Essex launched a fine recovery to leave themselves slight favourites to beat Kent in their County Championship Division Two duel at Chelmsford

A sizeable crowd had turned up at The Swalec Stadium to see Kevin Pietersen's return to first-class cricket in his bid to regain his place in England's Test team, but instead they were treated to fine hundreds from Kumar Sangakkara and Steven Davies

Alviro Petersen erased the memory of his previous visit to Derby with an accomplished century that revived Lancashire's fortunes on the opening day

Essex and Kent found themselves locked in an intriguing duel as they battled for supremacy on the opening day of their Division Two clash at Chelmsford

Fast bowler Boyd Rankin seized a career-best 6 for 75 as Warwickshire and Hampshire exchanged blows on a fascinating opening day at Edgbaston

Mark Wallace and Niall O'Brien both took county records from a stalemate at Grace Road

Middlesex's eighth-wicket pair of James Harris and Tim Murtagh held out for 19 overs to deny Nottinghamshire victory at Lord's

Chris Dent hit an unbeaten century as the Gloucestershire opener batted throughout the final day to help his side secure a draw in the LV= County Championship Division Two match at Northamptonshire

Seam bowler Matt Hobden and part-time spinner Luke Wells mopped up the Hampshire tail to give Sussex a 92-run win after Hampshire gave them a scare at the Ageas Bowl