Only six teams can now become county champions this summer at the end of the competition's initial group stage.

Fifteen wickets fall on the first day as Kent are forced to name a new team against Sussex after a positive Covid-19 test.

Another gripping day's County Championship cricket is done, hampered only by the late Covid-related start in Canterbury, then the band of rain that swept up the M5 corridor through the Cotswolds forcing early finishes first at Cardiff, then Cheltenham and finally Worcester.

Performance of the day has to be Lancashire's domination of the Roses Match, thanks largely to centurion Keaton Jennings (132 - his second Roses ton of the summer) and Alex Davies (84). That just shades the 220-run stand between Warwickshire pair Pieter Malan (141) and Dom Sibley at New Road.

But there were also tons for Middlesex's Sam Robson at Merchant Taylor's and Somerset's stand-in skipper James Hildreth, the man largely revered in domestic cricket as the best current player never to play for England.

Plenty there to chew over until we reconvene at 10:45 tomorrow morning.

Until then, enjoy your evening and hope you can all find some way of amusing yourselves.

Nessun dorma, as they say.

Yep, that's it for the day.

Well, it might be a dead rubber at the foot of Group Three - but the battle between two sides full of youth has certainly served up a whole dollop of excitement.

Jas Singh, 18, took 4-51 on his debut as a patched-up Kent side, hit by late Covid-related absences, limited Sussex to 181.

But three teenagers starred for Sussex too - James Coles (36) and Oli Carter (32) with the bat before James Atkins took 3-21 with the ball as Kent limped to 69-5 at close.

There is discussion between the umpires and Sussex skipper Ollie Robinson.

Seems the light is getting too poor.

Harry Podmore, who took three wickets earlier in the day, has just survived a big caught behind shout.

Kent can't really afford to lose any more wickets in the remaining overs.

BBC Radio Kent commentators think we might play until 19:15 BST at Canterbury - but they say the skies are getting gloomy even with the floodlights on.

The match in Canterbury is the only one still going now.

That's because play started an hour later due to the confirmation of a positive Covid case that meant Kent had to name almost an entirely new team.

Here's that flurry of wickets for Sussex bowler Jamie Atkins.

After bowling out Derbyshire for 146, Essex have so far lost three wickets before the close in reducing the deficit to 60.

Nick Browne (28 off 11 balls in two and a half hours) and New Zealand's Jimmy Neesham (10 not out) have an opportunity to help Essex build a match-winning lead on day two.

Especially with Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater and Simon Harmer still to come.

Essex, Championship winners in 2019 and Bob Willis Trophy victors in 2020, look increasingly unlikely to get a chance of a third successive red-ball crown. But their first priority this week was to win this game - and trey are already in a good position to do that,

Three bonus points each for Durham and Notts on day one - and three wickets for Chris Rushworth on his 35th birthday.

And County Durham-born Liam Patterson-White ends it on 66 not out - just seven short of his career-best.

Middlesex have assumed full control of their Group Two dead rubber with Leicestershire at Merchant Taylors' School.

That's thanks to Sam Robson, whose excellent 138no has contributed almost exactly half their total.

Unquestionably Lancashire's day at the Roses Match.

They have enjoyed one of their best-ever days in Leeds, reaching the close on 273-2.

That was all largely down to a superb 163-run stand between Alex Davies (84) and Keaton Jennings, who went on to hit 132, his second Roses Match ton of the summer.

It's been Somerset's day at the Kia Oval as the Group Two leaders have set themselves an excellent platform to reach Division One.

Skipper James Hildreth has been front and centre, his excellent 107 anchoring a first day total of 280-6 that Lewis Goldsworthy (48), Steve Davies (42) and Tom Lammonby (42) all contributed to as well.

Surrey had reduced them to 113-3 at one point but Hildreth took charge before falling late in the day to Jordan Clark, who tops the hosts' bowling figures with 3-55.