Image source, Rex Features

When a title is at stake, you want the games that matter to be in the balance.

That is certainly the case at Headingley where Yorkshire need another 174 to beat Warwickshire, and at the Ageas Bowl where the game is heading towards a run-chase by Division One leaders Notts, after Keith Barker took 7-46 to earn Hampshire a first-innings lead.

Lancashire are in control at Taunton, but Somerset are showing plenty of fight in their second innings as they try to keep their hopes alive.

We'll be back with you tomorrow for the third day's play. If the weather is kind, it should be a cracker.

Division One

Ageas Bowl: Hampshire 226 & 133-7 v Nottinghamshire 155

Hampshire lead by 204 with 3 wickets standing

Taunton: Somerset 90 & 226-4 v Lancashire 373

Somerset trail by 57 with 6 wickets standing

Headingley: Yorkshire 108 & 50-3 v Warwickshire 155 & 176

Yorkshire need another 174 with 7 wickets standing

Division Two

Cardiff: Glamorgan 309 v Gloucestershire 224-4

Gloucestershire trail by 85 with 6 wickets standing

Northampton: Northamptonshire 183 & 10-0 v Durham 400

Northants trail by 207 with 10 wickets standing

Kia Oval: Surrey 107-7 v Essex 439

Surrey trail by 332 with 3 wickets standing

Division Three

Derby: Derbyshire 156 v Kent 285 & 147-1

Kent lead by 276 with 9 wickets standing

Leicester: Leicestershire 291-2 v Sussex 359

Leicestershire trail by 68 with 8 wickets standing

Lord's: Middlesex 144 & 233-6 v Worcestershire 171

Middlesex lead by 206 with 4 wickets standing

Brad Wheal survives and Hampshire end day two with a lead of 204 against Division One leaders Nottinghamshire.

Undoubted star of the day is Keith Barker, who took the first seven wickets in Notts' first innings and finished with career-best figures of 7-46.

Hampshire were 28-4 in their second innings, but skipper James Vince made 52 in a stand of 82 with Liam Dawson and Barker was 11 not out at the close.

Notts won't want this lead to get much larger - the chase is already going to be a tough one, with so much at stake.

Keith Barker takes one from Luke Fletcher's opening delivery. That will suit Notts, who would like to concentrate their attack on Brad Wheal.

Liam Patterson-White to continue - he has 2-17 so far.

Brad Wheal's job is surely to protect partner Keith Barker.

He does it well, blocking out a maiden, but Barker will be on strike at the start of the last.

Unlucky. Luke Fletcher finds the edge of Keith Barker's bat, but it runs away past third slip for four. Barker is 10 not out and there are two overs to come at the Ageas Bowl.

Another over ticks by at the Ageas Bowl. Just a single from it to Felix Organ. Four overs to come.

Hampshire bowling hero Keith Barker fails to make proper contact with a reverse sweep, but is undaunted and finds the boundary after repeating the stroke. Two dot balls follow - there are five overs to come and the ome side lead by 192.

The umpires call off play for the day after taking the teams off because of murky light at Derby.

Kent are firmly in control, having found their Championship form in the second phase of the season, after dismissing the home side in 43.3 overs, with Grant Stewart taking 5-23.

Jordan Cox and Zak Crawley (68) began their second innings with a stand of 114 and Cox will resume on 58 on the third morning.5

Surrey are in real danger of being made to bat again, they end day two 332 runs behind Essex with just three wickets in hand.

The one positive for the hosts though is that South African Hashim Amla is still not out at stumps.

He's on 58 from 114 and will be joined by James Taylor (two not out) tomorrow morning.

James Hildreth (22) and Lewis Goldsworthy (five) make it to stumps with Somerset 58 runs away from making Lancashire bat again.

Lancashire's Luke Wells is the man of the day with 3-8 off seven overs.

A brilliant game so far for the opener who scored exactly 100 on day one too.

As for Somerset, Tom Lammonby's 100 was a rare bright spark with the host losing 14 wickets in one day.

Postpublished at 17:59 British Summer Time 13 September 2021

17:59 BST 13 September 2021

Hampshire 226 & 116-5 v Notts 155

Felix Organ produced some expansive shots in his first-innings knock and he gets off the mark with a slog sweep for six off Liam Patterson-White. The lead is 187 at the end of that over.

James Vince misses out on a half-volley from Luke Fletcher, whose latest over is a maiden. There are eight still to come at the Ageas Bowl with Hampshire now 181 ahead.

Vince is 52 not out and Felix Organ has yet to score.

Image source, Rex Features

A great day for Hassan Azad (122) and Lewis Hill (109) who share an unbroken partnership of 183 to stumps at the Uptonsteel County Ground.

It is a third-wicket record for the county against Sussex, beating the 163 by George Watson and Maurice Tompkin at Hastings in 1947.

Leicestershire took five Sussex wickets for 49 during the morning, as Chris Wright claimed 6-94, but lost Sam Evans to the first ball of their reply.

George Rhodes made 37, but Azad and Hill struck 11 fours each - plus two sixes by Hill - to leave their side 68 behind at the close.

John Simpson is 59 not out and Luke Hollman has 40 as Middlesex reach the end of day two at Lord's with a lead of 206.

Worcestershire managed to add 58 to their overnight 113-8, with Tim Murtagh returning figures of 5-64 for the home side.

Middlesex were then reduced to 39-4, but Max Holden (46) and Martin Andersson (45) steadied the innings before Simpson and Hollman put on 80 to stumps.

Four overs to go.

Somerset happy to dig in until close.