Summary

  • 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

Live Reporting

Adam Williams and Adam Lanigan

  1. Every ball of every match live on the BBC!

    BBC local radio

    As ever, we've got every ball of every match in the County Championship covered on the BBC Sport website and app.

    Find your match of choice by searching through the live coverage options at the top of the page.

    They'll also be coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra today between Rugby League and US Open tennis from Old Trafford of Lancashire against Warwickshire.

    You can hear that on DAB Digital Radio and the BBC Sounds app as well as at the top of this page on either your desktop, mobile or tablet.

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  2. sun

    Weather watch

    What's the weather got in store then for this opening round of the Championship's resumption?

    Overcast but dry appears to be the theme but the man with more details for this Bank Holiday Monday is the BBC Weather Centre's Simon King below.

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  3. One match missing....

    SurreyGetty Images

    You've probably noticed that Division Two is a fixture light in this round - that's because the decision was taken on Saturday to cancel Durham v Surrey.

    A positive Covid-19 result for an unnamed Surrey player plus a "significant number" of other Surrey players being deemed close contacts meant the county would not have been able to field a side for the fixture.

    The ECB will confirm how it will allocate points from the scheduled meeting at Emirates Riverside, Chester-le-Street at a later date.

  4. How many points does everyone carry forward?

    Division One:

    Warwickshire 21, Somerset 18.5, Lancashire 16.5, Hampshire 8.5, Nottinghamshire 5, Yorkshire 4.5.

    Division Two:

    Essex 19, Northants 16, Surrey 13, Gloucestershire 12, Glamorgan 11.5, Durham 4.

    Division Three:

    Worcestershire 18.5, Middlesex 13, Sussex 12, Leicestershire 11.5, Kent 11, Derbyshire 9.5.

  5. How did the teams finish in the group stage?

    So the top two in each group went into division one, third and fourth into division two and fifth and six into division three.

    group 1.
    group 2.
    group 3.

  6. This round's fixtures

    All matches start 11:00 BST

    Division One:

    Ageas Bowl: Hampshire v Yorkshire

    Old Trafford: Lancashire v Warwickshire

    Taunton: Somerset v Nottinghamshire

    Division Two:

    Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan v Essex

    Bristol: Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire

    Division Three:

    Leicester: Leicestershire v Kent

    Lord's: Middlesex v Derbyshire

    Worcester: Worcestershire v Sussex

  7. Meet the title contenders

    SkippersGetty Images

    This season's two-phased competition splits the 18 counties into three divisions of six based on their performances in the first half of the season.

    Lancashire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Hampshire, Yorkshire and Somerset are in title contention in Division One, but who will lift the trophy come the end of September?

    Ged Scott has been casting his eye over the runners and riders as well as looking at who has been among the leading performers so far this season.

    Read his full preview here.

  8. The red ball returns!

    Grace RoadRex Features

    After 47 days of white-ball domestic cricket, we're back to getting out the red balls and donning the whites again as the County Championship returns.

    Six teams are in line to win the famous Lord's Taverners Trophy come the end of September while the other 12 are effectively playing for pride.

    It's new, it's different, but essentially it's still 22 yards between two sets of stumps on a wicket and two sides going at it for the win.

    Welcome along to the return of our live text and radio coverage of the competition, play in this first day gets under way in less 20 minutes.