Image source, Rex Features

Plenty of wickets around on day two of the opening round of Championship matches, but Sam Northeast did Hampshire proud with an innings-of-the-day 169 against Essex at the Ageas Bowl.

England skipper Joe Root ended the day on 56 not out for Yorkshire against Notts, while his predecessor Sir Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 17 for Essex when bad light ended play in their game.

Spectators at both matches could be in for a treat tomorrow if both can survive the opening overs on day three.

We'll be back from 10:30 on Sunday morning with all the action. Until then, have a good evening.

Division One

Hampshire 525-8 dec v Essex 25-1

Essex trail by 500 with nine wickets standing

Nottinghamshire 408 v Yorkshire 206-5

Yorkshire trail by 202 with five wickets standing

Somerset 171 v Kent 84-2

Kent trail by 87 with eight wickets standing

Division Two

Derbyshire 197 & 107-3 v Durham 171

Derbyshire lead by 133 with seven wickets standing

Northamptonshire 445 v Middlesex 134-7

Middlesex trail by 311 with three wickets standing

Sussex 173 & 211-2 v Leicestershire 252

Sussex lead by 132 with eight wickets standing

Matt Renshaw plays out a maiden over from Jack Brooks - both of them debutants for their respective sides - and that is the end of an excellent day at Taunton, if you are a Kent fan.

After the loss of four sessions, they ran through Somerset's batting line-up in just 48 overs, with paceman Mitch Claydon claiming 5-46, and Tom Abell's 49 the highest score for the home side.

Sean Dickson and Zak Crawley began Kent's reply with a stand of 71, and Dickson will resume on 41 not out as they look to build a sizeable first-innings lead in the hope of forcing a victory.

“Batting’s about making decisions. Sometimes you make smart decisions, sometimes you make poor decisions. We’re all disappointed with the way things have gone today.” said Somerset head coach Jason Kerr.

Image source, Getty Images

With a flurry of matches ending play at roughly the same time, we belatedly bring you news of a Somerset wicket at Taunton, where Zak Crawley was caught at second slip by Marcus Trescothick off Craig Overton. Clearly nothing wrong with Tresco's eyesight despite the floodlights.

Crawley made 37 in an opening stand of 71 with Sean Dickson, and Kent have sent in Harry Podmore as a nigtwatchman.

BBC Sport's Kit Harris: "The only good news for Somerset right now is that their new floodlights work well. Apparently they have thousands of different animated settings, for those all-night Taunton raves and Elton John tribute concerts. Tom Abell’s men would probably rather they were just switched to off at the moment."

After a prolonged wait, the umpires admit defeat at the Ageas Bowl and call play off for the day.

Having taken the players off for an early tea as the light closed in, they allowed a brief return two balls before deciding they could not continue.

Alastair Cook will start day three on 17 not out, with Essex trailing by 500 runs and needing a big innings from someone to have a chance of avoiding the follow-on.

But they can try and follow the lead of Hampshire's Sam Northeast, who top scored in Hampshire's first innings with a magnificent 169.

The umpires have indeed brought the day's proceedings to a close at Trent Bridge.

Nottinghamshire, who lead by 202, will be the happier of the two teams. Yorkshire looked well set on 194-3 in reply to the home side's 408, but the quick wickets of Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Jack Leaning through Stuart Broad and Luke Fletcher respectively have brought the game back into Notts' control.

Yorkshire's Joe Root, however, stands firm on 56*. You would think that the England captain, who was dropped on 8 and 44, could play a key role tomorrow.

We're still waiting for official confirmation that the day's play is over at Trent Bridge. It seems likely.

Stuart Broad is off the field for Nottinghamshire. Lyndon James is the twelfth-man.

Ten overs remain at Trent Bridge, but it's touch-and-go whether the light will take us that far. The players are casting long old shadows...

That's it. The umpires are taking the players off.

Batting proved far easier on the second day at Hove, with Phil Salt's 80 and an unbroken stand of 75 between Stiaan van Zyl and Luke Wells - both 41 not out - carrying Sussex into a 132-run lead.

Lewis Hill's 67 earlier in the day helped give Leicestershire a 79-run advantage on first innings, but Salt hit a six and 11 fours in a bold 67-ball counter-attack.

He put on 105 for the first wicket with Tom Haines (39) before both fell to Colin Ackermann, but van Zyl and Wells ensured that the home side ended the day in a strong position.

Durham have succeeded in drying up the runs in recent overs, but bad light has now forced the teams from the field with Derbyshire 133 ahead.

Tom Lace has 41 not out, just two runs short of his highest first-class score, including three fours in one over off Matt Salisbury, with Alex Hughes on seven at the other end.

Luis Reece fell for 10 at the start of their second innings, one of two victims for Salisbury, having earlier undermined Durham's hopes of a lead with figures of 5-47.

It's now been ten overs since Yorkshire last scored a boundary, during which time they've lost the wickets of Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Jack Leaning. Nottinghamshire, who lead by 205, have taken a hold of proceedings at Trent Bridge.

Bad light ends play early at Wantage Road with Northamptonshire well on top against Middlesex, who trail by 311 with only three wickets standing in their first innings.

Luke Procter's 81 not out, and last-wicket stand of 71 with Ben Sanderson, carried the home side beyond 400 and they were soon among the wickets with West Indies skipper Jason Holder removing both openers.

Dawid Malan failed to enhance his England Test prospects by making only 19 and Eoin Morgan was caught in the slips for 25 shortly before the umpires took the players off.

Back-to-back boundaries by Zak Crawley off Craig Overton and Kent's openers post a half-century partnership.

Overton is punished for failing to bowl a consistent line as he is clipped through mid-wicket then driven through the off-side as Crawley progresses to 34 not out.

50 for Joe Rootpublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 6 April 2019

17:56 BST 6 April 2019

Notts 408 v Yorkshire 200-5

There it is. The England skipper guides a Stuart Broad delivery to Luke Fletcher at third-man, moving to 50* in the process.

That's Root's 57th first-class half-century. It's come off 99 balls, taking 148 minutes.

Yorkshire reach 200 and register their first batting bonus point.

Joe Root has been starved of runs in the last half-hour. The England captain, who is stuck on 49* having been dropped on 8 and 44, survives an LBW shout from Luke Fletcher. That's hurt Root a little bit, but he's back on his feet now.

The gloom might just be starting to descend at Trent Bridge. We'll keep an eye on that. 14 overs remain.

Frustration for Northamptonshire as umpires Peter Hartley and Paul Pollard lead the teams from the field.

Middlesex recently lost their seventh wicket, with John Simpson caught by Jason Holder off Ben Sanderson for three, a low chance picked up millimetres above the turf.

They trail by 311, but the light has closed in and play has been halted with 14 overs remaining.

Getting a bit murky overhead at Taunton. Still another 18 overs scheduled in the day's play.