Find out what happened across the County Championship on the third day of the fifth round of the 2021 competition
Group 1
Warwickshire v Worcestershire
Edgbaston (third day of four): Warwickshire 343, Worcestershire 198-4 - Worcestershire trail by 145 runs with six first-innings wickets remaining
Warwickshire and Worcestershire were frustrated at Edgbaston as rain washed out the third day of their County Championship clash.
Play was abandoned for the day after a 2.45pm inspection, leaving a draw looking a firm favourite with the game still only in its second innings going into the final day.
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Nottinghamshire v Essex
Trent Bridge (third day of four): Essex 99 & 129-3, Nottinghamshire 323 - Essex trail by 95 runs with seven second-innings wickets remaining
Persistent heavy rain meant that no play was possible on day three of the County Championship match between Nottinghamshire and Essex at Trent Bridge.
With the match well advanced, however, an uninterrupted fourth day would provide every chance of a positive result, with both sides looking for a second Group One win.
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Group 2
Leicestershire v Surrey
Grace Road (third day of four): Leicestershire 496, Surrey 146-0 - Surrey trail by 350 runs with 10 first-innings wickets remaining
No play was possible on the third day of the County Championship match between Leicestershire and Surrey at The UptonSteel County Ground.
Heavy overnight rain continued throughout the morning, though umpires Richard Illingworth and Ian Gould waited until 2.30pm in the hope of an improvement in conditions before abandoning play.
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Hampshire v Somerset
The Ageas Bowl (third day of four): Hampshire 79 & 110-4, Somerset 336 - Hampshire trail by 147 runs with six second-innings wickets remaining
Rain and bad light frustrated Somerset's push for victory with just nine-and-a-half overs bowled before play was abandoned after just 45 minutes late on Saturday at the Ageas Bowl.
Hampshire closed the day on 110-4 in their second innings - still trailing Somerset by 147 runs - with opener Joe Weatherley unbeaten on 34 and skipper James Vince five not out.
A heavy overnight downpour in Southampton left the outfield saturated as ground staff worked from 10am to dry off the standing water before play finally got underway at 5.30 with a minimum of 16 overs to be bowled.
Weatherley and Sam Northeast came out to bat in perfect seam bowling conditions, with their side on 92 for 3, as heavy clouds enveloped the ground and the floodlights on.
The pair did well to survive some testing bowling from Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory as Somerset pushed hard for early wickets.
But it was the excellent Overton who finally made the breakthrough with his fourth wicket of the innings, as Northeast mistimed a push towards mid-wicket and George Bartlett took a stunning one-handed catch at short-leg.
However, the visitors' joy was short-lived as play was abandoned by umpires Graham Lloyd and Alex Wharf due to bad light.
The forecast looks better for Sunday with Somerset looking well placed to consolidate their second-place spot in Group Two.
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Group 3
Lancashire v Glamorgan
Old Trafford (third day of four): Glamorgan 344, Lancashire 22-0 - Lancashire trail by 322 runs with 10 first-innings wickets remaining
No play was possible on the third day of the County Championship fixture between Lancashire and Glamorgan as heavy rain fell all morning at Emirates Old Trafford.
The umpires abandoned proceedings at lunch with Lancashire unable to resume on their overnight score of 22 without loss in reply to Glamorgan’s first innings total of 344 all out.
Lancashire’s openers Keaton Jennings and Alex Davies will hope to begin again on Sunday morning with the forecast showing signs of improvement in Manchester.
It remains to be seen if England’s record Test wicket-taker, James Anderson will get another chance to bowl with a rain-affected draw the most likely result.
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Northamptonshire v Sussex
Northampton (third day of four): Sussex 106 & 154-4, Northamptonshire 441-9d - Sussex trail by 181 runs with six second-innings wickets remaining
Northamptonshire’s pursuit of an County Championship victory over Sussex was postponed by the weather as no play was possible on day three at Wantage Road.
Northants need six wickets to beat Ben Brown’s side, with Sussex still requiring 181 more runs to make their hosts bat again.
But after heavy overnight rain, and further downpours in the morning, the conditions were deemed unplayable - despite hard work from the ground staff.
Umpires Paul Baldwin and Neil Bainton made an inspection at 1.55pm before ending any hopes of action after another look at 3.10pm.
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Yorkshire v Kent
Headingley (third day of four): Kent 305, Yorkshire 240-5 - Yorkshire trail by 65 runs with five first-innings wickets remaining
There was no play possible between Yorkshire and Kent on day three at a sodden Emerald Headingley.
Heavy morning rain has severely dented the chances of a positive result for either side in this County Championship fixture, one which remains in the first innings.
Umpires Peter Hartley and Richard Kettleborough inspected the puddled outfield at 11am and called a close to the day almost immediately.
A contrivance aside, it is now difficult to see how this Group Three clash will end in anything other than a pursuit of bonus points in a draw.
Yorkshire currently have three bonus points and Kent four.
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