Zak Crawley’s summer got off to an ugly start, as the England opener was bowled through the gate, aiming a booming drive at a journeyman Australian seamer having made just one.
Unlike some England players, Crawley has gone straight into county action at the start of the Division Two season with Kent, who were invited to bat first at Northamptonshire. Crawley failed to make it past the third over, as he was castled by Liam Guthrie’s handsome inswinger, which left just one stump standing. Crawley had faced just seven balls.
Guthrie is a West Australian who plays for Queensland but has joined Darren Lehmann’s Northants on a three-year deal as a local player thanks to a British passport. He came into the season with a modest record of 50 first-class wickets at 37.8, but also picked up Daniel Bell-Drummond as Kent were bowled out for 231. Kent responded well in the evening session, picking up six Northants wickets.
Guthrie was not the first unheralded left-armer to dismiss Crawley this week. As Kent racked up 599 for seven declared in a warm-up fixture against Loughborough University, he was trapped lbw shouldering arms by Will Rogers for a duck.
A strong run of early season form in the championship would be welcome for Crawley at the start of a massive year for England’s Test team in which they play India at home and Australia away in five-match series.
In England’s last series against those two teams, Crawley was England’s most consistent batsman, with his classy response to the world’s best seamers quietening the noise about his place in the side. That noise has started to rise again, however, after a poor run of form in late 2024. Against New Zealand in December, Crawley was dismissed by Matt Henry in all six innings, making just 52 runs at an average under nine.
It will be cold comfort for Crawley that, despite his early departure, he was not the first wicket to fall of the season. That dubious honour fell to the Glamorgan opener Zain-ul-Hassan, who fell to the first ball of the second over of the match against Leicestershire, caught at slip off Ian Holland.
At least the pressure was not ramped up by the 20-year-old, six-foot-seven-inch Durham opener Ben McKinney, who had a fine winter with England Lions, but made just five against Nottinghamshire. Later in the day, McKinney’s team-mate Colin Ackermann became this summer’s first centurion as Durham racked up 369 for nine.
In the Notts attack was Josh Tongue, making his belated debut for the county he joined ahead of the 2024 season, picking up two relatively dear Durham wickets. England’s selectors, who were at Trent Bridge, have high hopes for Tongue, who made an impressive start in Test cricket in 2023, but has been injured since. Alas, another England and Nottinghamshire fast bowler plagued by injury is Olly Stone, who will be out until mid-summer following surgery on his knee.
There was better news for England at Chelmsford, where Jordan Cox – who was denied a Test debut as wicketkeeper in New Zealand by injury – made an outstanding fifth championship century in 12 matches since trading his native Kent for Essex. This one was against the three-time champions Surrey, who were without their Australia spearhead Dan Worrall for undisclosed reasons.
Equally encouraging were the performances of the Lions’ Kasey Aldridge, who took a brilliant five for 36, and Tom Banton (84*), who helped Somerset take charge against Worcestershire.
The promoted sides endured mixed fortunes on their return to Division One. Sussex enjoyed a strong start, with Tom Clark and John Simpson making hundreds in their 386 for five at Edgbaston, but Jonny Bairstow’s Yorkshire endured a tricky time, bowled out for 121 by Hampshire. Bairstow became England prospect Sonny Baker’s maiden Championship scalp, but as ever it was Kyle Abbott and Liam Dawson who did the most damage, sharing three wickets apiece.
It was a better day for Yorkshire’s relegated rivals Lancashire, who limited Middlesex to just 260, having been 215 for three thanks to sharp bowling from Tom Aspinwall and excellent keeping, standing up to seamers, from Matty Hurst. As well as James Anderson, Lancashire were without Rocky Flintoff, the 16-year-old son of England Lions coach Andrew, who is facing a spell on the sidelines with a “lumbar stress reaction”.
