Nick Gledhill
BBC Essex

The general suspicion is that this is a surface that is going to remain difficult for batting and not flatten out in the way the wicket did in the previous match here when it flattened out spectacularly fashion against Nottinghamshire.

Good crowd, similar to yesterday with lovely conditions.

Maybe a bit of cloud cover building up as we head towards the middle of the day and then dispersing later on for a fine evening forecast.

Craig Overton beats Dean Elgar's outside edge with an absolute beauty.

They will want to get the South African early because we know what he's capable of when he gets in.

Just a single from the over.

The covers are coming off after a delayed start and play will get going at 11.12am.

Josh Davey then let's rip with an appeal as he opens the bowling at the other end, wrapping nightwatchman/hawk Sam Cook on the pads with his first ball of the day.

It looks good, angling into middle and leg, but the umpire is not impressed.

Maybe going over the top.

Cook then fishes outside off-stump to the fifth and it almost takes the edge.

Maiden for Davey.

Craig Overton sends one whistling past the edge of Dean Elgar's bat with the first ball of the morning.

The South African then dispatches a wide third ball to the boundary with a smooth cover drive.

BIG shout from Overton as his fifth delivery thuds into Elgar's pads. Nothing doing.

Lively start.

After 20 wickets on day one, will this ever settle?

After a first day washout, the toss has finally been made and it's been won by Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones.

The hosts are going to have a bowl.

In an not entirely unexpected set of circumstances, there will be a delayed start in Manchester.

We got most of the play in at Old Trafford yesterday before the rain finally came and plenty more of the wet stuff has fallen overnight.

There will be an inspection at 11am.

Yorkshire fought back well to edge the honours on day one at Headingley as two late wickets in gloomy conditions reduced Glamorgan to 109-4 after a rain-affected day in which Billy Root made 51.

Chances are we may see a sprinkling of England stardust today as Harry Brooks and Joe Root make their latest Championship outing.

Sussex will be looking to wrap up the Derbyshire innings early after reducing them to 189-8 before rain brought an early close midway through day one.

Luise Reece made 50 and Aneurin Donald a dashing 44 at Derby, while England paceman Ollie Robinson took two wickets.

And Middlesex and Leicestershire will be champing at the bit to get out there after day one at Lord’s was a complete washout.

After an even-stevens day at Old Trafford, Kent will resume at 203-7 perhaps the happier heading into the second morning.

They will looking to eke out as many possible from the tail when they get out there, with the skies over Manchester forecast to remain overcast.

England opener Zak Crawley gave Kent a decent start, but when he departed, the visitors slid from 63-1 to 129-6.

But a battling unbeaten 50 from Joey Evison and a rearguard knock of 45 from Grant Stewart rescued a faltering innings.

George Balderson took the bowling honours on day one, with 3-62, while Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon and Will Williams took two apiece.

Only Taunton managed to host a full day’s play - and what a day it was!

Twenty wickets fell as Essex fought back after being dismissed for 156 by the hosts to earn a 28-run lead.

Strike bowlers Sam Cook (5-38) and Jamie Porter (5-37) were magnificent to reduce Somerset to 66-5. Tom Lammonby (38) steadied the ship, and Craig Overton (16) added a counter-punch but Cook and Porter completed five-wicket hauls to wrap up the Somerset innings in less than 42 overs.

So a one innings per side shoot-out it is.

I think it’s fair to say we’ll have a result on this one. Unless the weather intervenes.

Division One:

Old Trafford: Lancashire v Kent 203-7

Taunton: Somerset 128 v Essex 156 & 6-0

Division Two:

Derby: Derbyshire 189-8 v Sussex

Lord's: Middlesex v Leicestershire - no play on day one

Headingley: Yorkshire v Glamorgan 109-4

Image source, Getty Images

After a truncated first day, you’ll be pleased to know the weather has agreed to behave itself for day two.

The amount of play you got yesterday depended a lot on geography.

There was a full day at Taunton, two-thirds of a day at Old Trafford, almost half-a-day at Derby and Leeds, and no play at Lord’s.

Just to remind you we have two matches in Division One and three in the second tier.

So let’s have a quick recap of what’s happened so far.