The second round of County Championship fixtures got underway on Friday, 10 April 2026, with live updates from around the grounds as Essex, Somerset, Surrey and Leicestershire began their latest four-day contests.
The opening exchanges brought immediate signs of life, with early wickets at more than one venue. At Old Trafford, there was a wicket that briefly escaped notice in the press box because of a frozen television feed. Luke Wells was caught well, diving to his left at third slip off Ben Aitchison, and was out for four.
That dismissal brought Josh Bohannon to the crease in his 100th first-class match, a milestone that added an extra note of significance to the innings as play moved on.
Hameed removed first ball
At another ground, Haseeb Hameed did not get the chance to settle in at all. Timm van der Gugten produced the delivery of the morning in bright sunshine, and Hameed was dismissed from the first ball he faced.
Hameed looked to work the ball into the leg side, but instead lost his leg stump. It was a sharp early breakthrough and the kind of start that can change the mood of a session before a batter has had time to take guard properly.
For Hameed, it meant the rest of the day would be spent watching from the pavilion and admiring van der Gugten’s successful opening strike.
The live coverage tracked developments across the Championship as teams settled into the second round of fixtures. The conditions, at least in some places, appeared favourable for batting in the sunshine, but the early wickets showed that bowlers were ready to make the most of the new ball too.
As the day continued, attention remained on how the remaining batters would respond to those setbacks and whether the early pressure would shape the rest of the session. With the second round just beginning, there was already enough movement to suggest another eventful day of county cricket ahead.
More updates were expected as the matches progressed.
