 7-2
Image source, Rex FeaturesIt is not a successful return to the county ranks for Dominic Sibley.
After taking 13 balls to acquire his three runs, Sibley is pinned on the crease by Tom Bailey, with the slips and wicketkeeper up in unison. With no Hawk-Eye to save him here, Sibley has to go.
Somerset v Nottinghamshire 7-1
And the first one of the day at Taunton goes as county cricket's most famous headband works its magic!
Ben Slater's eyes light up when Brooks drops a touch short and wide, but the opener slaps it straight to Tom Lammonby at point.
Hampshire v Yorkshire 4-0
Watchful start so far at the Ageas Bowl for Yorkshire openers Adam Lyth and George Hill in the first four overs.
A noticeable green tinge to the wicket and some encouraging conditions for Keith Barker and Kyle Abbott. But as yet, no huge chances in the field.
Lancashire v Warwickshire 4-1
The first wicket of the day is at Old Trafford where Warwickshire opener Rob Yates is back in the pavilion.
After hitting a lovely four of the first ball of the day, Yates plays out seven dots before edging Tom Bailey straight into the hands of Rob Jones at third slip for a regulation catch.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Tweet using #bbccricket
So what do you make of this two-phased format for this season?
Who are your picks for lifting the trophy out of the six in the top division?
Join in the conversation throughout the day and let us know using #bbccricket
And we're off and running!
Good luck to your respective sides and stay tuned as we follow all the major developments.
Hampshire v Yorkshire (11:00 BST)
And at the Ageas Bowl, Hampshire skipper James Vince has won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Hampshire have Keith Barker and Kyle Abbott to share the new ball in this match while Mohammad Abbas waits to make a return while completing his mandatory quarantine period.
Yorkshire are without Dawid Malan on England duty but can still name a side with an international spinner in Dom Bess plus some strong campaigners in their seam attack led by Ben Coad and Matt Fisher.
Adam Lyth and George Hill open up the batting for the White Rose.
Hampshire: Joe Weatherley, Ian Holland, Tom Alsop, James Vince (capt), Nick Gubbins, Lewis McManus (wk), Liam Dawson, Keith Barker, Kyle Abbott, Mason Crane, Brad Wheal.
Yorkshire: Adam Lyth, George Hill, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Gary Ballance, Harry Brook, Dom Bess, Harry Duke (wk), Jordan Thompson, Matt Fisher, Steve Patterson (capt), Ben Coad.
Somerset v Nottinghamshire (11.00 BST)
Somerset captain Tom Abell has called correctly and has asked Nottinghamshire to bat.
The headline news for home fans is seeing Jack Leach in the side. He was called up by England for the first two Tests against India, but with Moeen Ali recalled to the side, the slow left-armer is surplus to requirements for the national team, but invaluable to his county one.
It's a different competition entirely, but Notts have to quickly get over throwing away their T20 quarter-final at home to Hampshire five days ago. But facing South African fast bowler Marchant de Lange and the evergreen Jack Brooks should see to that.
Sam Northeast makes his debut for the visitors after joining on loan from Hampshire for the remainder of the season.
Somerset: Steve Davies (wk), Tom Lammonby, Tom Abell (capt), JC Hildreth, Lewis Goldsworthy, Tom Banton, Roelof van der Merwe, Josh Davey, Jack Leach, Marchant de Lange, Jack Brooks.
Nottinghamshire: Ben Slater, Sam Northeast, Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke, Lyndon James, Steven Mullaney (capt), Tom Moores (wk), Liam Patterson-White, Brett Hutton, Luke Fletcher, Dane Paterson.
Lancashire v Warwickshire (11.00 BST)
Under grey skies at Old Trafford, Warwickshire are going to bat first after captain Will Rhodes won the toss.
The much-maligned Dominic Sibley is back to open the batting after scoring just 57 runs in two Tests and four innings against India. There is a Championship debut for Chris Benjamin, who was a revelation in The Hundred for Birmingham Phoenix. His last first-class was over two years ago for Durham University. West Indies fast bowler Chemar Holder also makes his debut with the quick having signed for the last four matches of the season.
Saqib Mahmood will lead Lancs' attack having been released by England with Mark Wood fit again, while the Red Rose can also call upon England white-ball duo Liam Livingstone - a star of The Hundred with the Phoenix - and leg-spinner Matt Parkinson.
Lancashire: Luke Wells, George Balderson, Josh Bohannon, Dane Vilas (capt), Rob Jones, Liam Livingstone, George Lavelle (wk), Danny Lamb, Tom Bailey, Saqib Mahmood, Matt Parkinson.
Warwickshire: Rob Yates, Dom Sibley, Chris Benjamin, Sam Hain, Will Rhodes (capt), Matthew Lamb, Michael Burgess (wk), Danny Briggs, Craig Miles, Liam Norwell, Chemar Holder.
We're going to be focusing most of our updates on the three matches in Division One while also dipping in to bring you notable performances in Divisions Two and Three.
So let's bring you some toss and team news for those top tier fixtures....