Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones begins the afternoon session with a welcome maiden.

A few wickets are a must in the next two hours for the visitors to get back into this match.

Dan Worrall has one ball left to complete the over interrupted by lunch.

Dan Mousley takes a single and is immediately off the mark.

Not how Surrey expected the morning to pan out perhaps, but three Warwickshire wickets will have made lunch taste a whole lot better. The Bears need a Ben Foakes-like innings from someone if they are to get close to Division One leaders' total.

Now's your chances, fans of both sides, to let us know how you see this one going over the next two days and two sessions.

Paul Newton
BBC Essex sport

In a match of consummate importance to both sides, Essex won an important toss and cruised to 117-0 from 35 overs at lunch.

Both Alastair Cook and Nick Browne will resume on 55 not out, and with little movement in terms of swing, seam and turn, neither endured many moments of angst.

Essex welcome Umesh Yadav to their seam attack as a replacement for the departed Doug Bracewell. The question that will preoccupy them over lunch is whether they will be able to bowl Middlesex out twice on what looks a benign strip.

Adrian Harms
BBC Sussex

Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said last night that this is a 400 plus pitch and he's been proven right as Durham have cruised through the morning session.

Hopes were briefly raised when Michael Jones was dismissed in the opening over of the day, but after seeing off the new ball, Alex Lees and Scott Borthwick have comfortably added an unbeaten 121 for the second wicket.

Just 27 overs were bowled in the session as Sussex constantly changed field placings as they looked for a breakthrough, but on a glorious day Durham are in total control at lunch

Nick Webb
BBC Radio Wales

It was a torrid first session for Glamorgan as Worcestershire’s bowlers ran through half the side despite a series of dropped chances, as their tall seamers got plenty of bounce from the pitch.

Joe Leach struck twice early on as he had Eddie Byrom caught at slip and Zain Ul Hassan caught behind, while nightwatchman James Harris fell lbw to Dillon Pennington for 17.

Sam Northeast was dropped off Logan van Beek’s first red-ball delivery for the Pears but was held at slip off Pennington for a scratchy seven, while Colin Ingram battered one through cover’s hands on the way to 30 before Van Beek had him slashing to Jake Libby at slip.

Loan debutant Ben Allison should also have had a wicket as Kiran Carlson was dropped at slip before being missed again off Pennington, and being hit on the head by the same bowler just before lunch.

Division One

Hampshire 308 v Somerset 32-1

Northamptonshire 232 v Lancashire 153-4

Surrey 396 v Warwickshire 38-3

Essex 117-0 v Middlesex (day one)

Division Two

Durham 127-1 v Sussex 266

Leicestershire 183-6 v Gloucestershire 159

Worcestershire 284 v Glamorgan 101-5

Yorkshire 297 v Derbyshire 149-3

A successful morning for runaway Division Two leaders Durham despite the early loss of opener Michael Jones at the Riverside.

Alex Lees and Scott Borthwick have so far put on 121 for the second wicket, a partnership featuring some high-class strokeplay.

Lees will resume on 72, with skipper Borthwick four runs short of what would be his fourth 50+ score of the summer.

It's not been pleasant viewing for Glamorgan fans this morning, as their side have slipped to 101-5 in reply to Worcestershire's 284.

Eddie Byrom fell to the second ball of the day, bowled by Joe Leach, which rather set the tone.

Colin Ingram looked to be leading a rebuild of sorts, but when he nicked Logan van Beek to Jake Libby at first slip, Glamorgan found themselves in real trouble.

Kiran Carlson has picked up five boundaries so far in his 24, and will need to continue his counter-attack after the break if Glamorgan are to avoid a large first-innings deficit.

A couple of wickets for the Yorkshire bowlers this morning, but half centuries for Mitch Wagstaff and Wayne Madsen probably have Derbyshire on top in Scarborough.

Madsen has added 46 with captain Leus du Plooy for the fourth wicket and these two will fancy a nice bat this afternoon in glorious east coast sunshine.

Ben Cox scores his first runs for Leicestershire with a boundary through mid-off in the final over before lunch.

The home side have added 80 in the session - and lead by 24 - but have lost four wickets in the process, including Rishi Patel, who went for 73.

Wiaan Mulder may be the key man now for the home side as they look to add a batting point or two to boost their promotion chances.

Image source, Rex Features

Josh Bohannon goes to lunch on 63 not out and his wicket probably holds the key to what type of game we are going to have.

If Northants get him quickly after lunch, it's game on. If he makes a big score, Lancashire will be in a position to dictate proceedings.

The deficit is currently 79 as the players tuck into their lunchtime offering.

Tom Lammonby gets away with one, but in truth, Liam Dawson does well to get a hand to this.

Lammonby pokes at one outside off, and it flies away to Dawson's left at third slip.

The Hampshire centurion takes off, ala Andrew Strauss in 2005, and gets a hand to it, but can only parry it down to the boundary for four.

The Somerset opener sees of the rest of Kyle Abbott's over, and that is that for the morning session.

Awful end to the morning for Warwickshire as Kraigg Brathwaite edges Dan Worrall to Jamie Overton at slip and is out for 16.

That was a needless stroke and the Bears will resume under considerable pressure after having the better of the first part of a morning in which nine wickets fell.

Surrey only added 57 to their overnight 339-4, with Ben Foakes last to go for 125. Ed Barnard took 5-66 but is one of the three Warwickshire batters already gone.

A dream session for Essex.

They won the toss and have seen openers Sir Alastair Cook and Nick Browne come through unscathed for 55 apiece.

Middlesex have toiled with the ball, but they have whizzed through 35 overs in two hours - that is impressive.

up for Lancashirepublished at 12:31 British Summer Time 4 September 2023

12:31 BST 4 September 2023

Northants 232 v Lancashire 153-4

Dane Vilas and Josh Bohannon are putting together a good partnership for Lancashire.

Their fifth wicket stand is now worth 56 as they have taken their team past 150 and to less than 80 runs behind Northants.

for Nick Brownepublished at 12:28 British Summer Time 4 September 2023

12:28 BST 4 September 2023

Essex 110-0 v Middlesex

Image source, Rex Features

Nick Browne follows his fellow opener into the book with a half-century.

That is off 90 balls and is only the second time he has reached 50 all summer. The previous time he did, he went on to hit 159 against Kent in April.

He has needed these runs.

Postpublished at 12:28 British Summer Time 4 September 2023

12:28 BST 4 September 2023

Durham 115-1 v Sussex 266

Sussex debutant Jaydev Unadkat bangs one in short but Scott Borthwick has loads of time to swivel and pull it away for six.

Despite that, Unadkat still has decent figures of 0-27 from 10 overs.

Borthwick progresses to 42 not out.

Postpublished at 12:27 British Summer Time 4 September 2023

12:27 BST 4 September 2023

Worcs 284 v Glamorgan 92-5

Kiran Carlson is looking to hit Glamorgan back into the contest.

Two Dillon Pennington deliveries fly away to the deep-third boundary, before the final ball of the Pennington over is dropped by Logan van Beek in the cordon.

Carlson gets another life - he now has 20 from just 13 balls.