It's all about bonus points, and the acquiring of them, on the final day at Uxbridge, unless the two captains have already agreed on plans for a contrived finish. No joke bowlers first up from Hampshire, though, as Fidel Edwards and Kyle Abbott are operating in tandem. John Simpson and Ollie Rayner are the not out batsmen from last evening.

Here we go at Taunton then.

Unsurprisingly it's Jack Leach, who already has nine wickets in the match, to start off.

Lancashire's lead is 45.

Down at Hove, if Sussex are going to have any chance of keeping their promotion hopes alive they're going to need 390 runs today.

That's because Derbyshire have declared overnight on 322-8.

Here's how things are shaping at the top of Division One.

By thrashing Warwickshire yesterday Essex moved to 209 points.

That means Lancashire must win against Somerset to keep the title alive.

If they were to do so they would be on 169 points, 40 points behind Essex with 48 available from the two remaining matches.

If Lancashire draw against Somerset they would move to 158 points and their maximum total from the rest of the season would be 206 and title will be Essex's.

A Somerset win would therefore also confirm that.

As that well-known meerkat says... "Simples".

We have ball-by-ball coverage of the final day's play in the seven remaining Championship games, courtesy of our BBC local radio teams, with BBC 5 live sports extra's Kevin Howells at Chelmsford where Essex are waiting to see if their title is confirmed. Simply choose a match from the links at the top of the page and tune in.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

More from Essex batsman Ravi Bopara (see 10:21 entry).

He says the soon-to-be-champions' success is down to a "good all-round performance" rather than any individual.

"We have had Tom Westley come on a long way and play for England, Simon Harmer has been unbelievable and one of our youngsters Jamie Porter has come along with 60-odd wickets, that has been a massive help," Bopara told BBC Radio 5 live.

"I think eight of our batters have got hundreds, it has been a good all-round performance.

"A lot of the lads I have grown up with and with my best mate Ryan ten Doeschate leading the side, it is just nice to be playing cricket with him for this long."

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Champions elect Essex have to wait a little longer for mathematical confirmation, but batsman Ravi Bopara says they only started to believe they could win the title halfway through the season.

"We didn't say "let's go out and win it", Bopara told BBC Radio 5 live.

"We just said we'd make our signings and enjoy every day and work hard but halfway through the season we started honestly saying to each other 'look we can win this'.

Here's Philip Avery with a helpful video forecast. For more localised information about the prospects for today's play, please visit the BBC Weather website.

Worcestershire can clinch promotion today if they beat Leicestershire at New Road and other results go their way.

Victory would earn them a maximum 24 points, taking them above Nottinghamshire to the top of the table, and their place in Division One would be confirmed if Northants, Kent and Sussex all fail to win.

Leicestershire's position looks precarious with just three wickets remaining and a lead of only 22 runs, but the third day was a memorable one for their young spinner Callum Parkinson, who claimed career-best figures of 8-148.

Warwickshire remain bottom of the Division One table following yesterday's defeat by Essex.

With two matches remaining, the highest number of points they can achieve is 122 - and two maximum-point victories is asking a lot of a side with only one win behind them this summer.

However, should Yorkshire and Middlesex both manage to take at least nine points from their ongoing games, the Bears' relegation will be confirmed.

To do that Yorkshire must avoid defeat by Surrey after being forced to follow-on, while Middlesex need four bonus points against Hampshire, a match that is inevitably heading for a draw, with only 59 overs bowled over the first three days.

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Match positions after the third day's play:

Division One

Middlesex 162-7 (59 overs) v Hampshire

Somerset 335 v Lancashire 133 & 247-8 (f/o)

Lancashire need 45 runs and must win or Essex are champions

Surrey 592 v Yorkshire 394 & 59-1 (f/o)

Yorkshire need another 139 to avoid innings defeat

Division Two

Glamorgan 207 & 320 v Northamptonshire 310 & 42-1

Northants need another 176 for victory

Gloucestershire 385 & 67-0 v Kent 386

Gloucestershire lead by 66 runs

Derbyshire 338 & 322-8 v Sussex 271

Derbyshire lead by 389 runs

Leicestershire 404 & 111-7 v Worcestershire 493

Leicestershire lead by 22 runs

113 and 129 - those are Lancashire's highest partnerships for the ninth and 10th wickets in matches against Somerset.

And it's probably going to take something of that order at Taunton today for them to prolong the title race into next week.

Essex are already ordering in silver polish following yesterday's win over Warwickshire - and Lancashire are only 45 runs ahead against Somerset with just two wickets remaining.

Time - and an eager Somerset attack - is against the Red Rose county, so is this the day Essex are officially crowned champions? Stay with us to find out.

Image source, Rex Features