An early tea is being taken at Southport with a view to resuming at 15:30 BST so long as there is no further rain.

Lancs and James Anderson will resume their quest for the six wickets they need then, all being well.

Ollie Price has his heads in his hands as he gets one to spin a long way from outside off-stump, but it beats everything and runs away for four byes.

Gloucestershire are not desperate for a wicket by any means, but there are a few furrowed brows out there.

Glamorgan need 161 more runs.

Kyle Abbott is indeed off for a breather. Some respite for the Kent batters then.

Oh. Mo Abbas is coming on.

Harry Finch is drawn into a play and miss from his first delivery. Bang on the money from ball one.

Ball two nips away but beats the edge as Finch wafts it. Appeal from Ben Brown and the slips but not from Abass.

Testing times for the visitors.

Paul Walter (39*) and Michael Pepper (22*) are suddenly scoring very quickly and finding the boundary with ease.

James Taylor's over has just gone for 18 runs and the duo's partnership reaches 50 in double-quick time.

We have an early tea here due to the rain this morning changing the schedule but it feels like Surrey, although still in the ascendency, may want the break to regroup.

It has become a bit loose from them.

Kyle Abbott is sure he's got Harry Finch this time... a slower ball yorker by the looks of it, the ball squirts into the leg side off the pads as Finch scampers through for a single.

Abbott turns back to see the finger has not gone up. The umpire thinks there was an inside edge there.

Finch is on 58 and now Matt Parkinson is onto 14 after two boundaries in three balls, the first clipped through midwicket and helped over the rope by the sliding fielder and the second driven splendidly through the covers.

The lead is 141. James Vince goes for a word with Abbott, either an arm round the shoulder or ending his 11-over spell there.

Nobody could have imagined this scenario after 17 wickets fell on day one.

Pitches are supposed to get harder to bat on as the match wears on. This has got better!

We have had over 1,030 runs in the third and fourth innings for the loss of only 10 wickets.

Essex have added 33 since losing the key wicket of Dean Elgar and they are up to 150.

Paul Walter (27*) and Michael Pepper (13*) are the duo at the crease with their side needing another 211 runs for the win.

Kyle Abbott wants to try and bounce the diminutive Harry Finch out.

His quest has not begun well, the first ball is banged in short and flies over Finch but also the leaping keeper Ben Brown for four extras, and a no-ball for height.

The next ball is lower but met with a hook shot above his head by Finch, with the ball bouncing just inside the rope at fine leg for four runs.

Finch gets off strike and Matt Parkinson flashes a streaky edge through the vacant third slip for another boundary.

That's 15 off the over. The lead is 129. These all need getting by Hampshire later, remember.

Dan Whiting
BBC Radio London

I don't think Michael Pepper is going to have a slog but he is going to enjoy himself out there.

Dan Worrall is putting it up there, he is giving it a chance to swing but the danger is, when you are bowling to a tall man like Paul Walter, he makes good length deliveries into half-volleys.

Ollie Price is thrown the ball for the first time today.

It does not go well as the spinner bowls two half-volleys in the over, resulting in a boundary each for Sam Northeast and Dan Douthwaite.

Nine off the over. Douthwaite is up to 30 as he adds valuable support to Northeast.

50 for Tom Abellpublished at 15:00 British Summer Time 3 July

15:00 BST 3 July

Somerset 284 & 177-3 v Warwickshire 412 & 281-8 dec

Somerset's Tom Abell reaches his half-century from 92 balls, including five fours.

An important innings from one of the many Toms in Somerset's batting line-up.

He is joined by Banton at present, who is on 19, and the hosts need another 233.

50 for Harry Finchpublished at 14:55 British Summer Time 3 July

14:55 BST 3 July

Hampshire 505-8d v Kent 343 & 275-8

His 18th first class half-century is brought up with a couple after a shot through extra cover off James Fuller.

He's got there from 81 balls with seven fours amidst the madness all around him.

How important this knock is will only become apparent in a couple of hours from now, you'd expect, but it's been very nicely played indeed.

Nick Webb
BBC Radio Wales

Mission improbable continues for Glamorgan on a murky afternoon at Cheltenham with the visitors’ hopes almost entirely hanging on captain Sam Northeast, who moved quietly to three figures off 162 balls.

Chris Cooke was the only man out in the first hour of the afternoon, caught behind off a fine Matt Taylor delivery for 14 in 50 minutes.

Ajeet Singh Dale and Marchant de Lange are building up a decent head of stream with high pace from both ends, Singh Dale having a loud lbw appeal against Northeast turned down and hitting new man Dan Douthwaite on the chest.

Gloucestershire are being forced to work hard for the victory points but they still have runs in hand despite this classy Glamorgan effort at setting a new world record.

A gorgeous cover drive from Dan Douthwaite gets him four runs, brings the stand between him and Sam Northeast to 53 and pushes the total over 400.

Coming off 100 overs, it's easy to work out their current scoring rate.

There are 52 overs left to chase the 192 runs they need.

Matt Cole
BBC Radio Kent

There was absolutely no chance for Charlie Stobo.

A great delivery.

Three more to go for Hampshire now as they surely close in on victory.

An anxious moment for Sam Northeast as he tries to steer one down to third man, but he makes no contact and the ball goes through to James Bracey.

Northeast has 115 and Glamorgan need 204 from 53 overs.

His wicket is the pivotal one in this contest.

Grant Stewart straight into the thick of it. The first ball thumps him on the pads as he tries to work it into the leg side.

The second draws a vociferous and prolonged appeal from Abbott and the cordon after keeping low. That was in line and hitting. Maybe there was a fain inside edge.

The finger stays down but the umpires immediately call a summit and then speak to Hampshire skipper James Vince. They saw, or heard, something they did not appreciate there, it would seem.