Points-wise in Division One, Surrey are now on 193 and have a 24-point cushion to Somerset (169) in second. Hampshire are a little further back on 156 and, you’d say, out of the title race with three games remaining.

At the bottom, Kent (71) are gone; then an almighty scrap will ensue as teams fight to avoid being in that ninth slot. Nottinghamshire are 10 points ahead of Lancashire as it stands.

In Division Two, promotion is surely there for Sussex to take. They’re on 177 points, with Middlesex (158) and Yorkshire (157) fighting for second. Derbyshire are bottom on 104 and hoping somehow to avoid the wooden spoon.

That’s pretty much all from this county blog. Thanks very much for joining me. A summary of everything that’s happened today will appear in the post above.

And now we all sit together in silence and watch, wait and pray for the rain in Cardiff to come to a half. Talk about shared suffering.

England have beaten Sri Lanka and win the series! And it looks like another MOTM award for Gus Atkinson …

So… Notts have a platform in the only current live game. But they also need nearly 12 runs per over, which just isn’t going to happen realistically. You have to give credit to Hameed and Slater for the way they’ve defied Surrey, mind.

Yet more frustration for Glamorgan: it’s raining in Cardiff. What seemed like a near-certain victory earlier today is turning into a nailed-on draw.

Notts are past 100, Hameed is past 50. Surrey won’t give this up readily, but it’s starting to ebb away from them.

Cameron Steel hasn’t found his lengths at all.

Liam Trevaskis, together with Handscomb now for Leicestershire, has soaked up the pressure to deny Glamorgan. He’s faced 76 balls for his 16 so far. The Welsh county are running out of ideas to force a result. Leicestershire’s lead is gradually growing.

You know who will be delighted with this rearguard effort from Hameed and Slater?

Somerset.

The Notts openers would appear to have dropped anchor at Trent Bridge, unless there’s some cunning masterplan that I’m not seeing. Surrey have now bowled 20 overs without success, the score 68-0.

Bad light has intervened at Headingley with Yorkshire 150-2 and if the umpires there have any sense they’ll call time on that game, with next to no chance of a result.

More importantly, they’re back under way at Trent Bridge after tea …

There’s a grand total of SEVEN live blogs running on the Guardian’s website right now, including this humble county cricket one and the small matter of some football match, if that takes your fancy.

Right, where do we stand after all of that?

Yorkshire v Middlesex is tediously trudging towards a draw with the Yorkies batting it out; Nottinghamshire have started strongly (if not quickly) in the fourth innings against Surrey; meanwhile Peter Handscomb has edged Leicestershire into a slender lead against Glamorgan. The draw is now the marginal favourite in south Wales.

Right, all eyes on Chelmsford, as Essex’s last wicket pair somehow look to claw themselves up to 184. They’re currently 140-9.

That’s 24 points for Somerset putting them on 169, 11 behind Surrey as it stands. But Surrey will gather a fair haul from this match, come what may.

Men around the bat, clean bowled, running off to celebrate: this is how you finish a match.

Jack Leach has absolutely rattled through Durham in between the rain breaks at Taunton. Somerset are now just one wicket away from a priceless victory.

I’m a little confused about the Surrey gameplan here. Dan Worrall is bowling at the openers with the field spread and no slips in place. Just dangling the carrot for Nottinghamshire? They may as well bowl spin with an in-out field to give themselves a chance of taking some wickets. Hameed and Slater have started solidly.

Pepper, LBW to Virdi for 22. With that, do Essex’s hopes finally slip through their fingers? 55 runs seems a lot for the tail to get.

Aneurin Donald, what have you done? He top-edges a sweep to deep square to gift Carson a fourth of the innings, and ninth of the match so far. Sussex will feel victory is that one step closer. 252-7

The whole of Somerset breathes a sigh of relief.

There was a question over whether Anuj Dal would bat for Derbyshire, having picked up a knock earlier in the game. But he’s just joined Donald after Jack Carson snares another out for Sussex, with the home still still in the lead at Hove. Donald (28 off 39) has, by his standards, been fairly restrained.

Interesting stuff – Surrey have declared on 177.

Now things will become very watchable indeed. Nottinghamshire need 298 runs to win.

The Surrey lower order has capitulated at Trent Bridge, so might we have a game on our hands there?

They’ve slipped to 171-9 with Liam Patterson-White and Farhan Ahmed taking all the wickets between them (they’ve bowled all the overs, in fairness). The 285-run lead might be a bit steep for a Nottinghamshire chase, especially on a raging turner. But we’ll see.

You don’t get many elite level sportsmen called Pete these days, do you?

A(another) century for Peter Handscomb! He could well be helping Leicestershire grind out a draw at Glamorgan. They’re approaching parity, with five wickets in hand.

Gah, it’s raining at Taunton again. Durham 124-7. Hopefully (for Somerset and anyone who isn’t Surrey) it won’t be a long delay.

There was some Olly Hannon-Dalby love earlier BTL and rightly so, especially after he passed 500 wickets in all formats for Warwickshire yesterday.

