Image source, Rex Features

Following newspaper reports that Sir Alastair Cook is set to to retire at the end of the season, Essex have issued the following statement:

"Essex Cricket would like to clarify that, contrary to news articles published today, Alastair Cook will be discussing his playing future with the club at the end of the current season.

"Cook, and the first team squad, are fully focused on the last two LV= Insurance County Championship matches and on being involved in a close-fought race for further honours."

Whatever decision he makes, he is and always will be an Essex (and England) legend.

It's as you were for Warwickshire after lunch, with Olly Hannon-Dalby - who took five wickets in the first innings - resuming the visitors' quest to make inroads second time around.

Mark Stoneman takes advantage of a widish delivery to crash it to the cover boundary, his first of this innings, and reduce the deficit to 177.

Let-off for Brownpublished at 13:23 British Summer Time 21 September 2023

13:23 BST 21 September 2023

Essex 447-9 dec v Hants 151-5

Tom Prest has already shown an inclination to try and take Simon Harmer on.

Will he rein himself in a bit in the light of Hampshire's mini-collapse before lunch?

A single from Harmer's second ball after lunch takes him to 11 not out.

The more experienced Ben Brown is dropped by Jamie Porter from a sweep shot - looks like the visitors are determined to continue living by the sword.

How valuable is that first innings 150 from Karun Nair now?

We saw assistance for the Northants attack from the outset, and the bowlers were rewarded for a persevering line and length.

Dom Sibley survived the top order wobble and he's on 32.

Keeper-batsman Ben Foakes is two not out and facing Ben Sanderson to start the session.

Rain stops play at Tauntonpublished at 13:21 British Summer Time 21 September 2023

13:21 BST 21 September 2023

Somerset 404-4 v Kent

Sadly the rain returned to Taunton during the lunch break and the square is covered.

Sigh.

To mark Tim Murtagh's final Championship game at Lord's before retiring, Middlesex have been giving him a few presents during the lunch interval.

Murtagh took 6-83 in Warwickshire's first innings and now has 957 wickets in first-class cricket. A stellar career.

Image source, Rex Features

Image source, Rex Features

An early lunch was taken at 12.15 at Worcester after the umpires took the players immediately following the dismissal of Azhar Ali for 25.

There is still rain around and so the afternoon session has been delayed.

Durham need five points to make certain of the Division Two title and have already earned one. A draw in this game will be enough.

BBC Somerset's Anthony Gibson just mentioned Tom Kohler-Cadmore's call-up to the England one-day squad. Here's the full story of how the Somerset batter has benefitted from Jason Roy's decision to give the series a miss.

Nick Gledhill
BBC Essex

Three quick wickets for the Essex spinners turned this session round just as Hampshire looked to be making smooth progress towards their follow on target.

Fletcha Middleton had added 68 with Toby Albert and 63 with James Vince before being beaten by Simon Harmer’s turn on 47.

Vince’s aggressive approach was paying off but he then miscued Matt Critchley to long off on 46 before Liam Dawson fell to an ambitious sweep in Harmer’s next over.

Hampshire’s positive approach had worked well earlier in the session but they may need to be more selective after lunch as they look for the 148 still needed to make Essex bat again. If they get there it will change the dynamic of the match.

Anthony Gibson
BBC Radio Somerset

Tom Kohler-Cadmore has been celebrating his call-up to the England ODI squad by launching a quite extraordinary assault on the unfortunate Kent bowlers.

His 68 has occupied just 31 balls and includes two fours and eight sixes, two of them - one pulled massively over the Ondaatje Pavilion, the other driven straight into the top tier of the Trescothick Pavilion - among the biggest hits seen at Taunton in recent years.

What with that, and Lewis Goldsworthy reaching his second Championship century in just his first appearance of the season, it has been a morning to remember for Somerset, and one to forget for Kent.

Division One

Essex 447-9 dec v Hampshire 150-5

Lancashire 105-3 v Nottinghamshire

Middlesex 121 & 13-0 v Warwickshire 315

Somerset 404-4 v Kent

Surrey 56-3 v Northamptonshire 357

Division Two

Derbyshire v Sussex 77-8

Leicestershire 56-3 v Yorkshire 155

Worcestershire 179-4 v Durham

After two days of washouts, it was certainly worth the wait for Derbyshire wicketkeeper Brooke Guest when play finally got under way against Sussex.

Guest has taken six catches, with Derbyshire reducing the visitors to 77-8 and Zak Chappell and Sam Conners picking up three wickets apiece.

The keeper, who also claimed six catches against Yorkshire earlier this month, needs one more this afternoon to equal the Derbyshire record in an innings - held jointly by Bob Taylor and Harvey Hosein.

Somerset started day three on 214-2.

Lewis Goldsworthy batted with great fluency to advance his overnight 70 to 122, his second career first-class century.

But Tom Kohler-Cadmore has absolutely blitzed this Kent attack with some mighty drives into the pavilion and swipes over mid-wicket.

I wonder if there are prizes given out for crowd catches.

If so, more stock may be needed soon.

His 50 came off only 27 balls and he now has 68 off 31!

Leicestershire's promotion hopes are fading at Grace Road, with Ben Cox lbw to George Hill for 13, the final ball before the lunch interval.

The Foxes only needed three deliveries at the start of play to pick up the final Yorkshire wicket but immediately lost Rishi Patel for nought as they began their reply.

Lewis Hill batted positively for 42, but his namesake has taken 4-35 from 10.2 overs and it's going to be a struggle for Leicestershire to earn batting points, let alone the win they need to try and close the gap on Worcestershire in the race for the second promotion spot.

Middlesex openers Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman have safely negotiated the four overs before lunch after Warwickshire were bowled out for 315, a first-innings lead of 194.

Tim Murtagh marked his farewell appearance at Lord's by taking 6-83, while Warwickshire's Will Rhodes completed his first century of the campaign.

Danny Briggs missed out on the chance to follow suit when he was out for 99, but their efforts have made the Bears firm favourites to win this game nevertheless.

Northants win the session convincingly.

Northants have an early bowling point and the pressure is on the Surrey middle order to reach at least parity.

They trail by 301.

Image source, Rex Features

Ben Brown plays out a maiden from Matt Critchley to end an eventful morning session at Chelmsford.

From 134-2, Hampshire slumped to 141-5 in the space of nine balls, the result of some poor shots.

Fletcha Middleton (47) and James Vince (46) were two of those to go after sharing a third-wicket stand of 63 - but the visitors could now find themselves under pressure to avoid following on.

That would be the ideal outcome for Essex, who need to win this match to stay in contention for the title.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore drives Joey Evison between cover and point for four to take Somerset to a fourth batting point in the 86th over.

A tough session for Kent, who have taken only two wickets and been flayed all over the park for nearly 200 runs.

Image source, Rex Features

Lancashire's progress has been checked somewhat by losing three wickets in the space of four overs after play finally began on the third morning at Old Trafford.

Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells added 84 for the opening wicket after Nottinghamshire had won the toss and put them in, but since then it's been harder work for the batting side.

Notts skipper Steven Mullaney has taken two of those wickets with his medium pace, with the other falling to Asitha Fernando.

Ben Foakes is in at number five for Surrey and will try to rebuild the innings with Dom Sibley.

Sibley picks up four runs off Luke Procter with a drive through cover to move on to 28.

Ben Sanderson is back in the attack and his eighth over is a maiden.