Image source, Rex Features

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's no such thing as a dull day in the county championship *.

You'd need a heart of stone not to feel a surge of joy as James Anderson rolled back the years this morning with a six-wicket burst before lunch in what could be his Lancashire swansong.

Worcestershire completed a superb comeback win away to Durham thanks to two brilliant knocks from Kashif Ali as Ben Stokes could not help his side avoid a first-ever home defeat to the Pears.

It was not so exciting at the Oval, but still hugely significant as Surrey ground their winning position in their top-of-the-table clash with Essex.

And in Division Two, Sussex held their nerve to beat Northants and Yorkshire demolished Derbyshire with four sessions to spare.

But there's so much more to come in Division One, with both Kent and Nottinghamshire battling to avoid an innings defeat.

Can Essex hang on for a draw - or even force a win - and stop defending champions Surrey opening a decisive gap at the summit?

So why not join us tomorrow to discover how the story ends?

We'll be back on from 10:30 BST and would love your company.

* When it doesn't rain.

Division One

Chester-le-Street: Durham 190 & 148-9 v Worcestershire 112 & 231-4

Worcs beat Durham by 6 wkts

Southampton: Hampshire 505-8dec v Kent 343 & 132-2

Kent trail by 30 runs following on with eight second innings wickets in hand

Southport: Lancashire 344-8 v Nottinghamshire 126 & 84-2

Notts trail by 143 runs following on with eight second innings wickets in hand

Taunton: Somerset 284 v Warwickshire 412 & 281-8

Warwicks lead by 409 with two second-innings wickets in hand

The Oval: Surrey 262 & 278 v Essex 180 & 21-2

Essex need 340 more runs to win with eight second-innings wickets in hand

Division Two

Chesterfield: Derbyshire 76 & 171 v Yorkshire 451-9 dec

Yorks beat Derbys by an innings and 204 runs

Cheltenham: Gloucestershire 179 & 610-5 dec Glamorgan 197 & 222-3

Glamorgan need 371 more runs to win with seven second-innings wickets in hand

Leicester: Leicestershire 179 & 372 v Middlesex 86 & 342

Leics beat Middx by 123 runs

Northampton: Northamptonshire 97 & 220 v Sussex 143 & 237

Sussex beat Northants by 63 runs

Well that was fun!

The bowling change does the trick as Toby Roland-Jones swings hard once again at Scott Currie but this time picks out Ben Green at deep midwicket who takes a steepling catch a few yards inside the boundary rope.

TRJ goes for 59 off 33 balls - phew!

A brilliant first win of the season for Leicestershire who were bowled out for 179 on day one but have been bang on top ever since then.

They rolled over the promotion-chasing visitors for 86 before piling up 372 runs in rapid fashion second time around to set Middlesex 466 to win.

Now Ethan Bamber pulls Ben Mike for four over midwicket.

Things are getting weirder by the moment.

He collects another couple and then a huge swing flies down to the third man boundary. The target is now 124 away.

The partnership is worth 72 and is now a record last-wicket stand for Middlesex against Leicestershire.

Scott Currie comes on.

Image source, Rex Features

Tom Westley leaves the last couple of Jordan Clark deliveries alone and Essex live to fight another day.

The visitors are very much up against it, though - it's been a fearsome spell by Clark, who's taken 2-7 in six overs tonight.

Essex will need 340 more if they're to beat the league leaders and replace them at the top - and remember, they're without the injured Jordan Cox too.

Surrey will go into day four as firm favourites...

You could understand it if Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Northeast go to sleep tonight with dreams of a world record run-chase swimming through their heads.

The duo are unbeaten on 67 and 47 respectively and have steered Glamorgan along to 222-3 at Cheltenham.

On most days they would be delighted, however they need another 371 more tomorrow in 96 overs to snatch a victory with a chase which would dwarf every other successful attempt on the planet.

