10.45am Glorious morning, writes Andy Wilson at Old Trafford. Lancs win toss and bat against Durham, raising the possibility of Steve Harmison bowling to Andrew Flintoff later today - and plenty of banter, presumably, about speed guns.
Plenty of team news - Durham are without Graham Onions (with England Lions), Liam Plunkett (injured), captain Dale Benkenstein (back in South Africa with his pregnant wife) and their other South African Neil McKenzie (attending a wedding in faraway, er, Liverpool apparently). Mitch Claydon preferred to Neil Killeen in a seam attack also including Harmison and Mark Davies - not bad, but it doesn't sound quite the same without Ottis Gibson. As I write Harmison is on the square loosening up gently - be fascinating to see how he performs on his favourite ground.
As for Lancs, former captain Mark Chilton is recalled to open with Paul Horton, because Iain Sutcliffe is injured. Mohammad Yousuf makes his championship debut in the middle order in place of IPL defector Brad Hodge, and Kyle Hogg is selected ahead of Glen Chapple, who has apparently being struggling with a vague niggle.
Midday Extraordinary scenes at Taunton, writes Andy Bull, all grumpy and hot at his desk in GU Towers, where James Tomlinson, a man who has picked up 51 first class wickets at an average of 47 (!) over the last six years is tearing Somerset a new one. Until Somerset lost a one-day game to Glamorgan last weekend they were unbeaten this season, but the Championship title talk which that start prompted from wildly over-optimistic West Countrymen such as myself is already beginning to taste a little ashy in the mouth.
The trauma from this could be drastic: Somerset lost the toss and were put in to bat. Ten overs later they are 25-6, with Tomlinson having taken every wicket to fall: Trescothick 11, Edwards 5, Langer 0, Hildreth 0, de Bruyn 3, Trego 0. Oh Jeez, this is cruel. All my hopes had been put on the Western-Super-Mare wideboy Peter Trego to rally the innings. Too late. Now Ian Blackwell - who has been in fine form with the bat this year - and the young, much-hyped, 'keeper Craig Kieswetter are together desperately trying to scoop water out of the sinking ship. Bah.
12.15pm Harmison has just come off after nine overs, writes Andy Wilson, in which he generated considerable pace and bounce on the sort of track he has come to expect from his favourite groundsman, Peter Marron.
He only took one wicket, and that came from one of his less impressive balls, as Paul Horton slashed loosely at a long hop and edged a catch to Paul Collingwood at first slip. But he looked thoroughly unpleasant to face, firing plenty of balls at various batsmen's ribs aiming for catches to short leg or leg gully, and also showed the occasional glimpse of intelligence, greeting Mohammad Yousuf with a leg-stump yorker which the Pakistani had the class to push through mid-on.
Horton's wicket was one of three that fell in six overs as Lancs stumbled to 52 for three. The consistently impressive and underrated (including by me about an hour ago) Mark Davies took the other two wickets, with Chilton pushing too firmly at a short ball and edging to second slip, and Yousuf helpless against a ball that lifted viciously and left him. No easy runs here for Flintoff, who is due in next.
2pm Blink and you'll miss him, writes Any Wilson. No, that's not a comment on Andrew Flintoff's driving, which has received plenty of publicity this week, but his batting form - or rather lack of it. He's just gone for another golden duck - his second in consecutive championship innings, both at Old Trafford. He was caught behind off Somerset's Peter Trego two weeks ago, and today hung his bat out at a short ball from Durham seamer Mark Davies, edging an easy catch to Paul Collingwood at first slip. Unless Flintoff finally manages some runs in the second innings, England will effectively be considering him as a specialist bowler.
Davies had also tempted Mal Loye into a loose steer to gully, and although Luke Sutton survived the hat-trick ball, he edged the next one to Mustard. Three in four for him, making it five for the innings, and Lancashire in a mess again at 93 for six.
2.05pm I know I'm meant to be watching the cricket, but I can't stop looking at the ground, writes David Hopps at a new-look Trent Bridge. All over England, it seems, Test grounds are expanding as the ECB encourages fierce competition between the counties, and Trent Bridge has grown in typically distinctive fashion to raise its capacity by 2,000 to more than 17,000.
Notts have also become the first county to erect permanent floodlights, which at the moment can claim to be the most powerful in English cricket. They are rather dinky and look disturbingly like circular fly swats. Surprisingly, the architect who designed the Fox Road stand to such acclaim a few years ago has chosen a different roof design for the stand on the Bridgford Road side of the ground. That's modern architects for you - they can't settle for more than a minute. It has a steeply curving roof and ten large triangular windows.
It is currently unnamed while Notts chase a sponsor. I fear that I am becoming more of a traditionalist with every passing day and would prefer it just to be called the Randall Stand; one of England's finest-ever cover fielders just has a fairly dingy room named after him at the moment. But as Rags was not known for buying a round, he is unlikely to stump up as much cash as, say, Asda, for the privilege so these days that is a non-starter.
