Essex on verge of victory, Worcestershire chase crucial win over rivals Warwickshire

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE ROUNDUP: Hampshire and Nottinghamshire are playing out a high-scoring draw, while Surrey's trip to Scarborough also seems likely to end in a share of the spoils

Utilta Bowl (day three of four): Nottinghamshire 578-8d, Hampshire 376-6 - Hampshire trail by 211 runs with six wickets remaining

Tilak Varma once again proved his enormous talent with his second century in three matches as Hampshire fought hard to keep title-challenging Nottinghamshire at bay at Utilita Bowl.

India prodigy Varma added 112 to take his average in his Hampshire stint to just under 79.

He put on 42 with Nick Gubbins, 58 with Ben Brown, and most substantially 126 with Felix Organ to bite into Nottinghamshire's large 578 first-innings score.

Organ ended the day unbeaten on 71 with 61 runs still needed to avoid the follow-on – in doing so Hampshire should be safe from defeat on the final day.

^{Ethan Brookes has starred against his former club (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)}

Edgbaston (day three of four): Worcestershire 333 & 243, Warwickshire 184 & 55-2 - Warwickshire need 381 runs to win

Ethan Brookes climbed into Warwickshire's bowlers again, in record-breaking fashion, to keep Worcestershire on course for a vital Rothesay County Championship victory at Edgbaston.

Of his side's second innings total of 243, Brookes' share was a violent 87 from 137 balls. He struck seven sixes which, added to his eight in the first innings, amounted to 15 in the match – a record for any individual at Edgbaston, surpassing the 12 by Ian Botham for Somerset in 1985 and Dean Jones for Australia in 1989.

The former Warwickshire allrounder's barrage left his old team needing 393 to win and they closed the third day on 55 for 2 after losing both openers in the first four overs.

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^{Matt Critchley has had a superb game for Essex (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)}

Hove (day three of four): Sussex 204 & 245-7, Essex 504 - Sussex trail by 55 runs with three wickets remaining

James Coles led Sussex's resistance with an unbeaten 99 but his efforts seem unlikely to deny Essex victory over Sussex at Hove.

Coles was on the verge of a third successive Rothesay County Championship century when rain arrived at 5.20pm and play was abandoned shortly afterwards with Sussex 245 for 7 in their second innings, still trailing by 55 after conceding a first-innings deficit of 300.

Coles is Sussex's man in form. He made 148 not out at Durham and 150 in Sussex's last home match against Warwickshire and he top-scored in their first innings with 52. Only five batters have scored more Championship runs this season than the 21-year-old, and he didn't offer a chance here after arriving in the seventh over with Sussex 33 for 2.

While he and Tom Alsop (72) were adding 141 in 72 overs for the third wicket Sussex harboured hopes of stalling Essex’s push for victory.

But Alsop was lbw to Matt Critchley in the leg-spinner's second over and after tea Sussex lost four wickets for 26 in 40 balls including their leading run scorer John Simpson, calamitously run out going for a second run on an overthrow.