Final round of the 2026 County Championship; nine games
Warwickshire will be champions if they win or draw against Leicestershire, having taken six bonus points
Defending champions Notts now cannot win title, even if they beat Yorkshire
Second-placed Somerset only manage two bowling points against Surrey, who total 422
Kent need a minimum of 15 pts to win promotion and have so far earned six against Gloucestershire
Glamorgan's Asa Tribe scores 184 against Essex in Cardiff
Kent 77-2 v Glos 229
Almost two in the over for JT Langridge as Tawanda Muyeye wafts at the final ball of his opening over and is fortunate not to get a nick.
We're unlikely to see similar cavalier batting from partner Ben Compton, who is 33 not out and ready to face Matt Taylor.
Foakes lbw Overton 64 (Somerset v Surrey 341-5)
Just what Somerset needed.
Ben Foakes is pinned by Craig Overton and is given out.
Foakes looks a little rueful at the decision; it did seem a touch high but he has to make his way off.
Mahipal Lomror joins Dan Lawrence in the middle.
Notts 250-9 v Yorks
The hosts resume needing eight more to eke out a batting point.
Olly Stone shows intent straight off, dispatching the first ball of the day from Ben Coad through the offside for four to halve the runs required.
But he misses out on another as he hits a wide ball from Coad straight to point.
George Hill lets loose an appeal in his first over of the day as he finds the pad of number 11 Mohammad Ali.
But nothing doing and four leg byes bring up the magical 250 mark.
Somerset v Surrey 341-4
Here comes Craig Overton for Somerset and there goes his third ball flicked over the rope for a maximum by Dan Lawrence.
Prest c Simpson b Price 6 (Hampshire 58-5 v Sussex 244)
Tom Price strikes with his first ball of the morning and in the second over of the day at Utilita Bowl.
Price is right on the money straight away and Tom Prest edges behind to the keeper.
Somerset v Surrey 333-4
Dan Lawrence whips Lewis Gregory's fourth ball of the morning through mid-wicket for four runs.
He drives the next one down the ground but can only find the fielder at mid-off.
Lawrence looks in no mood to give this one away.
Somerset bring up James Rew behind the stumps to try to keep Lawrence in his ground.
Northeast c Ahmed b Langridge 27 (Kent 71-2 v Glos 229
A big day for Kent, which could see them take further steps towards promotion.
They need a minimum of 15 points from this game to secure a place in Division One for 2027 - and have three already.
Ben Compton and Sam Northeast are the not out pair - JT Langridge will open the bowling for Gloucestershire.
And he strikes with his first delivery as Daz Ahmed takes a brilliant gully catch to send Northeast on his way.
Worcs 214 & 5-0 v Derbys 88
After yesterday's wickets frenzy, we have have not one, but two, nightwatchers at the crease for Worcestershire this morning.
Ben Allison and Fateh Singh were sent out to survive three overs at the end of day one and just about managed to do so.
Derbyshire will hope to make short work of them this morning.
Warks 130-4 v Leics 125
The sun is out at Edgbaston as Sam Hain (37 not out) and Ed Barnard (25 not out) stride out to the middle to resume their innings, although there are a few clouds around too.
There were a couple of instances of uneven bounce on day one but otherwise the pitch seemed fine for batting.
Warwickshire will be keen to build their lead, which is only five runs at the moment, knowing a win in this match will secure the Championship title.
Just the one delayed start to report - after some morning rain in Manchester, there will be an inspection shortly but it's not expected to be too long before Lancashire and Durham get under way.
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If Leicestershire are "still fighting" for their Division 1 status why are Kelly and Shaikh not playing against Warwickshire?
Lynyrd, Leicestershire
Nick Kelly isn't playing because he is injured - full story here. Hamza Shaikh cannot play against his 'parent club'.
BBC Local Radio
As usual, we have live commentary on all nine games today, brought to you by our BBC local radio teams.
Just choose your game by clicking the 'Watch and listen' tab at the top of the page and we'll keep you up to date with events elsewhere by means of regular text updates.
Warks 130-4 v Leics 125
Image source, ShutterstockRegardless of results elsewhere, Warwickshire will be county champions if they collect at least 14 points from their match against Leicestershire at Edgbaston.
They have already bagged three of them by bowling Leicestershire out for 125 on day one.
Their batting display was not without problems, but they carry a lead of five runs into day two - with experienced pair Sam Hain and Ed Barnard at the crease hoping to build a healthy lead.
Leicestershire's failure to register any batting points - plus Essex gaining one bonus point against Glamorgan - means they will be relegated if an appeal against a points deduction is unsuccessful.
But they showed plenty of spirit with the ball to ensure that this game hasn't run too far away from them.
