The opening round of the County Championship season is at an end with the English summer underway in unseasonable April warmth.
Hampshire made a strong start under new captain Ben Brown as they wrapped up an impressive win over Yorkshire inside three days, while Nottinghamshire produced an all-round performance of real steel to grind down Division One dark horses Durham.
Defending champions Surrey survived a scare to escape Chelmsford with a draw, and Worcestershire showed real resolve to bat out the final five sessions and deny Somerset a victory nine-down at the close.
In Division Two, meanwhile, there was a strong start for Adam Hollioake’s Kent and rare wins for Derbyshire and Leicestershire.
Here are five England hopefuls who impressed in the first round of action:
Tom Banton, Somerset
A record-breaking score of 371 represented a perfect start to the season for Banton, picking up where he left off after a strong 2024 campaign as he compiled the highest-ever first-class tally by a Somerset batter. While the ease with which the runs came will only heighten concerns over Worcestershire’s attack, the 26-year-old displayed his range of stroke-making throughout, transferring pressure effectively having come in with his side precariously poised at 39-3.
Banton spoke well in the winter of how he had perhaps not been ready for his first England opportunity, and how comparisons with Kevin Pietersen did not necessarily help a player still very much developing his game. Having forced his way back into the international white-ball side after an eye-catching winter of franchise action, it would not be at all a surprise if Brendon McCullum is also tempted by Banton’s red-ball returns at some point this year.
Sonny Baker, Hampshire
Few English players enjoyed a better winter than Baker, whose standing has grown and grown since agreeing to switch Somerset for Hampshire. His first taste of action for his new county came at the Global Super League in Guyana late last year, where the 22-year-old was up in excess of 90mph regularly. Strong showings subsequently with the England Lions have earned him a development contract after impressing Andrew Flintoff.
The figures from his first County Championship fixture in Hampshire whites do not necessarily jump off the page (1-17 & 2-58) but Baker showed off his skillset in cleaning up a set Jonny Bairstow for 56 with prodigious inward movement, before rocketing one through the defences of George Hill three balls later to throw Yorkshire’s rearguard effort off course. An obsessive about his own improvement and the game more generally, Baker’s development could be fascinating this summer.
Ben Foakes, Surrey
The wicketkeeper may have conceded recently that he feels his England days are behind him but a player that the national team never quite got the best out of with the bat continues to be a vital middle-order stabiliser for the defending champions. Surrey still ended up in real strife at Chelmsford having elected to omit Dan Worrall, yet would have been destined for defeat if not for an unbeaten 92 from Foakes in the first innings. Other keepers may now be above him in a pecking order headed by teammate Jamie Smith, but Foakes, who added a resolute half-century in the second dig, remains the best pure gloveman in the county game.
Jordan Cox, Essex
One of those perhaps having leapfrogged Foakes is Cox. Perhaps, in time, the fractured thumb suffered by the wicketkeeper down in New Zealand may come to be seen as one of English cricket’s sliding doors moments, given it opened an opportunity at No 3 that Jacob Bethell seized with Ollie Pope shifted down the order. With Smith back from paternity leave, Cox is probably pushing for a position as a deputy at best but his versatility - having opened in the past for Kent - is an asset. A very good opening-round hundred from No 4 follows a 2024 in which he averaged north of 65.
Josh Tongue, Nottinghamshire
Something of a forgotten figure in England’s pace shake-up after a year in which he endured yet more injury hell, it is pleasing to see Tongue back on the paddock and working up to a gallop again. A second-innings five-for burst the game open for Nottinghamshire against Durham at Trent Bridge, with Tongue striking four times in 12 balls just as Durham looked to be edging nearer and nearer to a draw. That each dismissal brought the stumps into play - two bowled, two LBW - showed the skill and awkward angle he possesses: keeping him fit and firing could be key for Notts if they are to build on a fine opening win.
