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Yorkshire 554/7d; Hampshire 302 & 54-5
Steven Patterson fired Yorkshire towards almost certain victory as Hampshire collapsed to 54 for 5 while following on at the Ageas Bowl.
Yorkshire fast bowler Patterson sliced through the Hampshire top order as he celebrated figures of 3-9 in seven overs.
Hampshire were earlier bowled out for 302, in reply to Yorkshire’s mammoth declared score of 554, and ended the day still 198 runs in arrears.
Yorkshire will need five wickets on the final day as they aim to follow up their draw against Nottinghamshire last week.
Kent 504-9/d; Warwickshire 346 & 79-4
Kent took total control of the battle of the newly-promoted sides at Edgbaston where Warwickshire face a massive last-day rearguard action to avoid defeat.
After following on 158 behind, the home side closed the third day on 79 for 4 in their second innings - still 79 behind.
Replying to Kent's 504 for 9, Warwickshire had been advancing solidly towards the follow on figure of 355 when they were 242 for 4 early in the afternoon, but were then undone by a clatter of five wickets for 32 runs in 11 overs and folded to 346 all out.
Harry Podmore's burst of three wickets in 11 balls was the catalyst for the collapse. Podmore finished with 3-61 while Matt Milnes took 3-50 and Darren Stevens 3-56, an excellent effort by the seamers on a pitch still very good for batting.
Podmore and Stevens then swiftly removed Warwickshire's openers second time round and only some heroic final-day resistance from the Bears can deny Kent their first Championship Division One win since 2010.
Glamorgan 570/8d; Northamptonshire 522-4
There have already been five centuries and 1,092 runs scored for the loss of only 8 wickets on this bland Sophia Gardens pitch, and unless there is an agreement reached between the two captains or the strip deteriorates rapidly then there is little hope of a positive outcome on the final day.
While the batsmen have thrived and filled their boots with some early season runs, the bowlers will surely feel there should be some balance between bat and ball and would have expected some assistance.
The proponents of three- day championship cricket would also have had their opinions justified as by now there would have been a couple of declarations and the spectators had at least looked forward to a potentially thrilling final day.
Durham 224 & 189; Sussex 202 & 142-3
Sussex are in prime position to claim their first win of the season, requiring another 68 runs to beat Durham at Emirates Riverside on the final day.
David Wiese put his team in contention by producing a fine spell of bowling to claim five wickets, dismissing the home side for 189 in their second innings. Gareth Harte scored 74 vital runs for the north-east outfit to set a decent chase of 212 for the visitors.
Stiaan van Zyl dropped anchor after Durham made early inroads. The South African scored an unbeaten half-century to put his team within sight of victory at the close, leaving the home side in need of a dramatic turnaround on day four.
Worcestershire 553-6d; Leicestershire 302 & 132-4
Worcestershire are closing in on an innings victory after enforcing the follow-on and taking four second innings wickets at the Fischer County Ground, Grace Road.
Seamer Charlie Morris dismissed Ateeq Javid, Paul Horton and Mark Cosgrove to reduce the Foxes to 31 for 3 in their second innings after acting Worcestershire captain Ben Cox had decided to bowl again after the Foxes had been bowled out for 302 in their first innings, a deficit of 251.
A fourth-wicket partnership of 93 between Hassan Azad, making his home championship debut, and Colin Ackermann threatened to frustrate the visitors, but shortly before the close Azad, having reached a second half-century in as many games, could not keep down a brutal lifting delivery from Josh Tongue, gloving a simple catch to Daryl Mitchell at gully.
Derbyshire 291 & 97-2; Gloucestershire 350
In-form Gareth Roderick narrowly missed out on a century as Gloucestershire scored 350 in reply to Derbyshire's 291 to gain the upper hand on day three at Bristol.
Following hard on the heels of his 115 in the opening fixture against Oxford MCCU a week earlier, the 27-year-old posted 98, adding 118 with Ryan Higgins for the sixth wicket, as Gloucestershire established a useful first-innings lead of 59.
Roderick then took two catches behind the stumps as Derbyshire subsided to 18 for 2, before Wayne Madsen (41 not out) and Tom Lace (48 not out) ushered them to 97 for 2 at stumps, 38 ahead with eight second innings wickets in hand.
Derbyshire will almost certainly have to bat for a further two sessions on the final day if they are to secure a draw and much will depend upon the experienced Madsen when he resumes his innings in the morning.
Middlesex 265 & 68-2; Lancashire 427
Middlesex must battle to salvage a draw on the final day after Rob Jones’ century kept Lancashire in command at Lord’s.
Jones’ 122 was his highest score in Championship cricket and only his second hundred in the competition – having also recorded his first against Middlesex, at Old Trafford in September 2016.
He shared a fifth-wicket stand of 143 with Lancashire captain Dane Vilas (68) as the visitors crafted a healthy first-innings lead of 162, with Tim Murtagh (5-69) collecting his second five-wicket haul in as many games.
Middlesex made steady progress towards wiping out that deficit, but they lost the wickets of Nick Gubbins and Stevie Eskinazi to close on 68 for 2, still 94 runs behind.
Reports courtesy of the ECB Reporters Network
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