All six teams of Group 1 were in action on Day 1 in the tenth round of the County Championship 2021. Let us have a look at how it went for them.
Worcestershire v Warwickshire, New Road
Warwickshire 245/4 (Malan 141; Baker 1-35) vs Worcestershire
Pieter Malan (141) and Dom Sibley (80) forged a 220-run second-wicket stand to help Warwickshire dominate Worcestershire on Day 1 at New Road.
After losing Robert Yates to the fifth ball of the day, Malan made 141 before falling to Ish Sodhi (1-51). It was Malan’s first century for Warwickshire, and also his first outside South Africa.
However, Worcestershire came back into the contest by taking three quick wickets in the final session before rain washed out the last 12.2 overs of play. Warwickshire closed on 245/4.
Durham v Nottinghamshire, Chester-le-Street
Nottinghamshire 312/9 (Patterson-White 66*; Raine 3-54) vs Durham
Liam Patterson-White hit his third First-class half-century on Day 1 during Nottinghamshire’s County Championship fixture against Durham at Chester-le-Street. He is still in the middle with an unbeaten 103-ball 66, laced with 11 fours.
Ben Slater (60) and Joe Clarke (48) had shared a 71-run stand for the third wicket after Durham asked them to bat. Steven Mullaney (39), too, looked solid in the middle before Ben Raine (3-54) got him. The Durham bowlers then picked up wickets in the regular intervals before Nottinghamshire finishing on 312/9.
Derbyshire vs Essex, Derby
Derbyshire 146 (Du Plooy 43; Snater 3-45) lead Essex 86/3 (A Cook 30; Hudson-Prentice 2-24) by 60 runs.
Essex bowled Derbyshire for 146 on Day 1 at Derby. They then reached 86/3 at stumps, trailing by 60 runs.
James Neesham (2-15), Jamie Porter (2-31), Sam Cook (2-36), Shane Snater (3-45) and Simon Harmer (1-13) were all among the wickets to rattle Derbyshire after they opted to bat. Leus du Plooy top-scored for Durham with 43.
Alastair Cook (30) and Nick Browne (28*) got Essex off to a decent start before Luis Reece (1-11) bowled Cook. Fynn Hudson-Prentice (2-24) then struck twice in quick succession to stage a late comeback for Derbyshire. Neesham (10*) and Browne batted through the final stage of the day to ensure no further damage for Essex.