Lancashire turn tables on Somerset

Lancashire produced a stirring fightback late in the day to wrest back the control of their crucial County Championship First Division encounter with Somerset at Blackpool.

Thanks to a hostile spell from James Anderson, the hosts hit back after being bowled out for 251 to reduce Somerset to 91 for 5 at the end of an eventful first day.

Richard Johnson had earlier put Somerset in control by claiming six wickets in Lancashire's below-par effort. Until Anderson's burst of 2 for 32, Johnson's 6 for 47 had given Somerset the edge in a match vital to both sides' chances of First Division survival.

Another impressive bowling performance from Devon Malcolm gave Leicestershire the upper hand on the opening day of their game with Sussex. The 39-year-old former England paceman returned figures of 5 for 38 as Sussex slipped from 103 for 2 to 215 all out.

Javagal Srinath and Darren Maddy made the most of helpful bowling conditions at Grace Road to claim two wickets apiece, while Chris Adams and Robin Martin-Jenkins were the only batsmen to offer any significant resistance with innings of 60 and 62 respectively.

Honours ended even on the opening day between relegation-contenders Hampshire and Yorkshire at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire, all out for a respectable 269 thanks to a resolute ninth-wicket stand, pegged Yorkshire back late on, removing both openers to leave the visitors on 53 for 2 at the close.

Robin Smith had pushed Hampshire along with a well-crafted half-century, but the home skipper was indebted to numbers nine and 10, Shaun Udal (40) and James Hamblin (23), who put on a vital 60 after it had looked like the hosts would struggle to get past 200.