The latest round of the County Championship saw Joe Root make his first appearance of the season for Yorkshire. Here's how he, and the rest of the names in and around the England Test team, fared in their respective matches.
Ben McKinney – 3 & 19
Durham chased 336 in the fourth innings to beat Lancashire by eight wickets, but McKinney contributed only 22 runs in the game. He played all around a straight delivery from James Anderson to be removed for three, before being bowled again in the second innings, this time by Balderson for 19.
Alex Lees – 8 & 10
Lees faired little better than his opening partner. An unwise leave onto middle stump off Mitchell Stanley epitomised his match.
Emilio Gay – 41 & 159*
Gay backed up his hundred against Kent with another against Lancashire. His 159 not out off 211 balls in partnership with David Bedingham who also made a century, saw his side home.
Matthew Potts – 66, 3-94 & 3-57
Potts bowled tirelessly and was rewarded for his efforts. His second innings spell, removing Josh Bohannon, Marcus Harris and Matty Hurst was pivotal. Though arguably his contribution with the bat was more decisive. He top scored for Durham in the first innings with his 11th wicket partnership of 78 with Callum Parkinson meaning they remained in touching distance, only trailing by 75.
Haseeb Hameed – 0 &115
After a duck in the first innings, Hameed and Notts recovered after being forced to follow on against Warwickshire. A first century of the season helped Notts accumulate 537-7 in their second innings to secure a draw.
Ben Duckett – 62 & 93
A solid performance from Duckett. His runs saved Notts in the first innings and consolidated their position in the second, but both of his dismissals were sloppy. The first, a loose slap to mid-off off the bowling of Rob Yates; the second a wild cut which ballooned to Chris Woakes at point off Dan Mousley.
Josh Tongue – 5-124
Tongue got his rewards for toiling on a pitch with little in it for him to exploit. He took the early wickets of Rob Yates, Dan Mousley and Sam Hain before mopping up the tail to complete his five-wicket haul.
Tom Haines – 64 & 13, 1-34
On a flat deck at Headingley, both Sussex and Yorkshire scored more than 500 in their respective first innings. Haines looked comfortable for his 64 off 77 before being caught on the crease by Dom Bess. A leading edge gave George Hill a simple caught and bowled in the second innings. He picked up the bonus wicket of Dom Bess while bowling an unusually large 16 overs as the game petered out to a draw.
James Coles – 47 & 53, 3-138
An average showing from Coles. He was able to make starts with the bat in both innings but failed to kick on. With the ball he was expensive but was able to make breakthroughs at regular intervals.
Ollie Robinson – 0-61
Much like all the bowlers, it was a challenging stint for Robinson as he went wicketless in Yorkshire’s only innings. His greatest contributions were with the bat with 40 not out in the first innings and 41 not out in the second.
Joe Root – 96
Returning to Headingley to make his County Championship debut for the season, Root’s 96 off 127 deliveries gave Yorkshire a slim lead over Sussex. However, a loose shot off Henry Crocombe meant their was no century for England’s talisman.
Asa Tribe – 24 & 67*
Sophia Gardens saw both Glamorgan and Leicestershire reach a stalemate. Tribe made a start in the first innings before being castled by Josh Hull. However, given the fourth day to bat without the pressure of a result he calmly made his way to 67 not out before the close of play.
Josh Hull – 2-84 & 0-19
Hull was expensive for his two wickets. His delivery to remove Tribe was a bright spark in an otherwise inconsistent report card. With play ebbing away in the second innings, he went wicketless in his six overs.
Shoaib Bashir – 3-116
Bashir’s was unable to remove lower order pair Henry Brookes and Will Williams, which proved costly, as Derbyshire lost be 10 wickets to Gloucestershire. While bowling with control at times, it would have been an opportunity for Bashir to demonstrate an ability to clean up the tail, albeit in April conditions. Instead, the visitors to put on 191 for the 10th wicket. He eventually got the wicket of Brookes for 89.
Jamie Smith – 5
A game where both teams scored over 400 meant Smith was asked to bat only once and, he didn't continue his good form. A dangled bat off Shane Snater meant Smith was made to watch others piled on the runs. In the process he was replaced at the top of the Division One run-scorers chart by Joe Clarke.
Ollie Pope – 69
Pope steadied the Surrey ship after they slipped to 29-2 with a tidy half century. However, a loss of concentration meant his dismissal was soft, chipping back to Jamie Porter for a simple caught and bowled.
Dan Lawrence – 125, 3-14 & 1-54
A complete all-round performance from Lawrence. His three wickets made him pick of the Surrey bowlers in the first innings, while he also top scored with the bat to give Surrey a 63 run lead after the first innings.
Gus Atkinson – 1-76 & 1-12
Atkinson couldn't make the new ball count in the first innings as the Essex opening pair put on 183. But on a pitch which provided little for the bowlers, he wasn’t alone in his struggles.
Sam Cook – 1-62
Not Cook’s finest outing. While his bowling was accurate, he failed to trouble the Surrey batters as they eclipsed Essex’s first innings total. He removed Dom Sibley for 101 for his sole wicket of the match.
Other Notable Performances
It was a case of what might have been for Glamorgan’s Mason Crane and Gloucestershire’s Will Williams, as the pair missed out maiden first class centuries. Crane reached 99 before being stumped off Ajaz Patel, while Williams was run out on 98.
Elsewhere, Ed Barnard was pick of the batters with his 165 for Warwickshire as his side notched up 459 in the first innings in their draw to Notts.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
