And with stumps in West Yorkshire, that's where we'll end today's live text commentary.

The forecast is looking pretty shocking tomorrow from the Midlands northwards, but we'll be back at 10:50 BST to see where the land lies.

Hope you can join us then!

And that's your lot for day three in Leeds.

Sussex have gone a long way towards saving the game with some gutsy batting in their second innings.

Yorkshire will be hoping the weather improves enough tomorrow to give them a couple of hours to go for victory.

Sussex close with a lead of 88.

Three overs to go at Headingley, still no breakthrough for Yorkshire's bowlers.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Jack Carson have batted for a shade under 17 overs now. Frustrating for the hosts.

And so we're down to just the one game remaining on day three at Headingley.

Sussex continue to resist everything Yorkshire throw at them. They're 76 ahead and with play unlikely tomorrow they've probably done enough to salvage a draw.

Seven overs to go this evening as Dawid Malan comes on with a bit of spin. The light isn't great.

A second day dominated by the batters in Cheltenham.

After Glamorgan raced to maximum batting bonus points, Chris Dent's unbeaten 61 and 49 not out from Ollie Price helped Gloucestershire set a fine platform in their first innings.

It's all over at Trent Bridge as Mohammad Abbas traps Calvin Harrison leg before wicket for 39.

It's only the third LBW decision of the match - and it completes Hampshire's fifth County Championship win of the season, and also a double over Notts, who they also beat by eight wickets in the first game of the season back in April.

Hampshire take 19 points from the game to climb ti second in the table for now, within seven points of leaders Surrey and six ahead of third-placed Essex.

But both their games are still to finish.

Hants host Essex at Southampton next week, when Notts also face a crunch game at home to fellow strugglers Kent.

Another day dominated by the batters and this game is only heading one way... a draw.

Runaway Division Two leaders Durham secured maximum batting bonus points once again but with rain forecast all day in Derby on Saturday, we might have seen the last ball bowled in this one.

Ethan Bamber and Josh De Caires have, against all odds, taken this game into a fourth day.

John Simpson departed for 60 and De Caires was stranded on 30* as Middlesex finished 12 shy of a third batting bonus point of the season and were asked to follow-on.

Mark Stoneman's 72 gave the hosts something to build on in this second innings but it needed another 31 from De Caires and a career-best 46* from 37 balls from Bamber to build a lead of 77 runs on the third evening.

It might not save the game but it's another positive step for the young side, and if they did get some major assistance from the weather, it might even help them snatch an impossible draw.

Sussex continue to frustrate Yorkshire at Headingley. The visitors have moved on to 210-7 and lead by 62. Fynn Hudson-Prentice's fine game continues - he's batted 82 balls for his 32.

Derbyshire's game against Durham continues to drift towards a draw with tomorrow's forecast a shocker in Derby.

The hosts are 78-0 in their second innings and trail by 54.

Gloucestershire opener Chris Dent has just brought up his fifty at Cheltenham College with his side on 108-1 against Glamorgan. They're still 342 behind but looking good.

Ethan Bamber and Josh De Caires are putting on a batting showcase. Hopefully some of their higher-order teammates are watching on.

Bamber moves to a career-best 38* from 30 balls with a nicely timed cut off Sean Abbott for his third four - to go along with those two sixes of course.

De Caires has a more measured - unsurprising, given his stock - 26 from 82 deliveries.

The lead is 65.

Huge appeal from Sean Abbott for... well, everything.

It's nearly cut Ethan Bamber in half before hitting the knee roll, the appeals begin, it looks like it wasn't in line anyway, but the ball loops up to gully and the appeals continue - if he got an inside edge then he has to go...

Well. He doesn't. According to the umpire at least. Sean Abbott is 20 yards away and looks dumbstruck. Stunned faces all round, except for Bamber. His is sheepish.

The lead is 52 into the final six overs of the day. If Middlesex lose another wicket then Surrey can ask for the extra half-hour. Whether the light will be good enough, and whether they can rattle off the required runs in time, is another, hypothetical matter, for now.

Image source, Ged Scott - BBC Sport

That is it for the day in Birmingham.

The electronic scoreboard is switched off.

The covers are on in full.

Lancashire lead by 297 - and now it is just a question of hoping that the weather forecast for tomorrow is not as bad as feared.

Into the final eight overs of the day at Lord's. Overs which many might have thought would never take place, if asked earlier this afternoon.

Ethan Bamber has pulled another six, this one almost flat, into the Mound Stand, off Tom Lawes - another one staking a claim for a T20 gig next summer, perhaps.

The Middlesex lead has ballooned to 44 so barring a late collapse there will be no Saturday morning tee times for the Surrey players after all.

They will be back here, trying to take care of business and hoping the weather doesn't prevent them from doing so.

Such is their over-rate that Essex managed to sneak an extra couple of overs in before the cut-off but they still couldn't break the Kent resistance.

Joey Evison's unbeaten 56 and Hamid Qadri's seven have guided Kent to stumps with a slender lead of 14 with three wickets remaining.

They are likely to need an enormous amount of assistance from the weather if they are to escape without a heavy defeat, however they have completed their first task, batting through the day, adding 261 runs for the loss of six wickets.

Image source, Rex Features

for Ethan Bamberpublished at 17:54 British Summer Time 21 July 2023

17:54 BST 21 July 2023

Middlesex 238 & 219-8 v Surrey 433

Ethan Bamber picks Tom Lawes perfectly and is in perfect position to clip him almost effortlessly over the deep square leg boundary for six.

Lawes replies by finding the outside edge from the final ball of the over but the chance is spurned at gully.

12 overs remain in the day. The lead is 24 with two wickets remaining. Tense.

Kent lead. Though they are effectively 4-7.

A minimum of five overs remaining today. Might get an extra one in with Essex adopting a dual-spin approach.

It might be an interesting climax at Chelmsford... and everyone might be back for more tomorrow.