He said: “I spent a lot of my career being in and out of the side because we had such a brilliant bowling attack. Keith Barker, Chris Wright, Boyd Rankin, Chris Woakes.

“I was the fill-in guy a lot of the time, stepping in for the odd game. When you’re doing that there’s extra pressure, you don’t want to mess up, you want to do a good job. And you’re scared to experiment in case it goes wrong. You play with less freedom. I was probably a bit timid as a cricketer in my early career, but now I’m not so scared to try things.

“Milestones are nice but I’m enjoying the moment; I won’t look too far ahead. It’s lovely to think I’ve taken more than 500 wickets for Warwickshire (now 506) but our attention quickly goes to the Blast Quarter Final on Friday, followed by the next four-day game at Worcester who of course are our big local rivals.”

Will Aneurin Donald temper his batting for this situation? Don’t bank on it. He’s just thwacked Ollie Rob the bowler for four.

After 273 balls, Harry Came has … came and gone. What an effort by the Derbyshire opener, eventually undone by a Jack Carson delivery that went straight on and was nicked to slip. At 235-5, Sussex will believe they have an opening now.

Meanwhile at Headingley:

Yorkshire 606-6d

Middlesex 522

Yorkshire 57-0

Someone please pull the stumps up.

Jack Leach has taken the key wicket of Ashton Turner and even though Durham are able to bring in the very able Brydon Carse at No 9, surely Somerset cannot be stopped now? Carse did smash an unbeaten 104 in his first innings since May in the first dig.

Ouch, as I type that, Burns is cleaned up by Farhan Ahmed. Maybe there was too much to ponder. Just the 232 runs in the match for Rory, which aint shabby.

As Burns and Sudharsan go on their merry way, extending Surrey’s lead past 250, thoughts must surely turn to a declaration later in the session. How aggressive dare the champions go? Are they content with a draw? They’ll surely lose ground on Somerset if they don’t win. Much to ponder for Burns out in the middle.

Dominic, in reply to your query of 12.41, Peter Such bowled 86 overs in an innings for Essex against Leicestershire at Cochester in 1997. I think that’s the record for the CC.

He took four for 94, 49 maidens. Each side only got one innings although it was a four day match.

Thanks!

Michael Pepper was largely responsible for getting Essex up and above 400 in the first innings. You’d suggest he needs to get a few to haul them to 184 here.

And Walter now, too! Maybe you Essex fans were right to be concerned. At 81-6, they’re still 100 short of their target and Worcestershire are cock-a-hoop – this could be a giant stride towards survival for the Pears. For Essex, it could be the end of any remaining title hopes …

Critchley gone. Essex five down. My my.

I make no apologies for switching on the Sussex v Derbyshire stream for the start of the afternoon. Watching Nye Donald bat is always fun. He could be the yin to Harry Came’s yang.

“Palpable sense of doom descending on the Essex innings,” writes Brian58 again BTL. “Dark mutterings in the crowd. Small children being hurried indoors. Sofas moved from walls up and down the county …”

Things going well at Chelmsford, then?

We’ll be back out for the afternoon session soon.

There were a couple of key wickets that went down just before the break. Jordan Cox (11) fell to leave Essex wobbling even further while Wayne Madsen’s vigil of 77 ended and David Lloyd (0) went soon after for Derbyshire.

Highlight of the session? These two pieces of fielding from Brett D’Oliveira. Back in a bit.

It’s almost lunchtime … I’ll run through the scores in my next post.

Sounds like the kind of unfortunate dismissal that I *claim* befalls me on a Saturday afternoon.

(Usually I just miss a straight one)

More on that runout from Brian58 BTL:

Staggering run out of Das. Cox smashed an on-drive which D’Oliveria at short mid on deflected athletically on to the stumps with the unfortunate lad’s bat still in the air. Extraordinary.

Woops, are Essex having a wobble in chase of 184? Their top three have all been dismissed to leave them 69-3. A superb diving runout from Brett D’Oliveira accounts for Robin Das.

Derbyshire’s Harry Came is unbeaten on 68 off 242 balls as it stands. Proper cricket, that. He and Wayne Madsen have occupied the crease effectively since the start of play, really holding up Sussex.

Similarly, Rahane and Handscomb have been untroubled down at Cardiff, with the India Test star bringing up his century. His Aussie colleague isn’t far behind him. Any danger of a wicket, Sussex/Glamorgan?

Yes! As I type that, Kiran Carlson’s off spin nicks off Rahane for 104. Glamorgan need a few more.

Can anyone BTL point me in the direction of a longer bowling spell than 70.4 overs in recent Championship memory?

Middlesex are finally all out for 522 and Dom Bess finishes a marathon bowling stint with 7-179 from 70.4 overs. Goodness me, even bowling spin that is an exhausting effort. Full respect to a fellow Dom B.

I don’t think we’ll be getting a result at Headingley.