Somerset v Surrey 327-4
Image source, Getty ImagesWith every run Surrey scored on day one and every minute they occupied the crease, Somerset's hearts will have been sinking.
With the news from Edgbaston of Warwickshire's decimation of the Leicestershire batting and earning a first innings lead by the end of day one they will have seen the writing on the wall.
The home side's hopes of a first title were really resting on a Bears capitulation but in truth the defeat by Yorkshire in the previous round of games is a story of their own writing.
“There is always hope and confidence in our dressing room, so we certainly haven’t given up on the title yet," said Somerset bowling coach Steve Kirby.
Surrey could well grind that hope into the Taunton dust if Dan Lawrence (105*) and Ben Foakes (64*) are not removed early on the resumption this morning
Notts 242-9 v Yorks
Image source, Getty ImagesNottinghamshire's struggles on day one and the success of leaders Warwickshire all but extinguished the reigning champions' hopes of retaining their title.
They are in danger of failing to pick up any of the five batting points on offer, having looked well set at 228-5 on an attritional day at Trent Bridge.
After losing four wickets for 13 runs, Notts' last wicket pair now need eight more runs to get a first - and likely only - bonus point with the blade.
If the Bears pick up three batting points of their own, Notts' defence will finish today, come what may.
Yorkshire, meanwhile, retain hopes of a notable top-four finish and their inconsistent batters will look to capitalise on the good work of their attack.
Paceman Ben Cliff led by example with 4-39.
Hampshire 55-4 v Sussex 244
Image source, ShutterstockJack Leaning led Sussex's recovery from 124-7 to 244 all out on day one at Utilita Bowl, hitting six sixes in his knock of 78, before Hampshire were reduced to 55-4 at the close.
Hampshire, their relegation from Division One already confirmed, have earned just four batting bonus points all season and start today's play trailing by 189 runs.
"After missing a couple of games after having a little one, it is nice to be back in the team and contributing again.
"You don't feel like a ball has your name on it yet, but it feels like it will get to that stage as the game progresses," said Leaning.
"We carried on bowling how we have done all season. We've got a hell of a lot of bowling points and as a unit it is clear what our plan is - to keep the stumps in play."
Middx 255 v Northants 103
Image source, Getty ImagesNorthamptonshire's hopes of promotion were left in tatters after a disastrous morning at Lord's, during which they were skittled for just 103 in a mere 37 overs.
Their attack - spearheaded by the ever-reliable Ben Sanderson (4-68) kept them just about in the game by bowling out Middlesex for 255 as 20 wickets tumbled in St John's Wood.
But suffice to say Northants head coach Darren Lehmann was not overjoyed with what he saw.
"It was a pretty good wicket - a 300-plus wicket, so we're really disappointed with the batting," he said.
"It did a bit with the new ball but you expect that with the Dukes ball and these conditions and we didn't make enough runs."
Glamorgan 318-3 v Essex
Image source, ShutterstockEssex director of cricket Chris Silverwood admitted it had been a "tough day in the field" for his side after Glamorgan reached 318-3 in Cardiff.
With Leicestershire appealing against a points deduction, there is still relegation anxiety around for the visitors, who were up against it with the Welsh county 254-1 before a couple of wickets by Matt Critchley.
Asa Tribe will resume on 135 not out after being dropped early in his innings, and Silverwood said: "Obviously no one drops them on purpose and he showed the signs of a good player but we've got to create more chances tomorrow and try and get back into this game.
"Credit to Simon (Harmer) and Critch for the way they went about their business to control the rate and stop them getting away from us."
Kent 71-1 v Gloucestershire 229
Image source, ShutterstockKent's Matt Quinn hailed "phenomenal" team-mate Matt Milnes following his four wickets on day one of their game against Gloucestershire.
Milnes returned to the club this season following a spell with Yorkshire and his 4-49 helped put them in a strong position to claim the second promotion spot from Division Two.
"He's been unbelievable. It's been a pleasure to bowl alongside him so much. He just makes stuff happen, and for me, at the other end, I just feel like I can just lock it down and I know he is going to pick up a few poles," Quinn said.
"I think he's on 49 wickets this year. Hopefully he goes and gets 50 next innings, but yeah, he's had a phenomenal season and I'm so pleased to have him back here at Kent.”
On the match situation, Quinn added: "I feel like we're fully ahead of the game at the moment. I think at the start of the day, if you'd said 229 all out, and one down at close, we'd be very happy."
We didn't have any weather interruptions on Thursday and, fingers crossed, the forecast doesn't look too bad today either.
There might be a few patchy showers around but they shouldn't last too long.
You can watch Elizabeth Rizzini's morning forecast by clicking here to go to the BBC Weather site.
Division One
Division Two