Image source, Rex Features

Players back out for the second morning at The Oval as Surrey bid to press on with their tail-end and pick up some more batting bonus points.

Big question of the day so far is what did Alec Stewart and Ben Foakes have stowed away in that box in the warm-up?

The home side are up against it here after a strong Red Rose bowling attack dragged from 206-5 down to 236-9 before stumps.

Toby Roland-Jones (23 not out) and Tim Murtagh, who hasn't yet faced a ball, will try and salvage another batting point.

Tom Bailey to finish his over. Five balls left.

Just to reassure you, commentary is in place and good to go...

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Centuries for Glamorgan debutants Marnus Labuschange (121) and Billy Root (126 not out) have put Glamorgan in complete control in their County Championship match against Northants, who may yet face more toil in the field today, with Kiran Carlson also unbeaten on 101.

Marnus Labuschange told BBC Sport:

"It’s the perfect start. As an overseas player to come over here with a bit of expectation... it was good to just make sure you’re focused and stick to your processed and it was good to score one."

On Billy Root and Kiran Carlson:

"Rooty and Kiran were superb in that last session, putting the bowlers under pressure, which was great, and it was good to be out there and able to contribute to the team."

On the pitch:

"Early on it nipped a little bit and the first new ball swung for nearly 40 overs, but it was one of those wickets where you just wanted to keep doing the basics really well."

Hear below from Lancashire and England bowler James Anderson who picked up 3-41 for the Red Rose on the opening day of their Division Two encounter against Middlesex at Lord's.

Lancashire will hope to mop up the last pair before having a bat themselves later with a top-order that includes Keaton Jennings, Haseeb Hameed and Glenn Maxwell amongst others.

Image source, Getty Images

Lewis Gregory's 6-68 gave Somerset the upper hand for much of day one at Trent Bridge, but a defiant innings from Chris Nash (58), a whirlwind counterattack from Luke Wood (52 in 64 balls) and three Somerset wickets before stumps will give both teams cause for optimism going into day two.

Nottinghamshire's Chris Nash told BBC Sport:

"I think it’s pretty evenly poised and been a really good day of cricket, played on a good wicket with a quick outfield and in front of a good crowd."

On the Somerset innings so far:

"I thought they were three big wickets for us to take. Broady (Stuart Broad) bowled beautifully for all eight overs and could have had three or four wickets."

Somerset's Lewis Gregory told BBC Sport:

"Obviously any day where you succeed and take some wickets or score some runs is a good day to be a cricketer, so this is a pretty special day and hopefully we can try and capitalize where we are currently."

On the state of play:

"Obviously they got three early wickets, so we’ve had a pretty good day but the first session tomorrow morning will be crucial in deciding which way it’s going to go."

Image source, Getty Images

Will Jacks (88), Ben Foakes (69) and Ryan Patel (70 not out) led the Surrey fightback from 86-3 against their 2018 nemesis Essex, and although the defending champions lost their way a little with three wickets falling in 5.1 overs before the close, they remain well placed on a pitch that's offered a little assistance to the bowlers.

Will Jacks told BBC Sport:

“We were really happy with that. The openers did really well to get to 75-0 when it was doing a little bit."

He added: “We’re disappointed to lose three in the last seven or eight overs but we’re still in a really strong position."

On the pitch:

“It’s a really good pitch but wickets have fallen twice in batches of three."

“There has been some nip when the ball’s been hard so we will look to exploit that when they bat.”

Image source, BBC Sport

As ever, we've got every ball of every game live for you thanks to our colleagues on BBC local radio.

Mark Church and company are already settling in for another day in The Oval commentary box.

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra will also have coverage of that match between Surrey and Essex online and on DAB Digital radio until 15:25 BST.

Find your match of choice by searching through the live coverage options at the top of the page.

Weather watchpublished at 10:50 British Summer Time 12 April 2019

10:50 BST 12 April 2019

It's looking like a similar story on the weather front to yesterday according to our colleagues at the BBC Weather Centre.

Plenty of sunshine to begin with if not particularly high temperatures with cloud building in some areas later this afternoon.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's how things stand across the two divisions, you can follow all the scorecards here throughout the day.

Division One:

Ageas Bowl: Hampshire v Yorkshire 310-3

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 263 v Somerset 74-3

The Oval: Surrey 342-7 v Essex

Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Kent 367-5

Division Two:

Chester-le-Street: Durham 210-8 v Sussex

Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 433-4 v Northamptonshire

Bristol: Gloucestershire v Derbyshire 256-7

Grace Road: Leicestershire v Worcestershire 348-4

Lord's: Middlesex 236-9 v Lancashire

Image source, Getty Images

Well, happy Friday everyone and also a very warm welcome to day two of our coverage of this round of the County Championship.

A full programme of nine fixtures with all 18 counties in action.

Plenty of headline-makers on the first day yesterday and if you need a reminder of the main stories, here's the place to read all the close of play reports.

Play set to resume on the second morning in the next 15 minutes or so and we'll bring you up to speed with where things stands very shortly.