Neil Johnson (Hampshire), Sven Koenig (Middlesex) and Greg Smith (Nottinghamshire) showed early form as the second week of the English County Championship came to an end.

Johnson, spending the season with Hampshire was one of the early centurions scoring 117 in a drawn match against Kent. Nic Pothas was also handy with the bat scoring 48. Johnson's 1/33 and 1/19 was not enough to help his team to a win.

Both players could not carry their form through to the game against Leicestershire who won by an innings and 9 runs with Johnson getting the dreaded pair and Pothas managing six and three runs. Johnson did get a wicket (1/41) in his bowling spell.

Sven Koenig, after leaving Gauteng to play County Cricket for Middlesex, made a good start to the season scoring 100 and 3* against Durham. Koenig followed this up with a 47 against Nottinghamshire and was involved in an 103 opening partnership against an attack that included Greg Smith (4/70) and Lance Klusener (1/88). Nottinghamshire were forced to follow on after being bowled out for 159 with Klusener (0), Smith (0) and Kevin Pieterson (1) making it a poor day for the South Africans. The second innings saw an improvement with Klusener scoring 42, Pieterson 10 and Smith 39.

Andrew Gait turning out for Derby has twice been on the winning side scoring 24 and 80 against Glamorgan and 22 and 35 against Durham.

Mark Davis the ex-Northerns captain has had an indifferent start to the season playing for Sussex. Against a winning Surrey team he scored 28 and 14 taking no wickets. In the drawn match with Somerset he managed 2/60 but failed with the bat scoring three and one.

Shaun Pollock did not make the start that he might have wanted. Playing in his first match of the season for Warwickshire he failed to get a wicket in the first innings and followed it up being trapped lbw in both innings for 16 and 0. The second innings saw him returning with 1/56 but starts the season with a loss.

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