The key takeaways from the opening round of the County Championships

It was an absorbing start to the new English domestic season as red-ball cricket made its highly-anticipated return, with wins for Essex and Sussex in Division One, whilst Middlesex put down an early marker in Division Two.

There were five draws, some more gripping than others, but nevertheless a number of fascinating performances to digest, both from a domestic and England perspective.

We take a look at the major headlines to emerge from the first round of action.

For exclusive stories and all the detailed cricket news you need, subscribe to The Cricket Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day

FOLLOW OUR LIVE SCORES CENTRE

A chastening start to life in Division One for the Foxes

Leicestershire endured a sobering experience on their long-awaited return to the top flight as the Foxes slipped to a 222-run defeat at the hands of Sussex at Grace Road.

After inserting the visitors into bat, Leicestershire’s quicks struggled to contain an aggressive Sussex top order in the morning session, with debutant Yadvinder Singh proving to be expensive with the new ball.

A total of 361 represented a solid comeback from 222-3, but the hosts were soon on the back foot when they collapsed from 117-2 to 154-7.

Australia Test opener Jake Weatherald’s fluent 83 on his first appearance in county cricket proved a standalone effort.

Ben Cox and Ben Green ensured the follow-on target was passed, but the first innings deficit stood at 116.

A seventh-wicket stand of 119 between Jack Carson and Tom Price denied any hopes of a Leicestershire fightback and propelled Sussex’s lead into insurmountable territory, with the hosts eventually set a mammoth target of 481.

That proved to be way out of Leicestershire’s reach, who were bowled out for 258 early in the afternoon session on day four, with Stephen Eskinazi and Ben Cox’s 103-run partnership the only sign of resistance.

A reality check for Leicestershire if they needed a reminder of the challenge ahead, particularly after losing captain Peter Handscomb and suffering injuries to frontline bowlers, with the small matter of a trip to the Kia Oval to come next.

As for cash-strapped Sussex, this was the perfect start to the season as they immediately wiped out the 12-point deduction for their off-field financial situation and climbed out of the bottom two at the first opportunity.

New season, same problems for Hampshire

Hampshire were handed a lifeline on the final day of the 2025 season, braced for Division Two cricket before Durham’s staggering capitulation left them sitting just one point above the dotted line when the dust settled.

Any hopes of a fresh start and making the most of their narrow escape were put on hold, though, by an alarming innings defeat inside three days at home to Essex to start the new season.

Opting to field first, Kyle Abbott struck with the fourth ball of the game, but that was about as good as it got for the hosts, who were put to the sword by Matt Critchley’s stunning First-Class career best knock of 173, anchoring the visitors to a score of 461-7 declared.

Hampshire’s top order was then blown away by Essex’s probing seam attack, slumping to 65-7 with new signing Jake Lehmann the only batter in the top seven to reach double figures.

Domingo handed stark reality check

A tail wag got Hampshire to 156, but they were kindly asked to have another go by stand-in Essex captain Sam Cook, which proved not to go much better.

Nick Gubbins and Tom Prest managed to set a platform, but wickets were soon tumbling again as the hosts crumbled miserably to lose nine wickets for just 83 runs, with star performer Critchley doing the damage with the ball to end with remarkable figures of 5-9 to swiftly wrap up victory by a huge margin of an innings and 137 runs.

Hampshire accrued just 12 batting points in 2025 – the joint fewest in the division – and those problems appear to be resurfacing as new head coach Russell Domingo learned of the task at hand to turn the tide for a young but underperforming red-ball outfit.

Northamptonshire and Worcestershire hold firm

The scenes at Wantage Road yesterday evening were one that all county cricket fans have been missing over the winter months – the sight of every fielder crowding the bat in search of a final wicket as the final stages tick away ball-by-ball.

It proved to be a heroic rearguard effort by the Northants lower order as they thwarted Lancashire to earn an unlikely draw.

A vintage bowling display by 43-year-old Lancashire skipper James Anderson had put the visitors on the cusp of an opening victory, but a defiant George Bartlett led the way with an unbeaten 95 off 197 balls, ably supported by wicketkeeper Lewis McManus (27 off 116) in an eighth-wicket partnership lasting nearly 32 overs.

The Northants top order failed on both occasions, slipping to 41-5 in the first innings and 50-6 the second time around, though ultimately benefitted from naming an XI which had Louis Kimber carded at no.9 in the batting order.

From a precarious position at lunch, Northants were in touching distance of salvaging a draw until Anderson struck in consecutive overs – claiming his eighth wicket of the match – to leave 93 balls for Bartlett and Ben Sanderson (4* off 35) to steer their side to safety, with Sanderson surviving a costly drop in the slips.

Pears salvage a spirited draw

There was a similar story at Derby – though not quite as dramatic – as Worcestershire salvaged a spirited draw, despite being dominated by a Derbyshire side who reinforced pre-season optimism with a strong display.

Worcestershire were tasked with batting throughout the final day, following on after Martin Andersson’s career best 228 saw the hosts pile up 625-8 declared, and it could not have got off to a worse start as Kashif Ali was dismissed by Mohammad Abbas from the very first ball.

At 185-6 with still a session and a half to play, the Pears needed a substantial stand, and they got just that with Ethan Brookes (34 off 123) and Matthew Waite (66* off 141) taking the sting out of the hosts’ momentum to add 87 in 36.1 overs.

Tom Taylor (23* off 44) completed the job alongside Waite as the players shook hands, in scenes somewhat reminiscent of Worcestershire’s opener 12 months ago, where Waite also played a starring role to salvage an unthinkable draw at Somerset – though the 120 overs here appear light work in comparison to the marathon 200 overs on that occasion.

READ MORE Spotlight on the County Championship – just as it should be