Sam Northeast heads in the right direction as he steals the show for Glamorgan...while Ollie Robinson shows off his England credentials

Glamorgan captain Sam Northeast stole the show on the opening day of the County Championship with a superb 186 not out against Middlesex at Lord’s. 

He put on 129 for the second wicket with Billy Root, brother of England Test star Joe, and 176 for the third with Kiran Carlson. At stumps, Glamorgan had reached an imposing 370 for three after being put in to bat.

At Hove, Ollie Robinson began his early-season attempt to convince the England hierarchy of his value with a pair of lively spells for Sussex against Northamptonshire.

Robinson, who admitted he needed to ‘change the narrative that I don’t care’ after an underwhelming return to the Test team in India in February, went wicketless as the visitors closed a truncated day on 95 for two. 

But he looked sharper than he had on England duty, especially during a second burst of 5-3-5-0. Both wickets fell to West Indian Test quick Jayden Seales.

Sussex were not the only bowling side searching for breakthroughs at a time of year when seamers usually hold sway. 

With teams using the Australian Kookaburra ball for the first two rounds of four-day matches instead of the English Dukes, with its more prominent seam, runs proved easier to come by.

Worcestershire No 3 Kashif Ali scored his maiden first-class century in the Division One clash against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, and former South African Test captain Dean Elgar began his county career as Alastair Cook’s replacement at Essex with 80 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. 

He was one of five victims for compatriot Dane Paterson in a total of 244 for nine.

At Headingley, Yorkshire seamer George Hill’s three wickets included Australian opener Marcus Harris for 56 as Leicestershire made 164 for five.