536 was chased by West Zone in Pakistan in 2010, Cambridge University chased 507 at Lord's in 1896. This would be on another level entirely.

It's thanks largely to James Bracey's unbeaten 204 in Gloucestershire's 610-5d earlier today that they have this challenge.

They need four an over for 96 overs with seven wickets in hand on a fourth day pitch.

If Mother Nature steers clear, this should be fascinating.

One over remaining at the Oval - can Essex prevent further damage this evening?

Jordan Clark, who has two wickets already in this second innings, will bowl it.

Is this really happening?

Ben Mike runs in for the new over and Toby Roland-Jones unleashes another huge pull over square leg for his seventh six.

It brings up his fifty off just 20 balls!

A 16th first-class 50 for the record.

That's it and Jack Leach collects his third wicket with the final ball of the day, with Chris Woakes holing out for a duck.

Craig Overton has four wickets, but he may not get the chance to turn that into five as Warwickshire will surely plan to declare overnight.

If they do, Somerset will need 410 for victory on the final day.

This is crazy!

Ben Green in.

Another big swing from Toby Roland-Jones and another six!

Green bangs the next ball in, but TRJ walks down the pitch and pulls him square leg for another huge maximum!

He moves to 43 off just 17 balls.

And then takes a single off the fifth ball to farm the strike.

The partnership is up to 47. Ethan Bamber has none of them.

Six more for Toby Roland-Jones who this time gives Ben Mike the treatment, pulling the paceman square for his fourth six.

It moves him to 30 off 12 balls and takes Middlesex past 300.

Mike follows with a no-ball beamer which Roland-Jones ducks under. The ball slipped out of the bowler's hand and offers his apologies.

Fireworks!

Well that brings an end to a day which will live long in the memory, of those who were present at Southport & Birkdale CC and all those who were watching along - more than half a million of you with us here, for which we thank you!

James Anderson, on his 95th and potentially finally first class appearance after 24 years at Lancashire, registered the second best figures of his glittering career, taking 7-35 to whip Notts out for 126 in their reply to Lancashire's 353-9 declared.

He'll be back tomorrow, the final day of the match, and potentially of his domestic career too, seeking to finish off the visitors, who still trail by 143 runs, and give his beloved club a precious win to move away from the foot of the table.

Who writes his scripts?

He does!

That will be day three here at the Utilita Bowl and it's belonged to Hampshire once again.

Hampshire are the favourites tomorrow to wrap up this win but Kent need to find extra stubbornness to bat out a draw.

It looks like it could be gloomy tomorrow which might help the bowlers.

Toby Roland-Jones wasn't going to depart the stage wondering and he is swinging hard, clubbing Ben Green for a six over long on. Why not?

He follows it with another over deep backward square. TRJ was not aiming there let's say, but it's back-to-back maximums.

He gets hold of Green's fifth ball and swipes that over long on for a third six of the over. And then blocks the last one.

The Middlesex skip moves onto 24 from 10 balls. All taken from that over.

Keaton Jennings is trying to make the live texter look silly.

He's brought on Luke Wells for a couple of overs of right-arm medium-off-break-spin-pace to give these set batters something different to think about before their supper.

They have contributed a combined 11 runs from 13 overs together in the middle.

The strongest argument for why Somerset wouldn't be necessarily be likely to chase 400 is that I think that we've seen it isn't easy to accelerate today and I think the surface is only going to be a little bit slower. If it is going to change at all, it's only going to be slower.

Jack Leach has bowled with great control but there's been very little encouragement for him.

What you wouldn't necessarily want to see is Warwickshire coming out and batting for 15 minutes in the morning. I think that will make life very difficult for them.

So a couple more wickets tonight might not do any harm because it might force their hand.

No alarms so far for Essex as they look to survive this tricky 12-over period tonight - and they're exactly halfway through that now.

Nick Browne has taken most of the strike and he's scored eight, with Dean Elgar on two.