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Grey and blustery at Canterbury where Warwickshire will resume this morning just 16 runs behind Kent's below-par total.

Leading scorer Sam Hain is 29 not out while opener Rob Yates is still there on 53 from 171 balls, an innings in stark contrast but no less crucial than Grant Stewart's swashbuckling 37-ball half-century for Kent which helped them add 76 for their final two wickets and avoid an even bigger first-innings deficit.

Bears won't be concerned by the scoreboard today, you'd imagine, they'll be focused on batting through the day, which you'd think might give them a sniff of an innings win to keep the pressure on at the top of Division One.

Warwickshire paceman Oliver Hannon-Dalby took 4-56 and admitted that he and fellow Bears frontline fast bowler Chris Rushworh (2-19) were surprised at the ease with which they bowled out Kent yesterday.

He told BBC Radio WM: “Both me and Rushy thought ‘Oh, Jesus, there’s not a lot of pace in this.’ We thought it was pretty flat to be honest so to bowl them out for 171, we’re delighted.

"We got a few soft ones and we had a nice run-out, someone was caught on the hook as well so it’s nice when you get wickets like that. But to get them for 170 on a wicket like this, which is a pretty flat pitch, we’re really happy with it."

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Prodigious talent James Rew has another century in his sights after finishing a rain-interrupted opening day at Taunton on 77 not out.

The 19-year-old Somerset batter has already reached three figures four times this season and is the only player in either division to have passed 800 runs.

“I try not to look too much at statistics, but the lads have been joking about it in the changing room. I just try to take every innings as it comes," he said.

Hampshire paceman Kyle Abbott celebrated his recent marriage with 4-20 and said: "The advantage of not playing white ball cricket is that it gives you an opportunity to sneak in a wedding.”

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Northamptonshire head coach John Sadler hailed a "connoisseur’s day of county cricket" despite seeing his side bowled out for 219 by Middlesex at Merchant Taylors' School.

The visitors failed to add to their single batting point earned in the Championship this season, with Saif Zaib's 49 their highest score.

"I thought they bowled nicely and we applied ourselves brilliantly to be honest," said Sadler.

“Middlesex have given us a hint of what’s required [with the ball]. They were very patient. We’ll take a leaf out of their book, dry the scoreboard up and challenge the stumps.”

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Notts head coach Peter Moores is hoping the fitness issues affecting leading wicket-taker Brett Hutton on day one at The Oval will not prevent him playing a part in the remainder of the game.

With the team having already lost Jake Ball (abdominal strain) after bowling only five overs, Hutton went off with what appeared to be a hamstring problem and his return to the field later on lasted one delivery.

“We’re hoping that it’s just cramp – I don’t know if it’s the soft outfield but he kept getting cramp out there," said Moores at close of play.

"Hopefully a good night’s sleep and he’ll be OK for the morning and he can crack on.”

Looks like another unsettled day ahead - indeed 'unsettled' is exactly the word used by BBC Weather in their forecast summary.

Let's hope that if wet weather affects our matches, it will only be showery and not persistent.

Actually, Carol Kirkwood can put it much better than we can.....

Division One

Kent 171 v Warwickshire 155-2

Lancashire v Essex 12-1

Middlesex 23-0 v Northamptonshire 219

Somerset 196-5 v Hampshire

Surrey 339-8 v Nottinghamshire

Division Two

Durham v Gloucestershire 280-6

Glamorgan v Leicestershire - no play possible on day one

Sussex 376-7 v Derbyshire

Worcestershire v Yorkshire 154-0

In a 2022 Guardian article about his play Stumped,, external Shomit Dutta said audiences could expect "a conflict between two characters....in a situation that can shift quickly from attack to defence."

With a full complement of games in the latest round of the County Championship, we can - rain permitting - offer conflict between 198 characters (9 x 22 for any arithmeticians with us early) and hopefully plenty of drama as well.

Welcome to our coverage of day two. Play starts at 11:00.

Image source, Rex Features