Close! Shane Snater is struck on the shoulder by a short ball from Tom Lawes and the ball drops to Jamie Smith, who spills it in the off side.

Just for a split second it looked like he might have got a glove on that.

The fifth ball is slashed outside off stump wide of slips and through third for four runs.

That's the Essex 150 in the 42nd over.

Trevor Owens
BBC Hereford & Worcester

Image source, Trevor Owens - BBC Sport

After heavy rain drove the players from the field after only seven overs of play, some grounds for optimism that we might see more cricket.

It is a bit brighter over the Riverside, as well.

Durham have moved on to 61-5 from their overnight score of 33-3 - that’s a lead of 139 runs.

Tea will be at 15:20 until 15:40 presumably with the hope that play can then resume.

Still a lot of mopping up required here, but the ground staff are hard at work.

Image source, Rex Features

Toby Roland-Jones picks up his fifth wicket and ninth of the match, angling one in which traps Ben Cox infront as he wanders across his stumps.

That's 5-65 for Roland-Jones.

The Foxes lead is up to 333 with two wickets still remaining.

Ben Mike is the new man, joining Ben Green, seeking to add to it.

Four more for Tom Lammonby, who takes Somerset to 50 in 14 overs with a back foot drive through cover point off Michael Booth.

Quality shot.

Ben Compton is joined in the middle by debutant Feroze Khushi, on loan from Essex.

No pressure lads...

50 for Paul Walterpublished at 15:05 British Summer Time 1 July

15:05 BST 1 July

Surrey 262 v Essex 139-5

The last scoring shot is an unconvincing attempt to hit Tom Lawes to leg and a leading edge flies between the faces of first and second slip for four.

But this has still been a brave and vital rearguard for Essex.

74 balls with seven fours and a six.

John Simpson departs for 40 to being an end to Sussex's second innings, with Luke Procter finishing with 4-45.

Still 43 overs left of the second day. This one is going to be over with plenty to spare, one way or another.

A change of bowling at the Vauxhall End. James Taylor is on.

Well now! A change of gears for a largely defensive Simon Harmer, who pulls a short ball in front of square and pushes a fuller ball through long on for a brace of fours.

10 runs in that over.

Riches indeed in the context of this match day, where runs have seldom looked easy since the dismissal of Jamie Smith for 100 yesterday afternoon.

Felix Organ (21*) and Kyle Abbott (15*) added 35 for the ninth wicket at just under a run a ball.

They have taken Hampshire past 500 - the seventh time that has happened to Kent in nine first-innings this season. They found the rope 69 times and cleared it twice.

And now they have denied Kent the chance to bowl a side out for just the fourth time this season by declaring.

Abbott clearly fancies a bowl on this track, with 57 overs remaining in the day, and some currently favourable bowling conditions.

Kent are under the pump yet again.

The rain has continued to fall after the brief resumption this afternoon and the players will take an early tea at 3:20.

Simon Harmer is forward to Dan Worrall and gets his first runs with a controlled edge safely wide of the slips to third for four runs.

He's nearly foxed by Tom Lawes in the next over, withdrawing his bat at the last moment to a ball that bounces and nips away outside off.

Surrey are controlling the game with probing, persistent bowling.

You know what this means...

The umpires have called for tea to be taken at 15:10 BST and with the weather improving by the minute let's all hope there's some play possible after it.

Four runs to Tom Lammonby with a controlled edge going forward to Chris Woakes.

The other Tom (Kohler-Cadmore) plays perhaps the shot of the innings with a textbook drive down the ground off Oliver Hannon-Dalby.

The bat maker's name was in plain view. Lovely.

Kohler-Cadmore drives the last ball hard outside off stump and the ball lands just short of mid off.

for Kyle Abbottpublished at 14:50 British Summer Time 1 July

14:50 BST 1 July

Hampshire 493-8 v Kent

Yep, that Kyle Abbott. He's absolutely middled this one off Matt Parkinson and drilled the ball high and long back over the bowler's head. Effortless for a strong man like Abbott.

Parkinson was very economical until after lunch when the Hampshire batters have begun to target him.

Still 60 overs left in the day.

Surrey have had the ball changed for reasons unknown.

Tom Lawes is in the attack now and Paul Walter whips the second ball through mid wicket for one.

Simon Harmer leaves outside the off stump and the fourth ball keeps low, beating both bat and keeper for a bye.

Walter keeps the strike with a single nudged to long leg.

Matt Cole
BBC Radio Kent

It feels like it's got gloomier here after lunch.

There's a breeze blowing but the lights are not needed at the moment. It's not quite that bad but it's a little bit overcast.

There still appears to be something in this pitch as well, it looks like a good wicket this one.