Nathan: "Don’t get why Somerset are batting on just declare and go for the win and don’t have to worry about last game of the season #bbccricket, external"

It's a mystifying decision.

Ben Raine starts with a military medium half-tracker and Tom Haines cuts it away for four.

The left-hander plays the same shot two balls later - this one is uppish but it's wide of the slips and flies to the third man boundary.

Toby Roland-Jones opens with a maiden to Harry Swindells.

Conditions for batting look more favourable than late yesterday, but Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh will pose their usual problems.

Matthew Potts has one ball to bowl to finish the over he started almost 24 hours ago.

James Coles is on strike. No addition. We are under way.

The last time Derbyshire played a Championship game vs Glamorgan here in Cardiff in 2017, the visitors won by 39 runs - but they'll settle for a draw here.

That would put Division Two leaders Notts out of reach and scupper Glamorgan's promotion chances.

Umpires Billy Taylor and Ian Blackwell are in the middle.

Wayne Madsen resumes on 30 not out with his batting partner Leus du Plooy on 36.

James Harris will bowl to du Plooy.

Tom Abell and Tom Lammonby have returned to the crease.

Somerset have a 401-run lead and 96 overs to play with, but they are going to bat on. Discuss...

As play gets under way, here's a bit of good news for Durham fans. Not so good for followers of Kent.

Image source, Getty Images

Somerset go into the final day at Taunton knowing that ten Northants wickets will guarantee their place in Division One for next season.

Northants' status was already secured yesterday, following defeat for Warwickshire, so will they take their foot off the pedal subconsciously?

When they had to fight last week at home to Surrey, they showed admirable resilience with the bat thanks to a century from Saif Zaib.

Kent, Yorkshire and Warwickshire will be hoping the Steelbacks will show similar qualities today.

Five Championship games done and dusted, just four have reached the final day, but we have full coverage of that quartet supplied by our BBC local radio teams.

Choose a stream at the top of the page and follow our regular text updates on events elsewhere.

Image source, Getty Images

Somerset skipper Tom Abell thanked neighbours Gloucestershire for doing them a favour after scoring his second century of the game against Northants at Taunton.

Gloucestershire's third-day win over Warwickshire means Somerset can secure their Division One status for 2023 with a victory of their own after closing with a lead of 401.

"It was pretty tense batting at times because we were hearing from different sources what was going on at Bristol. When the applause from our crowd broke out for Gloucestershire winning, it was a relief because that was a big result for us," he said.

"Every hundred I score for Somerset is special to me because they don't come easily, so I am very proud of getting two in one game."

Image source, Rex Features

Toby Roland-Jones said avoiding injury problems had been key to his success this summer after increasing his wicket-tally to 62 on day three against Leicestershire.

Middlesex's former England paceman took 3-6 in three overs before the close to boost their hopes of a place in Division One next season.

“It has been a good season for me to take some wickets and be fit for a full summer, which hasn’t been the case for a little while. And if we can cap it with promotion next week it will feel even better," he said.

“It has been a good game and that starts with the pitch. There is something in it for the seamers with the new ball and as the game has gone on there has been bits of rough that for the spinners."

Image source, Getty Images

Events at Leicester and Cardiff means it looks like promotion will be out of the question for Durham by the end of the day.

But they will be looking to finish an impressive job against Sussex after only 2.2 overs of play were possible on day three.

They need six wickets for a third win of the season, with Ben Raine having taken three of the four to fall so far.

Sussex need another 288 to avoid an innings defeat, which looks a tall order given their batting so far in this match and without the reassuring presence of Cheteshwar Pujara in their team.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

The pressure is on Glamorgan to finish the job at Sophia Gardens and keep themselves firmly in the promotion picture ahead of next week's final round of fixtures.

Should Middlesex win at Leicester, the Welsh club need to match their result to be nine points behind them and 18 adrift of leaders Notts prior to their last game, away to Sussex.

"It's a game I think will go to the last session unless things happen drastically in the morning, one of those games we have to keep working," said spinner Ajaz Patel, who took 5-68 in Derbyshire's first innings.

"Hopefully we can chalk up a win and a few more wickets in my column would be nice."

Good news. The BBC Weather website says that apart from the possibility of some early rain at Taunton, we should have a largely dry day at the four grounds where games are ongoing.

Division One

Somerset 389 & 277-1 v Northamptonshire 265

Somerset lead by 401 with 9 wickets standing

Division Two

Durham 459-7 dec v Sussex 162 & 9-4

Sussex trail by 288 with 6 wickets standing

Glamorgan 550-5 dec v Derbyshire 253 & 123-3 (f/o)

Derbyshire trail by 174 with 7 wickets standing

Leicestershire 294 & 13-4 v Middlesex 297 & 271

Leics need another 262 to win with 6 wickets standing

--Thursday's results---

Gloucestershire 255 & 149-7 v Warwickshire 274 & 128

Gloucestershire won by 3 wickets

Hampshire 57 & 300 v Kent 165 & 269

Kent won by 77 runs

Surrey 333 & 55-0 v Yorkshire 179 & 208 (f/o)

Surrey won by 10 wickets

Worcestershire 390 v Nottinghamshire 128 & 183 (f/o)

Worcestershire beat Notts by innings and 79 runs

Who's going up, who's going down (or vice versa)?

These are the main questions to be answered over the final five days of the 2022 County Championship season following Surrey's title win yesterday.

The answers may become a little clearer as we finish off the penultimate round of games today.

Welcome to our coverage. Play starts at 10:30.

Image source, Rex Features