Batsmen may have prospered in Division One but it was the bowlers who shone in the lower echelon as the opening day brought its first five-wicket haul.
Tom Taylor was the man to get his season off with a bang as Leicestershire opened in splendid fashion against Sussex.
Wickets also tumbled in Derby – where a scalp fell in the first ball of the season – while promotion favourites Middlesex were also given a tough test against Northants.
Here’s the best of the action from the opening day.
Stumps, Day 1: Leicestershire 131-5 (Hill 40*; Hamza 3-36) trail Sussex 173 (Wiese 51; Taylor 6-47) by 42 runs, at Hove
An unbeaten partnership of 72 between Harry Dearden (26*) and Lewis Hill ensured that Leicestershire head into day two with the slight upper hand on the south coast.
5 – @TomTaylor43 (@leicsccc) is the first bowler to take a five-wicket haul in the 2019 @CountyChamp campaign. Start. pic.twitter.com/AkY2eKkbqg
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) April 5, 2019
But it was a performance earlier in the day that grabbed the headlines, Tom Taylor taking career-best figures of 6-47 to help bundle Sussex out for less than 200, David Wiese’s 51 the only score of note.
Leicestershire were then left reeling at 59-5 in a 15-wicket day before Dearden and Hill came together to steady the ship.
Stumps, Day 1: Northamptonshire 310-6 (Wakely 76, Rossington 67; Murtagh 4-43) v Middlesex, at the County Ground
Skipper Alex Wakely led the way as his side began the season in a steady fashion against promotion hopefuls, Middlesex.
.@RicardoVasco27 can now boast the honour of scoring the first run of a County Championship season as he found the cover boundary in the first over. pic.twitter.com/TU6rQhmnFp
— NCCC (@NorthantsCCC) April 5, 2019
Middlesex may have regretted their decision to bowl first as they only collected two wickets in the first session, though Tim Murtagh picked up four in the day.
Most batsman chipped in with good contributions without kicking on to gain a big score to really put their side in a strong position, new signing Jason Holder finishing the day 36 not out.
Stumps, Day 1: Durham 41-3 (Reece 2-15) trail Derbyshire 197 (Hosein 78; Raine 3-48) by 156 runs
Play got underway in exhilarating fashion as Chris Rushworth claimed two wickets within the first three balls of the season.
They were Rushworth’s only victims, however, despite bowling with great skill and discipline as Ben Raine finished with 3-48.
SEASON 2019:
— Durham Cricket 🏏 (@DurhamCricket) 5 April 2019
THREE BALLS
TWO WICKETS pic.twitter.com/eWk6lQ3mwF
Harvey Hosein dug his side out of a hole somewhat with a very respectable 78 before Luis Reece made up for his earlier golden duck with two late scalps.
Honours just about even you would think heading into the second day.
