We now have play underway at a fourth ground too, Chelmsford, where Essex openers Nick Browne and Alastair Cook have made solid progress.

It is a wet ball though and not easy for the bowlers.

Postpublished at 11:20 British Summer Time 6 May 2023

11:20 BST 6 May 2023

Derbyshire 350-7 dec v Leicestershire 122

Wow. Zak Chappell clobbers Wiaan Mulder for a straight six and the hosts declare pretty much as the ball crosses the rope.

Bonus point - their sixth - and time to attack the visitors with a lead of 228. Pretty much a perfect 18 minutes for the hosts.

Mulder has to settle for a fiver-fer, Chappell finished unbeaten on 23 with Henry Brookes adding 13* to go with his stellar performance with the ball.

The covers are coming on, which doesn't bode well.. the weather radar also looks foreboding.

Richard Wilford
BBC Radio WM at The Ageas Bowl

A soggy scene at the Ageas Bowl where the overnight rain has persisted through the morning.

The prospects aren’t great until well into the afternoon.

Warwickshire will be eager for any play with a lead of 135 runs and five first-innings wickets remaining.

Another 100 runs or so would enable them to put Hampshire under real pressure on Sunday.”

Image source, Richard Wilford - BBC Sport

Wiaan Mulder thought he had trapped Henry Brookes lbw but despite a heart appeal there's nothing doing. Possibly drifting down leg?

Leicestershire are expecting an onslaught from the hosts in search of a batting point, judging by their field settings. It's a strange position given the likely imact of the weather. Will Derbyshire be wasting their own time in pursuit of victory?

Zak Chappell smashes Josh Hull through mid-wicket for four to drag them within 11 runs of a third bonus point.

A slow start at Headingley so far this morning, where Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Northeast have resumed and are looking to stretch Glamorgan's advantage over Yorkshire.

Northeast is off the mark by crunching Jordan Thompson square for a boundary and that takes the Glamorgan lead beyond 200. Yorkshire are a seamer down, with Ben Coad injured, so it's Thompson and Mickey Edwards shouldering bowling duties so far.

Quite how long they're on for, only Mother Nature can know, but for the second day in succession they have started on time at Derby.

Henry Brookes cracks Josh Hull to the ropes to start the second over and take the lead up to 212.

We are off and running then, but with play in only three games, at Trent Bridge, where they have started under floodlights, Derby and Leeds.

No play at Taunton, Worcester, Southampton or Chelmsford.

Andrew Radd
BBC Radio Northampton

The Coronation is showing on the big screen here at Taunton - but no immediate prospect of play on day three between Somerset and Northamptonshire following heavy rain earlier this morning.

The umpires will make a further inspection at midday, and with the forecast suggesting drier conditions later there's cautious optimism that we may get underway at some point.

The delay won't be doing much for the nerves of Tom Kohler-Cadmore whose magnificent counterattack yesterday evening left him unbeaten on 95 at the close.

We have live ball-by-ball commentaries from all seven games today, where there is play that is.

The audio links are at the top of the page.

We'll keep you up to date with events elsewhere with regular text updates.

Dan Wheeler
BBC Hereford & Worcester at New Road

Image source, Dan Wheeler - BBC Sport

The jaunty tug of the flag of St George on top of the Cathedral tower on Coronation Day is doing its best to set an optimistic scene at New Road - but the weather hasn't got the memo.

It's been raining since 9:00 BST and hasn't stopped. The covers are saturated. The sky an unhelpful slate gray. The clock on the digital score board out at deep square leg is the brightest thing out there. Which is never a good sign.

Sussex will be the most miffed. Cheteshwar Pujara's masterful century yesterday put the visitors in control as they secured a first-innings lead of 109 before Ollie Robinson nipped out Jake Libby to leave Worcestershire 34-1, 75 behind.

With the forecast not improving until later this afternoon, the damage done by the rain may mean we all come back for a final-day shoot-out tomorrow.

There has been a lot of rain in the west overnight and this morning but the covers are beginning to come off and the umpires plan to inspect at midday.

There is also an official delayed start at Worcester while the covers remain on at Southampton too.

We hate to break it to you but expect to hear about more delays in the coming moments..

Image source, Rex Features

It was a special day on Friday for Glamorgan seamer Michael Neser, who took a hat-trick and claimed a career-best 7-32 against Yorkshire at Headingley.

"It was a special moment to get that hat-trick - my first first-class hat-trick, second overall," said Neser.

"The outswinger wasn’t doing as much. I bowled one inswinger and it went quite big, so I decided to stick with it. Fortunately enough, it worked."

Neser has played twice for Australia at Test level and hopes to be involved in the Ashes series against England this summer.

"It would be a special moment for myself if I’m selected. I’m ready to go if the opportunity arises.

"It's always great to be here playing county cricket, especially with the Ashes tour here this year. It’s good to be having games under my belt in this country."

Yorkshire captain Adam Lyth added: "Full credit to Neser with his hat-trick, and he took the wind out of our sails really.

