County wrap: How the Aussies fared in the opening round

Marcus Harris (Lancashire)

138 (197) & 52 (71)

Harris made a dream start to his time with Lancashire, hitting a century against Middlesex at Lord's to open the season. It was Harris' 10th century in the County Championship having previously represented Leicestershire and Gloucestershire between 2021-2024. A regular opener for Victoria, Harris batted at No.4 in both innings in what shapes as a new role for the 32-year-old. Chasing 309 in 67 overs to win the match, Lancashire closed on 8-262 after Harris was caught at short third man reverse-sweeping spinner Zafar Gohar on 52.

"To get a hundred in your first game for a new county is always good, but then to do it at Lord's, it's probably the best ground in the world, so that's definitely a bucket list thing and pretty special," Harris said after his day two century.

Daniel Hughes (Sussex)

19 (30) & 33 (52)

Veteran opener Hughes was asked to return to Sussex after making a big impression during his maiden county stint last year where he averaged 56.67 in four first-class games and smashed almost 600 runs in the T20 Blast. While he wasn't able to cash in during the drawn match where 1,399 runs where scored across the four days, it was a welcome return to action for the 36-year-old after a summer riddled with injury. Hughes played only one One-Day Cup match for NSW and one BBL match for Sydney Sixers after fracturing his elbow in October and reaggravating it during that BBL match.

Fergus O'Neill (Nottinghamshire)

5-81 (22.5) & 3-35 (14.3)

In what shapes as one of the signings of the winter, O'Neill dominated in Nottinghamshire's opening round win over Durham. The reigning Sheffield Shield player of the year took 5-81 in his first showing for the Outlaws and took another 3-31 in the second innings. His partnership with Test-capped Josh Tongue (seven wickets for the match) shapes as one of the most lethal combinations in Division One. O'Neill found the perfect length and just enough shape at Trent Bridge, with his first four wickets all caught behind by wicketkeeper and former BBL player Joe Clarke. That was followed by two lbws, a bowled and a caught and bowled to finish off Durham's second innings.

Peter Handscomb (Leicestershire)

63 (100)

The Victorian veteran has taken the red-ball reins as he returns for his third year at Leicestershire and led them to a comfortable 10-wicket win over Glamorgan in their season opener. Having opted to bowl after winning the toss, the Foxes' top order all fired in the first innings, Handscomb chipping in with a fluent 63 from No.5 with eight boundaries as his side racked up 427 at Sophia Gardens after rolling the hosts for 229 on day one. He also took two catches in the first innings but wasn't required with the bat in the second as openers Rehan Ahmed and Sol Budinger chased down the 51 required in quick time, bringing up victory in just six overs.

"It's nice winning the toss but I wouldn't say it determined the result," Handscomb said post-match. "The wicket played pretty fair for three days. There was obviously a bit more there on the first day but if it gets into a fourth day it starts to play a few tricks the other way – staying low and starting to turn – so I think the way we played it was very pleasing."

Caleb Jewell (Derbyshire)

61 (48) & 51no (48)

It was a brilliant start for the Tasmanian left-hander in his first foray into county cricket, belting quickfire half-centuries in both innings to help Derbyshire to a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Gloucestershire. Minus West Australians Cameron Bancroft and Cameron Green who are yet to arrive in England's southwest, Gloucester lost regular wickets throughout the three days, dismissed for 222 and 259. Jewell wasted little time settling in, slamming 12 fours in his 48-ball 61 to see Derby build a sizeable first-innings lead before cracking another six boundaries in his unbeaten 48-ball 51 in the second innings as they reached their target of 91 inside 20 overs for the loss of just one wicket.

"As a batting unit, when you give that first punch … it takes a little pressure off the whole batting line-up, so he (Jewell) was superb," Derby head of cricket Mickey Arthur said. "Hopefully he carries on like that because he just gives us so much impetus and he's a very good player."

