A very productive day for the Division Two leaders who score 416 runs for the loss of five wickets, led by centuries from Alex Lees and Graham Clark, and lead by 158.

Lees' 103 was his fifth hundred in the Championship this season and Clark is 102 not out at the close, having added 159 with Bas de Leede (71).

Jack Carson sent down 26 overs of off-spin for figures of 3-121, while Jaydev Unadkat marked his Sussex debut with the wicket of David Bedingham.

Northants are put out of their misery as stumps are called at Wantage Road.

At 189-6, the game was in the balance, but Josh Bohannon's 175 and George Balderson with 83 not out have put Lancashire firmly in control thanks to a stand of 150.

Balderson has been well supported late in the day by Tom Hartley and he will be confident of picking up the 17 runs needed for his second ton of the season.

Northants now trail by 160 runs and face a huge task to avoid defeat in this match.

Jamie Porter gets an inside edge to the last ball and that single wraps up a fascinating first day.

Three contrasting sessions. Essex openers Sir Alastair Cook and Nick Browne with half-centuries dominated the morning. Middlesex's five wickets won the afternoon.

And then pretty nip-and-tuck after tea with 98 runs and four wickets to leave Essex slightly on top at stumps.

No doubt the star of the day though - Middlesex off-spinner Josh de Caires.

He ends with career-best figures of 7-105 from 37 overs, a mammoth first day performance for the 21-year-old son of ex-England captain Mike Atherton.

for Graham Clarkpublished at 17:45 British Summer Time 4 September 2023

17:45 BST 4 September 2023

Durham 421-5 v Sussex 266

Why settle for two fours in a row when you can square cut the next ball for four and reach your second Championship century of the season?

Graham Clark reaches three figures off 143 balls and that is his 14th boundary. Alex Lees made 103 earlier in the innings and Durham are well on top.

Runs flowing freely for Durham at the Riverside and they have their fourth batting point safely in the bag - with three overs left in the day.

Can Graham Clark reach 100 before stumps? He hits two successive fours off Ari Karvelas and is 98 not out.

Second point for Essexpublished at 17:43 British Summer Time 4 September 2023

17:43 BST 4 September 2023

Essex 302-9 v Middlesex

Jamie Porter cuts one away from Ethan Bamber and it runs away to the boundary.

Those four runs are warmly greeted by the Chelmsford crowd. They know the significance of that as it brings up the 300 and that second batting point.

partnershippublished at 17:41 British Summer Time 4 September 2023

17:41 BST 4 September 2023

Northants 232 v Lancashire 389-7

Lancashire bat deep and this partnership demonstrates it.

Tom Hartley has joined George Balderson and they have added 50 in just under 10 overs to inflict more punishment on Northants.

Can Middlesex take the final Essex wicket? Will the last pair take the score to 300 in the last two overs of the day.

Four welcome runs as a ball from Josh de Caires beats both Jamie Porter and wicketkeeper John Simpson and runs down to the fence for four byes.

Essex are one blow away from a second batting point.

Tom Lawes runs in for his first over of Warwickshire's second innings, but you can't bowl there to Michael Burgess, who steers it away through the leg-side for four.

A couple of twos follow and Burgess is 14 not out, with 16 overs left in the second day's play.

Essex last pair Sam Cook and Jamie Porter are eking out a few singles as they try to take the score to 300 and a second batting point.

And there is a welcome four from Cook. They are 10 shy of that with four overs left in the day.

Jamie Overton is the only one of Surrey's five pace bowlers yet to take a wicket in this wicket-filled match.

He won't with that delivery either as Dan Mousley clips him to mid-wicket for four as the Warwickshire second innings score passes 50, having been asked to follow on.