More county news

It was another good day for New Zealanders in England. Nathan Astle was in a bit of a batting slump during the Twenty20 matches, but came right yesterday with 84 for Lancashire against Kent. In Chelmsford Jimmy Franklin scored 7 and took 2-26 against Essex, while team-mate Brendon McCullum scored 13. Scott Styris is currently on 54 not out for Middlesex and Hamish Marshall marked his return from injury with 56 not out for Gloucestershire. Craig Spearman scored 15 while Lou Vincent bucked the trend and marked his first-class debut for Worcestershire with an inauspicious 0.