Liam Guthrie (Northamptonshire)

2-69 (15) & 1-36 (10)

The former Queensland and WA left-armer has joined the Darren Lehmann-coached Northants as a local player and made an instant impression on his county debut by skittling England Test opener Zak Crawley on day one. Guthrie, who holds a UK passport, has followed in the footsteps of Australians such as Dan Worrall, Mickey Edwards and Ian Holland in joining an English county full-time, signing a three-year deal in March. Guthrie also picked up the wicket of Daniel Bell-Drummond in the first innings and Jack Leaning in the second to finish with three for the match, but Northamptonshire were dismissed for 143 and 114 by Kent to go down by 145 runs.

Did not play:

Brendan Doggett (Durham): The player of the Sheffield Shield final lands in the UK this week ahead of Durham's first home game of the season after wrapping up South Australia's Shield celebrations. The right-armer has signed for the first two months of the season.

Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire): The county said their red-ball captain for 2025 was only released by WA last Friday, meaning he was unavailable for their season opener against Derbyshire. Bancroft is set to arrive in the UK this week in time for their first home game against Severnside rivals Glamorgan this Friday.

Cameron Green (Gloucestershire): The Australian allrounder's stint with the Bristol-based county begins with their round three (April 18) clash against Kent. Green has signed for five matches as he pushes to prove his fitness ahead of the World Test Championship final.

Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan): Australia's Test No.3 will join the Welsh county for his sixth season in May ahead of the WTC final against South Africa at Lord's in June.

Jack Edwards (Hampshire): The NSW skipper suffered a knee injury in the final Sheffield Shield round which ruled him out of his two-month stint with Hampshire, who have signed New Zealander Brett Hampton as his replacement.

Wes Agar (Kent): The SA quick isn't scheduled to arrive in Canterbury until the end of May, ahead of the start of the T20 Blast. It will be Agar's third stint with Kent.

Chris Green (Lancashire): The Sydney Thunder spinner signed a two-year contract last October for the duration of the T20 Blast group stages in 2025 and 2026 (May-July), which like last year, will also include additional appearances in the County Championship and one-day competitions.

Riley Meredith (Somerset): The Tasmanian speedster returns to Somerset for a second straight season in May.

Nathan McAndrew (Sussex): South Australia's Sheffield Shield-winning quick will be available in June and July, playing in both the County Championship and T20 Blast.

Gurinder Sandhu (Sussex): The right-armer will join Sussex for June and July with Indian left-armer Jaydev Unadkat unavailable until September.

Beau Webster (Warwickshire): Australia's Test allrounder will arrive at the beginning of May and, depending on international selection, stay at Edgbaston until the end of July, playing in the County Championship and T20 Blast.

Will Sutherland (Yorkshire): The Victorian captain will be available for rounds eight and nine of the County Championship during his stay for the entire T20 Blast season.

Jordan Buckingham (Yorkshire): The right-armer will join Yorkshire for a four-match stint in May.

Harry Conway (Northamptonshire): The South Australian quick has signed a four-game deal with Northants in May, beginning with their away clash with Leicestershire on May 2.

Australians in County Cricket for 2025

Derbyshire: Caleb Jewell

Durham: Brendan Doggett (April-May)

Glamorgan: Marnus Labuschagne

Gloucestershire: Cameron Bancroft, Cameron Green (April-May)

Hampshire: Charli Knott (April-July), Jack Edwards (April-May)

Kent: Wes Agar, Tom Rogers (T20 Blast only)

Lancashire: Chris Green (June-July), Marcus Harris, Ashton Turner (June-July)

Leicestershire: Peter Handscomb

Northamptonshire: Ashton Agar (T20 Blast only), Liam Guthrie (local player), Harry Conway (May)

Nottinghamshire: Moises Henriques (T20 Blast only), Fergus O'Neill (until April 28), Daniel Sams (T20 Blast only), Heather Graham (May-July)

Somerset: Riley Meredith, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Surrey: Grace Harris (T20 Blast only)

Sussex: Daniel Hughes, Nathan McAndrew (June-July), Gurinder Sandhu (June-July)

Warwickshire: Beau Webster

Worcestershire: Ben Dwarshuis (T20 Blast only)

Yorkshire: Will Sutherland (T20 Blast + 2 County), Jordan Buckingham (four matches in May)