COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO ROUNDUP: Meanwhile, Leicestershire beat Northamptonshire, while Glamorgan and Derbyshire have an intriguing final day in store
Cardiff (day three of four): Glamorgan 431 & 132-5, Derbyshire 350 - Glamorgan lead by 213 runs with three wickets remaining
Derbyshire fought back with bat and ball to set up tantalising fourth day despite Glamorgan’s favourable position at Sophia Gardens.
New Zealand seamer Blair Tickner spearheaded a Derbyshire attack that reduced hosts Glamorgan to 15 for 3 after scoring 28 in an invaluable 62-run partnership with Luis Reece who finished 73 not out to reach 350.
Reece and Alex Thomson added 105 for the eighth wicket to avoid follow-on fears to take control of the match heading into the third innings before Colin Ingram and Zain Ul Hassan's resistance in a century partnership of their own, extending the Welsh county's lead to 213 heading into the final day.
Related: Middlesex and Kent butt heads ahead of fascinating crescendo
Kent captain Daniel Bell-Drummond made a double hundred (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Old Trafford (day three of four): Lancashire 450, Gloucestershire 589-8 - Gloucestershire lead by 139 runs with two wickets remaining
Ollie Price scored a career-best 253 not out and became only the third Gloucestershire batsman in history to score a double-century against Lancashire to help his side take a 139-run first-innings lead in the County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
Replying to the home side's 450, the visitors were 589 for 8 at the close and their total is the highest in first-class matches between these sides. However, barring collapses on this flat pitch, the game looks very likely to end in a draw shortly after tea tomorrow.
None of which should detract from the achievement of Price, who reached his 200 with a cover-driven two off John Turner 40 minutes into the evening session and was congratulated by his elder brother Tom, with whom he put on 72 for the seventh wicket.
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Leicester (day three of four): Leicestershire 304 & 175, Northamptonshire 191 & 156 - Leicestershire won by 132 runs
Josh Hull reminded England’s selectors of his potency as Leicestershire cemented their place at the top of the County Championship Division Two with a 132-run victory over Northamptonshire.
Chasing 289 at the Uptonsteel County Ground, Northamptonshire were bowled out for 156 after Hull bowled three of their top four in his first four overs. The 20-year-old ended with three for 13, the spearhead of a seam quintet, all of whom took wickets in an excellent collective effort.
Leicestershire’s lower order had doggedly extended their second innings to 175 all out (Ben Sanderson six for 72, Harry Conway three for 43) in the morning. That elevated the target to 289 in five sessions, and there was no way back for the visitors after Hull’s blitz.
Josh Hull played a key role for Leicestershire (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Lord's (day three of four): Kent 129 & 473, Middlesex 238 & 81-3 - Middlesex need another 284 runs with seven second-innings wickets remaining
Daniel Bell-Drummond's second-highest score in first-class cricket allowed Kent to take charge of their Rothesay County Championship Division Two clash with Middlesex on day three at Lord's.
The 31-year-old Kent skipper took his overnight 103 not out to 223 as the visitors piled up 473 all out.
Jamal Richards (43), Joey Evison (35) and Chris Benjamin (34) all shared half-century stands with the right-hander as the Middlesex bowlers were ground into the dirt, Toby-Roland-Jones taking 3 for 107 for match figures of 8 for 140.
Left to better a record fourth-innings winning score against Kent harping back more than 100 years to the days of the legendary Patsy Hendren, Middlesex stumbled to 81 for 3 at stumps, two wickets for Evison.
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