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The inclement weather today brought an early end to a number of matches across the country on what was another absorbing day's cricket in the County Championship.

Division One leaders Nottinghamshire will look to push on and drive home their advantage against Yorkshire, while Sussex are on course to beat Hampshire.

Champions Surrey, meanwhile, need early wickets on day three to check Essex's hopes of posting a testing run chase.

And Warwickshire and Durham are well placed to move closer to victories against Worcestershire and Somerset respectively.

Thanks for your company today, do pop back in the morning - our coverage starts at 10:30 BST. Catch you then.

Division One

Durham 277 & 159 v Somerset 172 & 71-1

Somerset need another 194 with nine wickets standing

Hampshire 154 & 114-6 v Sussex 297

Hampshire trail by 29 with four wickets standing

Surrey 279 v Essex 217 & 195-2

Essex lead by 133 with eight wickets standing

Worcestershire 181 v Warwickshire 227 & 53-1

Warwickshire lead by 99 with nine wickets standing

Yorkshire 159 v Nottinghamshire 228 & 227-3

Notts lead by 296 with seven wickets standing

Division Two

Derbyshire 587-5 dec v Kent 210-3

Kent trail by 377 with seven wickets standing

Glamorgan 383 v Middlesex 155

Glamorgan lead by 228 runs

Leicestershire 457 v Lancashire 206

Leicestershire lead by 251 runs

Northamptonshire 469 v Gloucestershire 156-4

Gloucestershire trail by 313 with six wickets standing

David Brett
BBC Essex

Essex will be absolutely delighted.

Walter and Elgar put on superb knocks for Essex with some lovely strokes through the off side and they will be delighted with their afternoon and evening sessions.

George Balderson takes the wicket of Josh Hull leg before to end a chastening day's play for the visitors who trail by 251 runs after exchanging first innings totals.

It was a deficit built largely on a terrific 245-run partnership from Rehan Ahmed (136) whose first class PB was complemented perfectly by Lewis Hill with 119.

If the dismissal of that pair brought some relief it did not stop the pain coming for Lancs with Leics stomping on to 457 all out.

Balderson's 3-106 figures and Tom Hartley's 2-77 just about the pick of a poor display in which none shone particularly brightly.

Lancs came into this match without a win in the campaign and would not appear likely from this point to change that before the season's summer break.

Stumps officially called at Chester le Street after another intriguing day of action.

After shooting Somerset out for 172, Durham took a lead of 105 into their second dig but made a bit of hash of snuffing Somerset completely out of the game.

The home batters got a bit wobbly over the prospect and allowed Somerset back in with some loose strokes among all the good stuff sent down by the visitors attack, who shared the spoils around splendidly.

Mitchell Killeen was brilliant in taking a maiden five-wicket haul in the Somerset first innings and has taken the only wicket to fall second time round.

Somerset shouldn't really have the chance to win this. But they do. They still need 194 but have nine batters in the tank.

Either way, a cracking finish beckons.

Those two late wickets will have made Surrey feel a little better after a see-saw day which saw Essex fight back strongly.

Sam Curran made 70 and Jordan Clark 54, but Kasun Rajitha took5-87 as Surrey were restricted to a 62-run lead.

The home side's six-strong seam attack was then blunted by an opening stand of 188 between Paul Walter and Dean Elgar - the former making 118 before falling to Nathan Smith, who also accounted for Simon Harmer.

Elgar is still there with an often sketchy 60 not out and Essex will resume on day three with a 133-run lead.

Dave Bracegirdle
BBC Radio Nottingham commentator

We're done on day two here at Headingley. The lead is 296 and Joe Clarke will go to bed 73 not out.

Notts are very much in the box seat. There'll be more than half an eye on the weather forecast tomorrow and Monday.

We've had a full day's cricket against all the odds with the floodlights on pretty much all day.

For Yorkshire, that was a tough old session and Dominic Bess has found out what County captaincy is all about.

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Ben Coad sends down the final six balls of day two and they are blocked out by Joe Clarke (73*) to leave Notts still three down and Yorkshire right up against it.

Having started the day on 10-2 chasing 228 there was a brilliantly explosive innings from Dawid Malan who walloped 65 runs in 45 balls to turbo charge Yorkshire's reply.

Unfortunately few of his teammates were able to match either his impact or his runs and the fact they didn't was largely down to another impressive performance from Mo Abbas.

