County Championship: Rashid puts Tykes in position

Both sides won their opening fixture of the season last week and, after a disappointing first-innings performance from Durham, they are evenly poised.

Durham skipper Dale Benkenstein top-scored with 83 for the visitors after he won the toss and chose to bat first but his colleagues failed to match his efforts, with veteran seamer Ottis Gibson next in line with a brisk 38.

The West Indian took just 34 balls for his late cameo - hitting four fours and a six - but the Durham top order struggled as leg spinner Adil Rashid took five for 88.

Tim Bresnan and captain Darren Gough - leading the side on home turf for the first time - also claimed two wickets apiece.

Yorkshire lost Craig White for three as Steve Harmison gave new England coach Peter Moores a timely reminder of his talents and Callum Thorp accounted for Jacques Rudolph (nine) as Gough's team closed on 50 for two.

At Edgbaston, new Warwickshire captain Darren Maddy was dismissed by Pakistan's Rana Naved-ul-Hasan as he marked his first day at the helm with a paltry two against champions Sussex.

But Ian Westwood (82) and Jonathan Trott (84) put on 161 for the second wicket before Rana's compatriot Mushtaq Ahmed took both in quick succession.

Jim Troughton was trapped leg before wicket for 26 before another two-wicket burst, with Rana and Mushtaq each picking up a third victim to leave the score on 309 for six.

Hampshire got off to a promising start in their season's opener, finishing the day on 352 for six as Jimmy Adams (86) and Chris Benham (76) both fell short of three figures after appearing set against Surrey at the Brit Oval.

Mohammad Akram picked up two for 71 for the Brown Caps, with good support from veteran leg-spinner Ian Salisbury (two for 55).

Nic Pothas (37 not out) and Dimitri Mascarenhas (17no) will resume in the morning as they seek to establish a big total.

In Division Two Ronnie Irani's fine early-season form continued as he made an unbeaten 84 in Essex's 329 for four against Glamorgan at Chelmsford.

Irani will be hoping to succeed where team-mates Varun Chopra and Mark Pettini failed after both men fell 14 runs short of a ton. England's Alastair Cook, meanwhile, made a disappointing duck.

Robert Croft accounted for the latter as he took two for 75, but with Dutch all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate also well poised on 55no, the Welsh side could be looking at a daunting total.

Nottinghamshire are also going nicely at Bristol's County Ground, making 382 for six against Gloucestershire.

Second-wicket pairing Mark Wagh (71) and Bilal Shafayat (79) put on 162 runs before Queenslander Ashley Noffke removed both

Noffke finished with three for 65 as he outshone returning England bowler Jon Lewis, who picked up the sole wicket of Jason Gallian.

Samit Patel is still there on 82, but Chris Read will have done his own international hopes no favours, scoring just seven.

Leicestershire are in an unenviable position at Grace Road after losing three of their top four within 17 overs as they replied to Somerset's 357 all out.

Marcus Trescothick's rehabilitation continued with a careful 77 for the visitors but number nine Steffan Jones stole the plaudits with a brisk, if rare, century.

David Masters was the Leicestershire star, claiming six for 60 but the home fans were given nothing to cheer after the turnaround, with John Maunders, HD Ackerman and John Sadler all falling to Charl Willoughby as the Foxes entered the pavilion on 58 for three.

Northamptonshire also faltered after bowling out their opponents for just 258 at Lord's. Johan van der Wath picked up six for 49 to undermine the hosts' efforts, Billy Godleman's 77 the only hint of the run-fest Middlesex enjoyed last week against Somerset.

But Northamptonshire lost four wickets for just 70 as four different bowlers struck to leave Middlesex 188 ahead with six first-innings wickets to take.