The remaining nightwatchman has gone at Taunton and this seems only a matter of time for Somerset now; 77-6. If they can take these four final Durham wickets, Tom Abell and his players will no doubt be tuning in to events at Trent Bridge, praying that Notts can defy Surrey.

Tell you what, it’s ragging square at Trent Bridge now. Surrey might fancy a pop at Notts if they get enough runs on the board. Throw the ball to Will Jacks and Cameron Steel.

Burns brings up another 50. A calm head amid a maelstrom of wickets this morning.

Rory Burns holds his head up to the sky after a mixup with Ben Foakes brings about a silly runout. The England keeper trudges off. That runout had everything: miscommunication, a near-slip from Foakes and a delighted fielding side. Surrey have gone from 65-1 to 85-4. Sudharsan joins Burns.

A fine slip catch and Ollie Rob the keeper is in and out.

Middlesex have lost a couple of wickets, including Ryan Higgins for 155 – yet another Champo ton for him – but otherwise it’s not looking particularly exciting in Division Two. Rahane and Handscomb continue to thwart Glamorgan down in Cardiff.

In Div One, Essex have lost Dean Elgar early – LBW to Leach – as they go in chase of 184 to win.

Somerset finally have a breakthrough and it comes via an Archie Vaughan long-hop, which is scooped straight to backward square leg by Callum Parkinson. The Taunton crowd won’t care much how they come.

There’s been no rolling over from the Durham nightwatchmen this morning, despite coming under fierce pressure with multiple men in helmets lurking around the bat. Drissell has just survived a big (and fairly adjacent) LBW shout off Leach, as the partnership nears 50.

Shouts for Joe Leach and Oliver Hannon-Dalby BTL in our ‘favourite county bowler’ discussion. May I add the name of Timm van der Gugten into the debate? A real bustling trier who has been a Glamorgan stalwart for some time now.

Jacks doesn’t last long. Only the three balls before being done by a spinning jaffa from Patterson-White. So it’s two in an over for LPW and maybe, just maybe, there’s a twist in this Trent Bridge tale?

Ryan Patel is gone. He’s chipped it to Hameed at short mid-wicket off Patterson-White, much in the same fashion that Dom Sibley fell to Farhan Ahmed last night.

Only Will Jacks, Ben Foakes, Sai Sudharsan, Jordan Clark and Cameron Steel to get through lads …

Good news – play resumes at Somerset. Well, it’s not good news if you’re a Durham fan I guess. George Drissell has just smacked the ball into the back of silly point fielder Andy Umeed. Ouch. Don’t rub it.

My Sam Cook shout has caused some consternation BTL. Go on then, who is everybody’s favourite (current) county bowler?

Chris Rushworth is the first to get some love …

Rory Burns is in good nick, isn’t he? His previous two innings have brought scores of 227 and 161 before this one and he’s breezed onto 29 not out this morning thanks to a succession of sweeps against the Nottinghamshire spinners. While the draw is the big favourite, Surrey might just have hopes of clambering up to a defendable total today. They lead by 172.

Worcestershire are all out for 321 having lost their final two wickets cheaply this morning. Everyone’s favourite county bowler Sam Cook finishes with 4-23. Essex need 184 runs to win.

In Division Two, Middlesex, Leicestershire and Derbyshire all have the bats in hand and therefore, to an extent, are in control of their own destinies.

The international pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Peter Handscomb should be key for the Foxes as they look to defy Glamorgan’s bowlers. The former has passed a half-century and the latter is close to his own. The big-hitting Rehan Ahmed and Louis Kimber, due in next, need some protection given the 139-run deficit as it stands.

They’re off for rain at Taunton. As SonOfTheDesert BTL says: “Drizzle upon Drissell.” The forecast offers a bit of hope for later, though. Not sure they’ll spend too much time off the field.

It’s all-out attack for Somerset this morning against the two (yes, TWO) Durham nightwatchmen who went in last night after a late flurry of wickets. Craig Overton is bowling with a silly point, short leg and leg gully in. Durham are 25-3 off 18 overs. 420 is their nominal target.

Desperately sad news from elsewhere in the world of sport this morning. Sol Bamba epitomised what sport is all about.

This catch by Dom Bess yesterday has been pointed out to me in the comments. Lovely stuff.

All games in fact have started on time, despite the weather not quite being as good today as it was yesterday.

It’s spin from the start for Notts at Trent Bridge, as Surrey look to build a lead. Will Jacks was in the wickets yesterday. There’s been some overnight rain in Nottingham, but that’s not stopped Haseeb Hameed turning to Farhan Ahmed and Liam Patterson White.

Things at Lord’s are starting in a moment, too, of course and you can follow along with James Wallace.

Looking at the Div One table, if Somerset win and Surrey fail to win, things may (finally) look rather interesting at both ends. A high-scoring draw for Notts would be good news in their battle against relegation – and frankly, awful news for Lancashire. Surrey will still have a decent buffer at the summit even if they fail to win at Trent Bridge, but Somerset may gather belief that a late title at the title is feasible.

I’m going to grab a coffee and fire up the streams.