County cricket: Northants v Hampshire, Kent v Essex, and more on day two – live | Cricket

To everyone celebrating. So many social media posts online from cricket clubs in the UK, which is nice to see.

It was largely a day for batting in Division One, with the sun out at most grounds. Ben Duckett continued to ooze form, cantering to his first Championship century of the season as Nottinghamshire built a steady platform against Middlesex despite a middle-order wobble. Haseeb Hameed made a brisk 55, chock- a-block with boundaries.

Hampshire’s Nick Gubbins, fresh from a half-century against Surrey in a losing cause, joined James Vince in a third-wicket partnership of 198. Both scored centuries, Vince still there at the end, Northamptonshire rueing enough dropped catches to make a large coronation quiche. Bad light and rain brought an early close at Canterbury, where Nick Browne and Tom Westley made half-centuries for Essex against Kent.

Somerset’s batters defied the pessimists by schlepping from 80 for 4 to 311 for four thanks to twin centuries from Tom Abell and 19-year old James Rew, against a Lancashire attack including Jimmy Anderson and Saqib Mahmood – who bowled 18 overs in his return to four-day cricket after last year’s stress fracture.

In Division Two, some rebuilding by Tom Alsop, who fell just five runs short of his century, and a snappy innings from Oli Carter – including two successive boundaries off a peroxided Dom Bess – gave Sussex heart against a disciplined Yorkshire.

Marnus Labuschagne made his return to what he calls his second home, snatching two catches and taking two wickets as Durham charged to 382-6 at Glamorgan. There were also half centuries for Michael Jones, Scott Borthwick, Brydon Carse and Ollie Robinson.

The county season is just three weeks young and yet Tom Price may have already produced the performance of the summer, his maiden first-class century and a hat-trick on the same day sparking Gloucestershire’s revival away at Worcestershire.

Just the first of these dual feats would have been headline-grabbing on its own, such was the mire Price found himself in before lunch. Strolling out at No 9 with his team having subsided to 45 for seven, the 23-year-old produced an innings straight from the pages of Alexandre Dumas as a 98-ball 109 propelled the visitors to 231 all out.

But that punchy counter-attack of 12 crisp fours and three larruped sixes was only half the story in front of the old cathedral at New Road. Price’s second spell with the ball sent Azhar Ali, Jack Haynes and Brett D’Oliveira packing in the space of three teasing deliveries, each one edged into the gloves of James Bracey behind the stumps.

Having later added the wicket of Ed Pollock to his stash, caught by Bracey once again, as Worcestershire closed on 118 for seven in reply, Price beamed: “The three I got out are fantastic batters. I’ll wake up in five minutes. It’s like a dream.”

This was in fact the second hat-trick of Price’s fledgling career but just the 17th time in history a player has scored a hundred in the same first-class match. Gloucestershire supporters of a certain age will remember the great Mike Procter having twice achieved this rare double for the county back in the 1970s, similarly James Franklin in 2009.

DIVISION ONE

Canterbury: Kent v Essex 164-1

Lord’s: Middlesex v Nottinghamshire 252-5

The County Ground: Northamptonshire v Hampshire 287-4

Taunton: Somerset 311-4 v Lancashire

DIVISION TWO

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan v Durham 382-6

Hove: Sussex 275-5 v Yorkshire

New Road: Worcestershire 118-7 v Gloucestershire 231

Hello! Wishing us all a day like Tom Price had yesterday.

But after the fireworks and sunshine, what do we have in store today? Worse weather, unfortunately – rain and showers plonked like a great dirty jumper over most of central England, though things look a bit better later on. Time, maybe, for the bowlers to hit back after six centuries yesterday – to Duckett, Abell, Rew, Gubbins, Vince and, of course, Price.