Craig Spearman marked the start of the 2006 season with Gloucestershire by scoring a century against Somerset at Bristol.
The former New Zealand opening batsman scored 109, taking full advantage of being dropped twice, on 36 and 92, by England opener Marcus Trescothick.
Gloucestershire finished the first day of the game on 262-4.
It was a welcome boost for Spearman who scored only one century in the county championship last year. That was a score of 216 which significantly bolstered his season's return of 930 runs.
Trescothick, and Glamorgan paceman Simon Jones are the only members of the England contract list who will be playing for their counties during April.
Trescothick missed most of the Indian tour while Jones returned home with an injury.
Jones told BBC Sport, "If I want to get back into the England side I've got to get some wickets and prove my fitness and hopefully that's what I'm going to do this week and next week.
"It's an exciting time for me, it's been a long and frustrating winter and I'm just looking forward to getting back on the field."
Still uncertain of when they will return to action are Michael Vaughan, Steve Harmison and Ashley Giles. They are recovering from knee, shin and hip injuries respectively.
