Steve Smith enjoyed a timely return to form on his third and final appearance for Sussex with 68 not out to help them into a commanding position on day one against Glamorgan.
This star-studded LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two encounter started with Ollie Robinson dismissing Ashes rival Marnus Labuschagne for one on his way to figures of four for 29.
It helped skittle Glamorgan for 129 before Smith delighted the bumper crowd at Hove with more than two and a half hours at the crease.
Tom Haines (58) and teenager James Coles (50 not out) provided strong support to the Australia batter, who had struggled during his previous two innings for Sussex but showed his class with nine boundaries in his 126-ball knock.
It leaves Sussex on 221 for four with a 98-run advantage despite captain Cheteshwar Pujara enduring a rare failure with an 11-ball duck.
Stuart Broad joined England team-mate Robinson in being in the wickets on a day where Sir Alastair Cook returned to form for Essex against Nottinghamshire in Division One.
Cook had endured a lean start to 2023 but top-scored at Trent Bridge with 73 as he put on 135 for the second wicket with Tom Westley, who hit 66.
Broad’s three for 53 and Brett Hutton’s four for 69 helped bowl Essex out for 298, with Dan Lawrence out for a disappointing 16 after Tuesday’s England call-up.
Elsewhere, Ben Foakes put his England snub behind him with three catches during a hard-fought opening day between Surrey and Kent at the Kia Oval.
Foakes was left out of the England squad for next month’s Ireland Test and the first two matches of the Ashes series in favour of Jonny Bairstow but played his part in Kent being dismissed for 298, with Zak Crawley only able to make 19 following this week’s backing from the selectors.
Dan Worrall, Jordan Clark and Tom Lawes picked up three wickets apiece before Dom Sibley and Ollie Pope joined forces to see Surrey reach 88 for one at the close.
James Vince continued his strong form with 95 on a good day for Hampshire against Northamptonshire.
Vince’s classy half-century was followed up by Liam Dawson adding 56 not out as the hosts finished on 331 for six at the Ageas Bowl.
Somerset are in an equally dominant position against Middlesex after George Bartlett’s fine knock of 121.
Bartlett, Tom Abell (77) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (68) cashed in to help the visitors post 325 for six at Lord’s.
In Division Two, 22 wickets fell at New Road where Leicestershire hold a 156-run lead over Worcestershire.
Leicestershire were dismissed for 173 after Colin Ackermann struck around to score 52 before Chris Wright caused havoc with the ball.
Wright claimed five for 32 off 10 overs with Worcester all out for 83 after nine single-figure scores.
The visitors closed on 66 for two on a bowler-friendly day with the in-form Rishi Patel out for 29.
Graham Clark scored exactly 100 to help Durham to 393 for nine against Gloucestershire in Bristol.
Scott Borthwick (53) and Bas de Leede (65) offered support for Clark while Zafar Gohar claimed a four-wicket haul to help the hosts earn maximum bowling points.
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
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