We got a little taster of our Kiwi County Tour last week with a few kiwi cricketers involved in the opening round of County cricket. This week however things start for real and our kiwi lads brought the heat, headlined by Neil Wagner's exploits with the ball in his Lancashire debut, don't sleep on a few more nifty performances from other kiwi lads as well though.

Gloucestershire vs Derbyshire (Bristol)

Hamish Rutherford and Neil Broom laced up in their first game for Derbyshire this season, coming up against Gloucestershire who had Hamish Marshall and Kieran Noema-Barnett making their second appearance.

Derbyshire batted first and Rutherford came in at No.3, he could only manage 1 run though as he was caught behind 7 balls into his innings. Broom came in at No.5 and scored 32, playing a steady hand before he was caught by Noema-Barnett. Broom and Rutherford scored the two lowest scores of Derbyshire's top-five batsmen, while Noema-Barnett took two catches but couldn't do any damage with the ball, finishing wicket-less after 33 overs (91 runs). Derbyshire all out for 444.

In reply, Marshall and Noema-Barnett both hit half-centuries as Gloucestershire passed that 444, all out for 563. Marshall hit 72 off 76 balls and knocked his second 50 in three innings' while Noema-Barnett's 58 came off only 52 balls as he smacked 3 sixes.

Derbyshire then tried to make a game of it, declaring on 260 however there wasn't enough time for a result. There was enough time though for Rutherford to find some runs, hitting 78 off 142 balls which is a very nice start for Rutherford to his County season as he looks to stack some runs up and keep himself in contention for a BLACKCAPS spot.

Match drawn.

Rutherford: 1, 78.

Broom: 32.

Marshall: 72

Noema-Barnett: 0/91 off 33, 58, 0/19 off 8.

Nottinghamshire vs Lancashire (Manchester)

Neil Wagner stole the show in Manchester for Lancashire, playing a dominant hand in Lancs' 8 wicket win. Wagner took 6/66 off 20.2 overs in Notts' first innings, including skittling former Zimbabwean captain Brendan Taylor's stumps for 3 as Lancs bowled Nottinghamshire out for 242.

Notts weren't going to lie down, not when they have Stuart Broad (3/57) and Jackson Bird in their bowling attack. They dismissed Lancs for 332 with Wagner scoring 1 batting at No.8 before our favourite lefty basically sealed the win for Lancs with 5/45 off 19 overs, including the wicket of Broad. Wagner's 11-wicket-haul helped skittle Notts for 175 and Lancashire only had to chase 86 to win.

Lancashire win by 8 wickets.

Wagner: 6/66, 5/45.

Middlesex vs Warwickshire (London)

Two kiwi veterans and former Wellington team-mates faced off at Lord's and while this match ended in a draw, it was Jeetan Patel who got the nod over James Franklin. Middlesex batted first and Franklin scored 3 runs at No.7 as Patel showed that he's still one of/if not the best spinner in County cricket after a slow game last week. Patel took 4/80 off 20.5 overs, including the wicket of opener Sam Robson for 231. Middlesex were dismissed for 452.

Patel then scored 30 off 39 balls batting at No.9, which is deserves some lovin' however Jonathan Trott hit 219* so I guess that takes the cake. Franklin did have a bowl as well; 0/42 off 7 overs. Warwickshire took a narrow lead (all out for 468), thanks to Trott's double hundy.

Robson hit another hundred, Adam Voges hit 92 and Franklin hit 30 as Middlesex declared on 304/6 and from that point on, nothing happened. Patel did take 2/56 however, giving him 6-wickets for the match which is a very handy return after he took 0/19 and 1/53 in his last outing.

Match drawn.

Franklin: 3, 0/42 off 7, 30.

Patel: 4/80 off 20.5, 30, 2/56 off 20.

Sussex vs Essex (Hove)

Ross Taylor's Sussex and Jesse Ryder's Essex faced off in a battle of ... well forget Sussex vs Essex, forget Alistair Cook, forget anyone/anything else, this was the battle of the bros. Sussex batted first, scoring 360 with Taylor's first County innings this season not lasting too long as he was out for 12, batting at No.4. Ryder had a bowl, serving up 17 overs of medium-pace for only 51 runs.

Ryder almost helped Essex take the lead, he hit 51 batting at No.6 and smoked 7 fours at a strike-rate of 68. Essex were dismissed for 320.

Taylor then bettered his previous innings, only just though as he scored 22 and Sussex were dismissed for 288 as Ryder once again went wicket-less through 4 overs. This left Essex with 329 to chase. Alistair Cook anchored Essex's chase with 127, while Ryder chipped in with a slow and steady 35, coming off 98 balls even though it included a six. Essex finished on 266 and this one peetered out to finish as a draw.

Match drawn.

Taylor: 12, 22.

Ryder: 0/51 off 17, 51, 0/20 off 4, 35.