Season opener at Grace Road, Leicester Photo CricInfo

It's mid-April and on the fields of England the cricket season is under way. With temperatures barely above freezing in the early morning, rising to highs of only 12 celsius, slip fielders dread the sharp chance, spin bowlers struggle to gain a grip with numb fingers, and batsmen look to run sharp singles to keep warm. A description of the weather is an essential cliche in reporting the opening day of the first-class season, and the English climate usually co-operates in providing a suitably hostile environment for cricket. Today the weather was cold but fair, and play got underway on time at Fenners, Grace Road, the Parks, Canterbury and Millfield School.

The first match of the English season used to be a showpiece, featuring matches such as champion county against the rest of England. These days it consists of gentle warm-up games for the counties against the University Centres of Cricketing Excellence. Their sides lack experience, and there are few familiar names in the team lists. Only three of the centres can field strong enough sides for matches to be considered first-class, Durham, Oxford and Cambridge.

Warm up routine at Grace Road Photo CricInfo

The counties fielded near full strength squads, although no overseas players were on display - perhaps not needing the practice after full seasons, or otherwise committed elsewhere. Those who toured with the full England squad were also conspicuous only by their absence, apart from Paul Collingwood, making a useful 74 at number four in the local derby, Durham against Durham UCCE.

The UCCE sides drew first blood, with the first wicket of the season, Phillip Weston of Worcestershire, playing in his 163rd first-class match falling to Toby Sharpe of Oxford UCCE, playing in his third, for a duck.

A very familiar name recorded the first 50 of the season, a certain Graeme Hick, narrowly beating out Andrew Strauss. Only the first rain interruption of the season slowed his inexorable progress to his 118th first-class century. Robert Key was first to reach the three-figure mark, but Kent's match against Loughborough is not first-class. Andrew Strauss won the race to the first first-class century, an entertaining innings with his hundred coming up off just 107 balls. Hick soon followed, completing perhaps one of the less demanding of his 118 centuries with his seventeenth boundaries.

Hick then hit out - scoring his next 50 runs off just 15 balls, and reaching 164 before being stumped. After reaching his century he faced just 23 balls, and hit 12 of them for boundaries. Who knows what the season will bring for Hick? Perhaps passing Graveney and Compton on the most centuries list, perhaps yet another England recall, but certainly many runs in the Frizzell County Championship. Runs came freely for the county batsmen against the friendly bowling of the UCCE teams and by the end of the day JJB Lewis of Durham, BF Smith of Worcestershire, and Koenig of Middlesex also had centuries to their name.

The start of the season carries the promise of spring, but also a touch of sadness. Who knows what might be achieved by the many new faces on display? Discerning eyes will be trying to pick those who might go on to greater things. But the arrival of the new marks the absence of names that have been familiar for years. Mike Atherton has retired, and Gus Fraser is shortly to do so after only a few matches. Other county stalwarts are no longer playing but are learning a new trade - Hartley, Kettleborough and Robinson are appearing in umpires' coats for the first time today. Most missed of all when perusing the scorecards on CricInfo will be the names of Ben Hollioake and Umer Rashid; many watching the games today will have their recent tragic deaths very much in mind. Their teams, Surrey and Sussex, meet next week in the opening match of the Championship.

But now cricket is underway and spring is here. The blank sheets of the scorers' books await the recording of the runs and wickets that will outline the course of the year. For the players, anything is possible - runs galore, trophies, championships, England caps, and more. For those of us who watch, perhaps we hope to see the arrival of a new player to excite the imagination - a tearaway fast bowler, a thrilling hitter, a crafty spin bowler. Here's hoping for a great season.

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