The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action on day three of the eighth round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches in 2023
Southport (third day of four): Hampshire 142 & 371, Lancashire 374 & 48-2 - Lancashire need 92 runs to win
Lancashire have a first LV= Insurance County Championship win of the season in sight after bowling Hampshire out for 371 in their second innings and reaching 48 for 2 in pursuit of their 140-run target.
A three-wicket morning burst by George Balderson allowed the hosts to steadily work their way through the six remaining wickets but they were held up by a fine, determined, innings of 87 from visiting skipper James Vince on a hard-fought third day at sweltering Southport.
Hampshire meanwhile can take great credit for the way they fought back from a disastrous first day to put themselves in with a chance of turning the game around.
Simon Harmer will be key for Essex on day four (Getty Images)
Chelmsford (third day of four): Essex 462-9d & 170-7, Somerset 167 & 172-4 - Somerset need 295 runs to win
Matt Critchley scored his seventh 50-plus score of the season before taking two wickets as Essex pushed for a crushing victory over Somerset in the LV= Insurance County Championship.
Allrounder Critchley notched up 52, to go with his first innings century, as Essex set Somerset an unlikely 466 runs to win in just under five sessions.
Somerset's batters, headed by Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell's half centuries, took advantage of a heavy-rolled pitch to bed in, show fine grit, and bolster their chances of saving a draw.
Critchley struck with his first ball to pin Lammonby for a two-hour 59 and also dismissed George Bartlett as Essex need six wickets on the final day to win at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford for the first time this season – Somerset still need 294 runs.
Trent Bridge (third day of four): Warwickshire 571-9d, Nottinghamshire 155 & 267-4 - Nottinghamshire trail by 149 runs with six second-innings wickets in hand
Joe Clarke posted his first century in first-class cricket since September 2021, but Warwickshire remain favourites to complete the fourth win of their LV= Insurance County Championship season and stay in contention for the Division One title.
Nottinghamshire were following on after being bowled out for just 155 in reply to Warwickshire's 571 for nine declared but despite Clarke's impressive performance they remained 149 runs behind at the close of the third day at 267 for 4 and a second new ball available to the visiting bowlers after just two more overs.
Clarke finished unbeaten on 119 from 178 balls, having batted for almost four hours and not given a chance, picking up 22 boundaries.
Skipper Steven Mullaney is not out on 37 in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand worth 81 yet even with the pitch flattening out, Warwickshire will be disappointed not to turn their dominance over the first three days into a victory.
Matt Critchley is in terrific form for Essex (Getty Images)
Canterbury (third day of four): Kent 301 & 344, Surrey 145 & 263-3 - Surrey need 238 runs to win
A brilliant century by Jamie Smith has given Surrey stand a chance of making history in the LV= Insurance County Championship: they need another 238 for victory against Kent and what would be their highest-ever run chase.
The leaders were 263 for 3 stumps and more than halfway to their target, with Dom Sibley on 61 not out and Ben Foakes unbeaten on 22, after Smith made 114 and Tom Latham 58.
Kent were all out for 344 just before lunch, a lead of exactly 500. Jordan Clark took 5 for 79, but only after Hamid Qadri had hit a highly entertaining 72 and put on 117 in a crucial stand with Joey Evison that looked to have batted Surrey out of the game.
However, having lost just two wickets in the last two sessions Surrey stand an excellent chance of overhauling their previous highest run chase, which was against Kent at this venue in 2002 when they finished on 410 for 8.
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