The UK’s wet April has continued the frustrating start to the 2024 County Championship

Nathan Lyon – Lancashire

3-110 and 2-47

After a soggy debut that barely saw any play, finally Lyon was able to send down some overs for his new side Lancashire and he was made to toil with 38.1 overs in the first innings and 27 in the second at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. His first wicket for Lancs was his long-time Sydney Sixers teammate James Vince, caught at leg slip, whom he would also dismiss in the second innings. Although the Red Roses took a first-innings lead against Hampshire, they couldn’t bowl out the hosts and the match petered out to a tame draw. 

Scott Boland – Durham

0-54

It was a county debut to forget for Boland as Warwickshire piled on the runs at Edgbaston. Durham captain Scott Borthwick chose to bowl first but the hosts hammered 3(dec)-698 with big centuries to Rob Yates (191), Alex Davies (256) and Will Rhodes (178no). The innings spanned 134 before the declaration came but Boland sent down only 13 of those, before leaving the field with a “leg niggle”. 

“Scott Boland is okay. He has a bit of a niggle in his ankle or calf, I think, but the way the scoreboard was, it was sensible for him to go off (on Friday) and get some treatment on it,” Borthwick told The Cricketer website. “There was no point in taking risks on him this time of year, especially with the situation of the game. We’ll just monitor it.” 

Cameron Bancroft – Gloucestershire

70 and 8

Fresh off another hugely successful Marsh Sheffield Shield campaign with Western Australia, Bancroft was made to wait to get stuck into the county season with Gloucestershire’s opening round fixture abandoned without a ball bowled. However a solid first-innings 70 against Yorkshire from the opener will give him plenty of confidence as the UK weather (hopefully) starts to improve. Replying to Yorkshire’s 326, Bancroft was the highest scorer in Gloucs’ first innings, and proved very content to accumulate runs in contrast to the smash-and-bash styles seen elsewhere around the country. He batted for 196 balls, hitting just three fours. 

Matthew Renshaw – Somerset

87 and 16

After a challenging end to the Australian season it’s been a strong start to the English season for Renshaw, following on his opening-round 66 with an 87 against Surrey at The Oval. The left-hander played all the strokes in his 138-ball stay against one of the better attacks in the County Championship with West Indies veteran Kemar Roach leading the way next to the quick Gus Atkinson and reliable Jamie Overton with Daniel Worrall recovering from a neck injury. Renshaw was run out 13 shy of his century after a bit of hesitation from his batting partner Tom Lammonby who, on 99, was attempting to bring up his own hundred.  

Wes Agar – Kent

1-97 and 2-47

 

10 and 6

It was tough work for the bowlers in Chelmsford as Essex piled on 530 runs at 4.73 runs an over and Kent’s new-ball bowler Agar was one of the many who had a tough time of it. He sent down 20 overs in the first innings and nine in the second, looking especially dangerous at the start of the second having first-innings centurion Dean Elgar dropped and a close lbw appeal turned down. 

Peter Handscomb – Leicestershire

51

Handscomb was one of only three Leicestershire batters to reach fifty in the first innings, hitting five boundaries in his 132-ball stay. But like his teammates, he will be kicking himself at not going big, like three of his Sussex opponents did, losing his leg stump to off-spinner Jack Carson attempting a sweep shot. Handscomb punched the ground after surveying the damage behind him, ruing the missed opportunity. 

Marcus Harris – Leicestershire

24 and 29

Handscomb’s teammate Harris meanwhile couldn’t add to his opening round 56, out twice in the 20s as the Foxes managed to hold on for a draw with a little help from the weather. Both his innings were littered with fours, with the diminutive left-hander striking at over 70 in both innings. 

Chris Tremain – Northamptonshire

0-88

Not much to report from Tremain’s outing in Northampton where an astounding 1105 runs were scored for the loss of only eight wickets across the four days. He bowled 23 overs but once it became apparent the match was heading for a draw his captain Luke Procter made the wise call to minimise the workload of his Aussie international, instead throwing the ball to his part-timers and spinners. 

Did not play

Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan) – The Australian No.3 doesn’t arrive in South Wales until May with former South Africa international Colin Ingram keeping his spot warm at Glamorgan until then.

Sean Abbott (Surrey) – The NSW allrounder is due to arrive in the UK in May.

_{Main image credit: Robbie Stephenson-@Sportsphotorob, Getty Images}

2024 Division One County Championship standings

Australians in the 2024 County Championship

Durham: Scott Boland, Ashton Turner (T20s only)

Essex: Daniel Sams (T20s only)

Glamorgan: Marnus Labuschagne

Gloucestershire: Cameron Bancroft, Beau Webster

Hampshire: Michael Neser, Ben McDermott (T20s only)

Kent: Xavier Bartlett, Wes Agar

Lancashire: Nathan Lyon

Leicestershire: Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris

Northamptonshire: Chris Tremain

Somerset: Matthew Renshaw

Surrey: Sean Abbott

Sussex: Nathan McAndrew, Daniel Hughes