It's been a tough couple of weeks for 2017 champions Essex, who had to follow-on against Hampshire last week and have not had the best of things over the first couple of days at the Oval.

A Dan Lawrence century, though, will make things seem a little brighter and after resuming on 87 not out against Surrey, he quickly advances his score by three off Tom Curran. There will, in theory, be 104 overs bowled today because of yesterday's bad-light finish.

Ben Slater is in block mode and defends Jack Brooks on the up.

Can he get through the new ball?

Maiden over.

Yorkshire had to use the spin of Joe Root and Jack Leaning for the final few overs of day two at the Rose Bowl because of the fading light, and the latter made a crucial breakthrough when Aiden Markram obligingly hit him to deep mid-wicket.

There's no temptation to continue that approach this morning, though, and it's Ben Coad first up with the ball in hand. Sam Northeast and nightwatchman Kyle Abbott are the not out batsmen.

Nervous times for Ben Slater and nightwatchman Luke Fletcher, who resume the batting this morning after Jack Brooks prized out Ben Duckett and Chris Nash in quick succession last night.

But despite the pressure, Luke Fletcher can still see the funny side...

Headband is in place, so Jack Brooks to bowl.

This has been a valuable rearguard so far for Dominic Sibley and Adam Hose, who put on 52 runs in 22.4 overs after the Bears were in trouble at 84-3.

Can they push on today?

Darren Stevens to bowl.

Image source, Getty Images

A maiden and unbeaten first-class hundred from Ryan Patel helped reigning champions Surrey to 395 all out against Essex at the Oval, where the visitors will begin day three 193 behind.

On a pitch where wickets have fallen in clusters, it was a timely and valuable innings by Patel, who was only on 84 when number 11 Morne Morkel joined him at the crease.

"I've been guilty of giving my wicket away in the past. I was happy, how long I batted and obviously the tempo that I batted was good for the situation," he told BBC Radio London.

"When Morne came in the butterflies started to go a little bit, but he was perfect at the other end to speak to and he said he'd be there all the way."

We have full ball-by-ball coverage for you of all nine games today from our BBC local radio teams. Choose a match from the links at the top of the page and tune in. Regular updates on what is happening at the other grounds will appear in this text commentary.

Image source, BBC Sport

Looks like new Durham captain Cameron Bancroft is a fan of the group huddle (see below) - but he'll be hoping his bat can do the talking when he resumes on 14 not out against Sussex at the Riverside.

The Australian was out for 33 in the first innings and wouldn't he just love it if he could put together a century today.

Gary Ballance's 148 helped Yorkshire to their third highest ever score against Hampshire on day two at the Ageas Bowl, where the hosts reached stumps on 74-3, trailing by 480 runs.

Hampshire will surely need their batsman to chip in all the way down the order, with Liam Dawson set to bat after bowling 60 overs for a haul of 3-184 in the visitors' first innings.

"It is a pretty good wicket but we saw that, if you put the ball in the right area for long enough, then there is a little bit there. If we do that for long enough then the chances will come," said Ballance.,

Image source, PA

"The pitch is probably a bit slower than (last week) against Essex. The toss was massive and they are in a very good position with runs on the board," added Dawson.

"60 overs is a lot. Some people will look at my figures and think that it isn't much to write home about but I thought I bowled really nicely the whole time."

Image source, Getty Images

Somerset batsman George Bartlett was delighted to prove a point to himself after putting them in a strong position on day two at Trent Bridge with an innings of 133, his second first-class century.

He and Tom Abell, who made 101, shared a stand of 223, after the visitors had been reduced to 36-3 by Nottinghamshire, and he said: "I was delighted to get that one last year but I was really focused on getting this second one to prove it wasn’t a one-time thing."

Bartlett added: “I’m chuffed to bits to get over the line, and the partnership with Tom was crucial to get us into get into a strong position, so I’m really pleased.

“I thought Tom’s was a brilliant knock, he does it more and more when we need him to, when we’re under pressure. He’s such a good team man.”

Image source, Getty Images

Warwickshire captain Jeetan Patel has called for greater consistency from his bowlers after Ollie Robinson's maiden century propelled Kent to a 500 plus first-innings score at Edgbaston.

Promoted from Division Two last season, the Bears will start day three needing to score another 368 to avoid the prospect of following on.

"It was a tough first day and Kent added to the fine work they did. You can't knock the way they played. As a bowling unit, we weren't consistent enough. Yes, we beat the bat and created chances but in between that we weren't as potent as we would have liked," Patel told BBC WM.

"We have got a lot of improvements to make, especially with the ball. But there are some very good signs. Henry Brookes, Ryan Sidebottom and Craig Miles, when he got it right, bowled well."

Looks like we could be in luck with the weather again today (see below). For a more detailed forecast, pop over to the BBC Weather site, where you can use the search box for localised information.

Division One

Kent 504-9 dec v Warwickshire 136-3

Warwickshire trail by 368 with seven wickets standing

Surrey 395 v Essex 202-4

Essex trail by 193 with six wickets standing

Notinghamshire 263 & 25-2 v Somerset 403

Notts trail by 115 runs with eight wickets standing

Yorkshire 554-7 dec v Hampshire 74-3

Hampshire trail by 480 with seven wickets standing

Division Two

Middlesex 265 v Lancashire 267-4

Lancashire lead by two runs with six wickets standing

Worcestershire 553-6 dec v Leicestershire 180-4

Leicestershire trail by 373 with six wickets standing

Derbyshire 291 v Gloucestershire 202-5

Gloucestershire trail by 89 with five wickets standing

Glamorgan 570-8 dec v Northamptonshire 234-0

Northants trail by 336 with 10 wickets standing

Durham 224 & 31-1 v Sussex 202

Durham lead by 53 with nine wickets standing

We've seen some pretty big scores over the first two days of the latest County Championship matches.

Surrey, Yorkshire, Somerset and Kent are all hoping to press home strong positions created by their batsmen's efforts in Division One.

Meanwhile, on an absolute belter of a track at Cardiff, we've already had four centuries in the game between Glamorgan and Northants, with Rob Newton to resume for the visitors, just 15 runs away from making it five.

Welcome to our coverage. Play starts at 11:00 BST.

Image source, Rex Features