Surrey will take 20-point lead into final games after Hampshire beat Essex
Northants relegated despite draw with Surrey at The Oval
Kent draw with Somerset after following on 169 behind
Lancashire & Notts draw game with only 84 overs bowled because of rain
Middlesex's Sam Robson scores 107 but they lose to Warwickshire
Durham's Scott Borthwick hits century in draw with Worcestershire
Derbyshire draw with Sussex and have yet to win a 2023 Championship game
Leicestershire promotion hopes fade following draw with Yorkshire
Middlesex 121 & 205-4 v Warwickshire 315
Bye-bye off stump. What a ball from Ed Barnard, coming back, beating the bat and uprooting the stump.
John Simpson is the new man. The 85-run partnership is broken.
The lead is 11.
The new ball is 13 overs away.
Essex 447-9 dec & 149-7 v Hants 334
Crunch.
Umesh Yadav faces up to his first ball and hammers Liam Dawson straight for six.
The next one goes even further, out of the ground at deep mid-wicket and into the river.
Three is not a charm for the Indian as he then gets too far underneath the ball and James Vince takes the catch.
Somerset 404-4 dec v Kent 131-5
A crack into the covers for a single takes Joe Denly to a season's best County Championship score, surpassing the 45 he scored against Warwickshire at Canterbury in July.
A stop-start campaign for the former England man but he's going to be crucial to Kent's hopes in the final seven days of the season.
Somerset 404-4 dec v Kent 130-5
Joe Denly survives a big shout for lbw after getting thumped on the pads by a straight one from Lewis Gregory.
Maybe a touch high. Maybe sliding down leg too. Either way Denly remains on 45*. Marcus O'Riordan is on 18 at the other end.
63 overs and change remain.
Essex 447-9 dec & 136-6 v Hants 334
It's now raining wickets at Chelmsford - and Essex will be hoping that trend continues when the declaration comes.
Kyle Abbott bowls wide of off stump and Matt Critchley attempts an ungainly carve which results in a catch at mid-off.
Essex are 249 in front and Abbott has 3-60.
Middlesex 121 & 199-3 v Warwickshire 315
Image source, Rex FeaturesWhat a vital vital knock this is. Higgins brings it up with his ninth four in a 74-ball stay.
A season for the ages on his return to Lord's with more than 800 runs scored and he'll have his season's best 71 in his sights now.
He and Sam Robson (84*) have guided Middlesex into the lead with an 80 partnership.
Middlesex 121 & 195-3 v Warwickshire 315
A notable milestone on the journey to salvation.
Sam Robson has passed 700 runs for the season but it's a no-ball from Craig Miles which puts the hosts ahead by one run.
That means 60 overs remain, even allowing for a change of innings.
Lancs 272-7 v Notts
They haven't been able to get back out after lunch in Manchester.
Plenty of rain in the forecast for the rest of the day and both sides won't be too bothered to get back out there.
Notts would perhaps like another bowling point for a little insurance but it's not likely to matter for their survival given events at Taunton.
Lancs' Matthew Hurst would probably take a nice unbeaten half-century on debut. He's currently 54 not out.
Essex 447-9 dec & 133-5 v Hants 334
Dan Lawrence tries to smear Kyle Abbott over the leg side but the ball flies off the top edge and keeper Ben Brown has to shield his eyes from the sun before taking a well-judged catch.
Simon Harmer is the new batter, but it's what he can do with the ball that will determine the outcome of this game.
Essex 447-9 dec & 131-4 v Hants 334
Out of the ground.
That's a big hit by Paul Walter, who hammers a short ball from Liam Dawson over mid-wicket.
Out of there.
He goes next ball, attempting another big hit but his top hand comes off the bat as it turns in to his pads.
Essex lead by 244.
Surrey 19-0 f/o trail Northants by 153
Rory Burns brings up a half-century - of balls faced.
He and Dom Sibley know survival is the only aim of this afternoon.
One solid session here and Surrey should be okay.
But there's enough still there for the Northants attack as Ben Sanderson again goes past Burns' outside edge.
Leics 233 v Yorks 155 & 217-4
Well batted James Wharton, who steers Tom Scriven through the covers for his 10th four and reaches 50 off 68 balls faced. Yorkshire are 139 ahead.
Essex 447-9 dec & 122-3 v Hants 334
Image source, Rex FeaturesDan Lawrence reaches a 45-ball half-century with a single to long-on in his final innings at Chelmsford before joining Surrey in 2024.
He has hit a six and four fours and is approaching 800 runs for the season.
Paul Walter clouts Kyle Abbott's next ball through the covers for four as the lead increases to 235.
Middlesex 121 & 182-3 v Warwickshire 315
Sam Robson is the only man to reach three-figures for Middlesex this season, he begins the session with a single off Craig Miles.
Ryan Higgins is the leading run scorer this season and is on 41. The deficit is just a dozen. 64 overs and change remain.
Can Middlesex maintain, or even extend, their advantage over Kent in the relegation scrap this afternoon?
Derbyshire have declared on their lunch score of 229-6 - a lead of 129 over Sussex, who must hope they can bat a lot better than they did yesterday. Ali Orr gets them under way with a couple.
Somerset 404-4 dec v Kent 110-5
Lewis Gregory will take the ball after lunch.
The numbers that matter for Kent. 68 overs. 15 wickets. 144 to avoid the follow-on. 140 for a batting bonus point.
Essex 447-9 dec & 112-3 v Hants 334
Play resumes at Chelmsford - how long will Essex bat before making the declaration?
Two balls for Kyle Abbott to bowl to complete the over in which he removed Tom Westley, Paul Walter is on strike.
Two dot balls - the lead remains 225.
Worcs 313 v Durham 119-2
They are back in the middle at New Road following the rain shower which prompted an early lunch.
Scott Borthwick edged Dillon Pennington past the slips for four and is now 34 not out, with David Bedingham still on 10.
Essex 447-9 dec & 112-3 v Hampshire 334 - lunch
Nick Gledhill
BBC Essex
This game is nicely poised at lunch with Essex leading by 225 and a declaration is likely early this afternoon.
The fact that Hampshire only added 12 this morning undoubtedly helped set the game up. They would have liked to reduce the deficit further but when Tom Prest was stumped off Simon Harmer for 108 they were still 113 behind.
Harmer finished with 6-149 and will be confident of completing a 10-wicket haul.
Alastair Cook played what might be his last innings at Chelmsford for Essex. The need for quick runs from the start didn’t suit his natural game and his knock of 16 won’t be one he’ll look back on. But the Essex supporters may remember they were here today to see it.
Somerset 404-4 dec v Kent 110-5 - lunch
Anthony Gibson
BBC Radio Somerset
Image source, Getty ImagesSomerset declared at their overnight 404-4, denying Tom Kohler-Cadmore the chance of eclipsing Viv Richards' fastest century at Taunton, but maximising their bowlers' chances of taking the 20 Kent wickets they need for an unlikely win.
The bowlers didn't disappoint, with Lewis Gregory and Jack Brooks reducing Kent to 31-4 early on, before Joe Denly and Harry Finch stopped the rot with a partnership of 54.
Finch chased a wide one from Tom Abell to gift Somerset a fifth wicket, but something remarkable will need to transpire for this to be anything other than a draw.