His 6-45 as Yorkshire collapsed to 159 all out was the 49th five-for of his first class career and with Brett Hutton on the undercard with 2-25 it was enough to put the win within reach.

Yorkshire struggled to make the same sort of impact with the ball as Ben Slater (78) and Clarke piled on the pain and put Notts in position A.

Mo Abbas's 49th five-for of his brilliant first class career tipped a match which was

Zafar Gohar edges Andy Gorvin to Marnus Labuschagne at first slip and Middlesex's disappointing first innings is over.

Gorvin finished with 4-39 and the visitors trail by 228 - will Glamorgan ask them to follow on?

We will have to wait to find out as the umpires decide that will do for the day - but the answer is yes, Middlesex will bat again tomorrow.

Players go off for bad light. That should be that...

Nightwatch Matt Parkinson negotiates the final over of the day at Derby and Kent reach the close still 377 behind - but with seven wickets intact.

Derbyshire declared with their highest total against Kent after Caleb Jewell made a career-best 232 and captain Wayne Madsen exactly 100.

It remains a good track and Ben Compton and Daniel Bell-Drummond put on 125 in reply before the latter was caught behind for 61.

Compton remains on 105 not out, made from 160 balls, with 13 fours, and Kent will hope for a lot more from him on day three.

Adrian Harms
BBC Sussex

Hampshire's hopes are very much relying on Liam Dawson and, you never know, he's a fine cricketer.

Sussex will be thinking the job is almost, but not quite done - but it has very much been their day.

Mark Church
BBC Radio London commentator

Paul Walter has looked to play a big shot.

He doesn't think he's got anything on that, Paul Walter, but the finger's gone up and Walter's innings comes to an end.

Walter's played so well. Feet didn't really go anywhere and it was the toe end of the bat.

What a fine innings that has been.

Jack Carson sends down the final over of the day as Hants close 29 runs behind and in a large amount of trouble in the context of this contest.

Sussex skipper John Simpson can pour himself a large beer after a solid day's work finishing unbeaten on 106 as Sussex climbed to 297 all out in their reply, 143 runs ahead.

And then marshalling his bowling stocks superbly with several changes yielding immediate wickets.

He was helped with bat and ball by Fynn Hudson-Prentice who came to the wicket at 83-5 and left it 173 runs later with Sussex in control and later took the first wicket.

Their partnership with the bat could be the game changer for Sussex despite a late collapse (the last four wickets falling for one run).

After Hudson-Prentice got the ball rolling Jack Carson (2-4) and Nathan McAndrew (2-27) have helped tip the Hants innings over the midway tipping point six down.

Stranger things have happened and there is poor weather around particularly on day four but chances are Sussex will believe they are on the verge of an away win.

So important for Somerset to reach stumps without losing anyone else.

Lewis Gregory is playing a captain's innings, determined to keep his team on the fringes of a win.

He's got a good-looking 34 with Tom Lammonby for company on 18.

Only Mitchell Killeen's bullet into Josh Davey's off stump has spoilt Somerset's second innings.

But with seven overs still to go, it's going to be tense.

With the light just about holding, there will be hopeful glances to the umpires at the end of every ball I suspect from the batters...

Middlesex are clinging on at Sophia Gardens, still 237 behind against Glamorgtan.

Toby Roland-Jones was the last to go - another loose shot as a cover drive off Andy Gorvin picked out Asa Tribe, stationed at cover.

Two late wickets spoilt Gloucestershire's blossoming reply in the face of significant scoreboard pressure.

With Cameron Bancroft and Miles Hammond both past 50, the visitors were well on course to salvage something of a silver lining to an otherwise cloudy day.

But both were dismissed in the space of seven balls to stop their momentum - and maybe their chances of avoiding the follow-on - in its tracks.

Earlier Saif Zaib took his stellar career-best score to 159 before 120 was added for the last three wickets as Calvin Harrison's PB (63) and Liam Guthrie (33) added a sticky layer of gloss to the total.

Northants hold all the cards and will hope to force the visitors into folding tomorrow.

for Ben Comptonpublished at 18:27 British Summer Time 24 May

18:27 BST 24 May

Derbyshire 587-5 dec v Kent 206-3

He has had to wait for it for what seemed like an age but Ben Compton steers a ball from Zak Chappell down to third man for four to reach his second Championship hundred of the season.

Maybe he's what you might call an 'old school' opener in the Bzball era but Kent certainly don't undervalue Compton's patience and technique.