Glamorgan have so far managed to avoid further damage since lunch and are 89-7 against Middlesex, with Chris Cooke 31 not out.

Nottinghamshire spinner has had Keegan Petersen lbw for five and Durham are 106-3 at the Riverside.

Derbyshire are still waiting for their first post-lunch breakthrough at Leicester, where the home side are 70-4 in the 34th over.

A couple of fours by skipper Brett D'Oliveira and Worcestershire are 132-3 against Sussex, with Azhar Ali 20 not out.

for Marcus Harrispublished at 13:59 British Summer Time 21 April 2022

13:59 BST 21 April 2022

Lancs v Glos 112-0

Image source, Getty Images

Marcus Harris follows his opening partner to fifty with an imperious drive on the up through cover-point.

95 balls, seven fours and that six off Matt Parkinson.

Old Trafford perhaps the closest thing we can rustle up to resemble an Australian wicket so Harris might feel at home here.

Saying that, the season he had last year for Leicestershire suggests British wickets are no bother for him.

Or maybe it's the British bowlers, discuss...

Not much pace there for Reece Topley and Matt Renshaw helps the ball on its way to the square leg boundary. Somerset's Australian batter progresses to 42 not out and Tom Abell (see 1:51 entry) is on 19.

for Chris Dentpublished at 13:53 British Summer Time 21 April 2022

13:53 BST 21 April 2022

Lancs v Glos 108-0

Fifty for the former Gloucestershire captain with a nudge behind square for two of Saqib Mahmood.

Injured last week but back in the side here and follows up his second-innings half-century at Northampton.

This one in 106 balls with seven fours.

Lesson 1 - the cover drive

Perfect technique by Somerset's Tom Abell

*it hasn't changed since my copy of 'Mike Smith's Better Cricket For Boys' was published.

Image source, Rex Features

The Kent total reaches three figures in the second over after lunch at Canterbury as Daniel Bell-Drummond drives Kyle Abbott to mid-off for a single. He is 63 not out and Ben Compton has 27.

Paul Newton
BBC Essex sport

After the early losses of openers Nick Browne and Alastair Cook, Essex recovered through a half century partnership between skipper Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence.

The latter struck five awesome boundaries off Rhodes which would have impressed the England selectors, if only they existed!

Edward Seabourne
BBC Radio Bristol commentator

Graeme van Buuren called correctly for the first time this season, and his opening combination of Marcus Harris and Chris Dent have more than backed up his decision to bat first on a magnificent sunny day, and a pitch that looked as if it had runs in it from the moment you clapped eyes on it.

What problems there were this morning were mostly caused by Saqib Mahmood, who bowled accurately, with pace and just enough movement to cause difficulties.

An excellent morning for Gloucestershire, but with the likes of James Anderson and Hassan Ali looking to bounce back after lunch, nothing will be taken for granted yet!

Adrian Harms
BBC Sussex

A thoroughly entertaining morning at Worcester, with the home side racing to 85 without loss, led by Ed Pollock who smashed 77 off just 74 balls with 14 fours and a six.

However the introduction of Tom Haines changed the game as he removed Jake Libby courtesy of a brilliant catch at first slip by Tom Alsop, and then Pollock who was also very well caught by Tom Clark at backward point

Jack Haynes fell cheaply playing a loose chip to midwicket, and honours are about even at the interval.

Image source, Adrian Harms

Anthony Gibson
BBC Radio Somerset

A slow, steady, but, by Somerset's recent standards, very satisfactory morning with the bat for Tom Abell's less than merry men.

Tom Lammonby was out after half an hour with just 12 on the board, but since then, Matt Renshaw and Tom Abell have made relatively untroubled progress on a good pitch against a Surrey attack which includes Jamie Overton, no doubt anxious to make his mark against his former county.

When he reached 15, Tom Abell completed 5000 runs in first-class cricket, and he'll be hungry for many more on a day made for batting.

Division One

Kent 97-1 v Hampshire

Lancashire v Gloucestershire 101-0

Northamptonshire v Yorkshire 110-3

Surrey v Somerset 62-1

Warwickshire v Essex 88-2

Division Two

Durham 96-2 v Nottinghamshire

Glamorgan 71-7 v Middlesex

Leicestershire 68-4 v Derbyshire

Worcestershire 118-3 v Sussex

Job done - so far - by Somerset, who have yet to post a substantial total in this season's County Championship.

They lost Tom Lammonby early, but Australian Matt Renshaw has made 34 not out and skipper Tom Abell has 18, adding exactly 50 so far after Abell collected a single off Will Jacks' final ball before the interval.

Surrey have tried six bowlers so far, with Sam Curran sending down six overs at a cost of just nine runs in his first game following a lengthy injury break.

A single each for Dan Lawrence and Tom Westley bring up a 50 partnership in the final over before lunch at Edgbaston,

The two right-handers came together when Sir Alastair Cook was lbw to Will Rhodes for 23 and Westley is 36 not out with Lawrence on 27.

Warwickshire's other wicket was taken by Oliver Hannon-Dalby, who had Nick Browne caught behind in the fifth over of the day.

Dawid Malan leading the Yorkshire fightback after winning the toss.

He went to fifty with consecutive boundaries off Simon Kerrigan in the over before lunch and goes to the break on 56.

He and Harry Brook, 35, have moved the score from 22-3 after Gareth Berg's early triple.

Ffion Wynne
BBC Radio Wales

It's fair to say the morning session has belonged to Middlesex here at Sophia Gardens.

Two wickets each for Shaheen Shah Afridi and Toby Roland-Jones, one for Tom Helm and Martin Andersson, plus the calamitous run out of captain David Lloyd has left Glamorgan in tatters.

The pitch doesn't seem to be doing anything dramatic, there's some decent swing but it's certainly not a 71-7 day.

It's going to take something pretty special from Glamorgan to recover from here.

Daniel Bell-Drummond reaches a 78-ball half-century - his first of the season - with a late cut for four off Mason Crane in the final over before lunch at the Spitfire Ground.

He follows that by putting away a couple of short balls to take his boundary tally up to 12 and ends a highly satisfactory morning for Kent on 61 not out.

Ben Compton is unbeaten on 26 and together they have added 84 in 27 overs since Zak Crawley fell to Mohammad Abbas for seven.

What a morning for Gloucestershire.

It's been a tough start to the season after a draw at Northampton and defeat at home to Yorkshire - with only two batting points in the process.

But they've won the toss at Old Trafford and enjoyed a wonderful session.

Chris Dent's boundary off the final delivery raising the hundred.

He lunches on 46 with Marcus Harris on the same tally.

No joy for James Anderson (7-1-21-0) on his return with Hasan Ali and Saqib Mahmood also kept at bay.

From Jack Atkins: "If Ben Compton continues his current run of form (especially as an opener!), surely the conversation has to be how can he be left out of the first test against NZ? #bbccricket, external"

*May depend whether Rob Key wants his openers to be dashers or not.

Somerset skipper Tom Abell has passed 5,000 first-class runs this morning, but he will be far more concerned with continuing to build this partnership with Matt Renshaw at the Oval.

Renshaw collects a single followed by two off Jordan Clark to move to 29 not out and Abell is 16 not out.