Pietersen makes explosive start

Murray Goodwin guided Sussex home with an unbeaten 88 against Middlesex © Getty Images

A boundary from Phil Mustard off the last ball of the penultimate over carried Durham across the line against Northants. Dale Benkenstein struck an unbeaten 63 off 44 balls to keep Durham in touch of the asking rate with useful support from Paul Collingwood. Benkenstein had an outstanding all-round match, earlier taking 3 for 42 to keep Northants to 195.

Lancashire's seam attack put in another impressive display to crush Worcestershire by 119 runs. Tom Smith claimed three wickets in an over, while Sajid Mahmood and Kyle Hogg also impressed. Stuart Law earlier guided Lancashire close to 250 in tricky batting conditions. He timed his charge to perfection as he and Hogg hit vital late boundaries. Mal Loye gave the innings a solid base with 64 and the only down side for Lancashire was the late dislocation of Gary Keedy's finger as he attempted to stop a straight drive.

The young Nottinghamshire pair of Will Smith and Samit Patel led their team to a crushing nine-wicket win over Scotland. For the second time in two days, following yesterday's heavy loss at Edgbaston, the Scots were given a tough lesson. However, they had battled hard to approach 200, especially Ryan Watson who hit 84 but Chris Cairns' 4 for 30 troubled the middle-order.

Leicestershire had few problems getting the better of Warwickshire in a Duckworth-Lewis match at Grace Road. Darren Maddy's 52 did most of work after Jim Allenby's 4 for 17 had helped keep Warwickshire to 128 in an innings disrupted four times by rain.

Ali Brown's 64 gave Surrey just enough runs against Kent © Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen made an explosive start to the season as he and Shane Warne played key roles in a superb Hampshire victory over Essex. Pietersen blasted a flamboyant 98 off 74 balls to rescue the innings from 12 for 4. Warne chipped in with a useful 40 as Hampshire, against the odds, crossed 250. Ravinder Bopara and Andy Flower, fresh from their 339-run stand in the Championship, added 95 to keep Essex on target but Warne and Dominic Thornely ran through the tail as the pressure mounted.

Gloucestershire bounced back from yesterday's shock defeat against Ireland with a powerful 129-run win against Somerset. Ian Harvey carved 112 off 79 balls as Gloucester powered past 300. Somerset were never in hunt as wickets fell regularly and Martyn Ball helped himself to a five-wicket haul.

Surrey held on for a one-run win despite a brave chase from Kent. James Tredwell hit a late six to keep Kent in the hunt, but Jade Dernbach kept his nerve in the final over. Neil Dexter struck a fine 94 to launch Kent's chase with Darren Stevens as they added 138. However, the earlier half-centuries from Ali Brown and Jon Batty had given Surrey just enough.

Ireland couldn't quite repeat their triumph over Gloucestershire but gave Glamorgan a scare along the way. Shahid Afridi's 54 gave Ireland a chance and some gutsy lower-order hitting kept the target in sight. But Alex Wharf and Andrew Davies used their experience, bowling Ireland out in the 49th over. Mark Cosgrove had earlier made an impressive debut for Glamorgan with a 57-ball 75.

Sussex continued there impressive start to the season, chasing down 201 with five wickets to spare against Middlesex. Richard Montgomerie and Murray Goodwin added 144 for the third wicket to break the back of the target. Goodwin remained at the crease to ensure the win. In a match reduced to 40 overs, Owais Shah ahd struck a run-a-ball 82 as Middlesex set a competitive target.