Wednesday 29 November 2017 16:27, UK
Essex will open the defence of their Specsavers County Championship title with a tough trip to Yorkshire, the team they succeeded as champions.
The 2018 season gets underway on April 13 and new Essex head coach Anthony McGrath will be making a return to the county he represented for his entire playing career.
McGrath has taken over at Chelmsford for Chris Silverwood, who has become part of England's coaching staff since leading Essex to a shock title success last summer.
Essex only secured promotion from Division Two in 2016 but claimed the top division title at the first time of asking thanks to some fine performances, most notably from bowlers Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer.
"I was sort of expecting it," said McGrath. "It feels like a long time since I left Yorkshire already, and the first time I went back with Essex last year to Scarborough, we had a good win.
"It's a good fixture to get first because Yorkshire will give us a nice marker of where we're at. We've got a tough start with Lancashire at home, Hampshire away and then the return match against Yorkshire, so we'll have plenty of focus in our preparations."
Both of the sides promoted from Division Two are also in action in the first set of fixtures, with Worcestershire travelling to the Ageas Bowl to take on Hampshire while Nottinghamshire head to Old Trafford for a meeting with Lancashire.
The eight-team top division also features Somerset and Surrey, who have to wait until April 20 for their first games of the 2018 campaign.
Somerset host Worcestershire at Taunton and Surrey take on Hampshire at the Kia Oval.
The opening set of Division Two fixtures sees both relegated sides in action, with Middlesex taking on Northamptonshire at Lord's. Middlesex failed in an appeal to get a points deduction - one which saw them demoted - overturned.
Warwickshire, who finished 60 points adrift at the bottom of Division One, take on Jason Gillespie's Sussex at Edgbaston in the April 13 set of fixtures, while Kent also host Gloucestershire on the opening week of the season.
Durham have their first game on April 20, taking on Kent, while Gloucestershire host Glamorgan in their respective season opener in the second week of the season.
There is also an April 20 opener for Derbyshire as well as they take on Middlesex, while Leicestershire face Sussex at Grace Road.
The County Championship will take a break from May 14 to June 9, when the Royal London One-Day Cup takes centre stage, while there is only one set of fixtures during the mid-summer block reserves for the NatWest T20 Blast, whose fixtures were announced on Tuesday.
April 13
Division One
Hampshire v Worcestershire, Ageas Bowl
Lancashire v Nottinghamshire, Emirates Old Trafford
Yorkshire v Essex, Emerald Headingley
Division Two
Kent v Gloucestershire, Canterbury
Middlesex v Northamptonshire, Lord's
Warwickshire v Sussex, Edgbaston
April 20
Division One
Essex v Lancashire, Chelmsford
Somerset v Worcestershire, Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
Surrey v Hampshire, Kia Oval
Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire, Emerald Headingley
Division Two
Derbyshire v Middlesex, 3aaa County Ground
Durham v Kent, Emirates Riverside
Gloucestershire v Glamorgan, Brightside Ground, Bristol
Leicestershire v Sussex, Fischer County Ground, Grace Road
Northamptonshire v Warwickshire, Northampton