The work is on schedule to be completed in time for the Test against New Zealand, which begins on June 5, and the floodlights will debut for the NatWest Series ODI against South Africa on August 26. Price Philip has been booked for the official opening so to avoid the usual gaff it is to be hoped they move all the migrant building workers off the site before he gets here.
The entire project has cost £8.2m and also includes a new scoreboard which reveals that while I have been staring open-mouthed at the building work Notts have moved to 88-3 in the first 24 overs. Mark Saggers removed both openers to first-slip catches and Mark Wagh has just fallen for 42 to an acrobatic catch by Geraint Jones. The sun is shining, Trent Bridge gleams white and it's uplifting to be here.
2.30pm Well the first innings is all over at Taunton, grumbles an increasingly sweaty Andy Bull in the super-heated GU Towers and Tomlinson finished with eight wickets for 46 from his 14.2 overs. He seemed to be set to snare all ten, but was robbed of Ian Blackwell (17) by Hampshire's debutant Hamza Riazuddin, and then David Griffiths had Mike Munday lbw for four. Still they were comfortably the best figures of his career. Somerset mustered a meagre 126, courtesy of 32 from Craig Kieswetter and 39 from Ben Phillips. They put on fifty together for the eighth wicket, and but for that it would have been a far sorrier day for Somerset. It could still get worse of course, what with Andy Caddick out of the side...
3.50pm Blogs from Trent Bridge are thin on the ground today because of other pressing exclusives (that should ginger up the Times sports desk) but it strikes me that Rob Key has his hands full as captain of the England Lions against New Zealand at the Rose Bowl tomorrow, writes David Hopps.
Wherever he looks, Key will see players with a point to prove. Matthew Hoggard has been gnashing teeth since he was dropped for the last two Tests of the New Zealand series, Matt Prior could be a volatile cricketer even before he was dropped as England wicketkeeper, and Owais Shah has called for England to give him a decent run.
Yesterday, Essex's Ravi Bopara - or Chavvy Ravi as he has occasionally been dubbed - revealed that he has turned down the IPL with the innocent butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth hint that England should value his loyalty.
Sajid Mahmood tried the same trick up at Lancashire yesterday, although in his case a few wickets would help. The way things are going, expect Alf Clutterbuck, a rotund medium-pacer from a minor Derbyshire league, to announce before the end of the week that he has shunned offers from an unnamed Indian franchise and so expects to be in the England 12 at Lord's as a result.
Key is an independently-minded soul, who will just get on with it as he sees fit, and after his excellent start to the season he has some England ambitions of his own. It could be an interesting few days.
At Trent Bridge, incidentally, Chris Read and Stuart Broad are staring at a Notts scoreboard showing 163-6. It could happen a few times this summer; Notts' top order has a vulnerable look about it.
4pm Flintoff is bowling now, sharing the new ball with James Anderson, who removed Mark Stoneman's off stump as the young left-handed opener unwisely shouldered arms to leave Durham on 10 for one, writes Andy Wilson. But they are still well on top having polished off Lancashire for 143, with Davies claiming new career-best figures of seven for 33.
Plenty of Lancashire members grumbling about their all-star batting line-up failing to deliver in a long queue for ice-creams at tea. "And they say there is no future for championship cricket," one Lancashire official said. "There's so many here today, we've had to open the Lightning bar."
4.05pm David Hopps at Trent Bridge returns to respond to AndyinBrum's question about Ashley Giles' Warwickshire, and to remark that I once played quite a lot of social cricket with Mark Greatbatch and he was a likeable grump in his younger days. That doesn't blind me to the fact that Greatbatch's coaching stint seems to have left Warwickshire in a bit of a mess.
Giles is on the right track trying to rebuild a sense of Warwickshire camaraderie, but that doesn't make ordinary players good players overnight. I don't see Warwickshire recovering their place in the first division of the championship this summer, but Giles needs time. Giving people time might not be very trendy, but even the most impatient supporter should recognise the need in this case.
Giles has lots of good qualities, and admirable basic values, but he can be a bit touchy. If things go awry, his big test will be to soak up the criticism and get on with it.
5.15pm Very quick update from Old Trafford, writes Andy Wilson. Durham are now 52 for five, after a superb opening spell from James Anderson of 11-3-18-4. Flintoff pretty rapid from the Warwick Road End, and unlucky to take just the one wicket in his seven overs, with Kyle Coetzer lobbing a nasty short ball to Mal Loye.
6.15pm Flintoff just had treatment to his left ankle, reports Andy Wilson. But don't panic: it was a quick spray and the physio then stuck on a plaster, which suggested it's nothing worse than a blister. Further reassurance arrived as he dismissed both Harmisons in consecutive overs, uprooting Ben's middle stump then having Steve caught behind. Durham 101 for nine.