"I guess we were saved by the rain. Now we have to pick ourselves up, put the ball in the right area and hopefully restrict them to a total that we can potentially chase."

Tom Kohler-Cadmore needs five more runs to bring up his first century for Somerset, after a superbly positive knock in the final session yesterday.

His 71-ball innings has contained 16 fours and one six.

Somerset trail Northants by 56 runs but will fancy having a decent lead if Kohler-Cadmore repeats his form of Friday for any length of time.

Image source, Getty Images

It's delicately poised at the halfway point of the Division One game between Notts and Lancashire at Trent Bridge.

Haseeb Hameed's resolute 97 earned Notts a narrow first-innings advantage.

However, George Balderson and Josh Bohannon were batting well when the rain came yesterday, and their first job at the resumption is to extend Lancashire's lead, which at the moment stands at 63.

Image source, Rex Features

It's fair to say that despite a briliiant start, Friday became a long and demoralising day for Hampshire.

They claimed three Warwickshire wickets for the addition of just 12 runs in a 35 minute window between showers before lunch, but afterwards it was one-way traffic.

Alex Davies completed his fifty, Sam Hain fell 15 short of a third century in four games, while Ed Barnard was unbeaten on 91 overnight with Michael Burgess on 60 at the other end.

The Bears were denied victory at Taunton by the weather in week one and came within minutes of a similar fate against Kent the week after. The weather already looks to be the visitors' biggest obstacle when it comes to claiming victory at the Ageas Bowl.

They have a lead of 135 with five wickets in hand but, with a full day's play expected on Sunday, if they can add some quick runs in any opportunities they get today, they will be in the box seat.

Defending champions Surrey have again looked the team to beat so far this season, but their bowling attack will need to fire against Essex after they were dismissed for 240 on day two at Chelmsford.

Essex seamer Jamie Porter took 4-51 on a stop-start day, with Sam Cook and Doug Bracewell picking up two wickets apiece to bowl the league leaders out for a modest 240.

None of Surrey's batters reached 50 as they failed to pick up a bonus point and conceded a first-innings deficit of 74.

Nick Browne and Alastair Cook extended that further before the close, reaching 15-0 in Essex's second innings.

Division One

Chelmsford: Essex 314 & 15-0, Surrey 240

Southampton: Hampshire 229, Warwickshire 364-5

Trent Bridge: Lancashire 214 & 98-1, Nottinghamshire 249

Taunton: Northamptonshire 255, Somerset 199-4

Division Two

Derby: Leicestershire 122, Derbyshire 326-7

New Road: Worcestershire 264 & 34-1, Sussex 373

Headingley: Glamorgan 245 & 57-2, Yorkshire 106

As for the state of play in this current round of games, four of them have already progressed into a third innings.

But, just how speedily those games at Chelmsford, Trent Bridge, New Road and Headingley progress today is in the hand of the weather gods.

And, in quite a few places, there might be little option but to concentrate on just how far the royal procession has progressed at Westminster Abbey.

Image source, Getty Images

There was a lot of rain the last time it was Coronation Day in this country almost 70 years ago.

There were also seven County Championship matches that day too. Tuesday 2 June, 1953. All on their third (and in those days final) day.

Back in the era when there were two Championship matches most weeks throughout the sumner, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday and Wednesdays to Fridays.

For the benefit of anyone who might have appreciated the BBC Online live cricket text service had it been running back then . . .

Les Jackson took 5-54 to bowl Derbyshire to a three-wicket win against Worcestershire at the Ind Coope Ground, Burton . . . Alec Bedser and skipper Stuart Surridge each took five wickets as Surrey shot out Lancashire for 130 at Old Trafford to win by eight wickets . . . The Reverend David Sheppard, the future Bishop of Liverpool, hit an unbeaten 50 as Sussex drew with Essex at Valentine's Park, Ilford . . . Skipper Tom Dollery hit 173 for Warwickshire to reach 20,000 first-class runs in a draw against Somerset, for whom the hard-hitting Harold Gimblett hammered a 50 . . . It was also a draw between Gloucestershire and Hampshire at Nevil Road, Bristol, despite a young Tom Graveney taking two wickets for the hosts with his leggies . . . and there was no play at all on the final day at Lord's between Middlesex and Northamptonshire, where Compton and Edrich were holed up in the pavilion . . . or between Yorkshire and Glamorgan at Bramall Lane, Sheffield, where the likes of Len Hutton, Fred Trueman, Ray Illingworth and Wilf Wooller also sat the day out.

Today‘s weatherpublished at 10:31 British Summer Time 6 May 2023

10:31 BST 6 May 2023

Sadly, as far as the main agenda is concerned (as regards this section of today‘s BBC output is concerned anyway) the BBC forecast for the country for Coronation Day today is not great.

"Rain in the south-west, spreading northwards later.

"Variable cloud and showers elsewhere".

So expect some interruptions, for sure.

And look out Taunton in particular.

OK , , , and Southampton, Chelmsford, Worcester, Derby, Nottingham and Leeds too!