County cricket: Middlesex v Kent, Somerset v Hants and more – live!

And Lancashire lose a second (151/2), Jack Brooks gets Steven Croft for 11.

Something very poignant about this photo:

A vote for Parky from HPG, BTL:

GET PARKY ON (the plane to Sri Lanka).

And to general astonishment, Lancashire press-on, towards, it seems, Div One safety. 140/1. Alex Davies 78 not out. At Wantage Road, Derbyshire lose a wicket, Tom Lace for 38, while Alex Hughes passes fifty. And Sussex and Somerset stiffen, a little, their resolve.

Somerset now 20/4 – still trailing Hampshire by 22 runs on first-innings. Abbott 4/16.

This is Will’s thoughts on Ed Smith’s hits and misses over the year, ahead of the announcement of the tour party next week. Anyone like to nominate a player they’ve had an eye on this season for that first-class plane ticket to Sri Lanka ? Does Rory Burns deserve to make it? Leach? Bess? Wanted: blue-sky thinking on a grey-sky day.

An early lunch being taken at Trent Bridge and Sophia Gardens.

Oh Somerset, come on! 13/3. .. Abbott 3/10..

And so it continues… Durham all out 103. Sussex 0 for one, Tom Haines for a duck.

A (very) early wicket at Headingley – to the first ball of the day. Lancashire 116/1. And Somerset doing their very best to get it all over and done with, currently 4/1, Ben Green out for 0. Is that a Trescothick hundred I can smell in the air.???

And the quietly ace Rob Smyth is covering the final day of the Test series here:

“Genius at the hard art of unshowy resistance,” Barney Ronay on Alastair Cook.

Gloomy news round the grounds – no play yet at Headingley (due to start 10.45), or New Road, Trent Bridge, Grace Road and Sophia Gardens (rain).

We have a change of innings here at Lord’s, Kent all out after adding only three to the overnight score, Grant Stewart out for 63. That’s a lead of 31. Change of innings too at The Ageas – where Hampshire have a handy lead of 42 over Somerset. Meanwhile at Chester-le-Street, Durham have lost two wickets for four runs – four wickets for Robinson -currently 96/9.

The lovely pavilion stewards in their autumn-wear were called Philip and Roy.

Just been for a walk around Lord’s – now I’m going to bore you with my photographs, just like those post-holiday slide-shows we sat through, beaker of Ribena in hand, in the 1980s (younger readers, this really did happen). Ok, here we go….

Good morning from Lord’s. The mowers are out and the players are warming up on the Nursery Ground, where leaves from the lovely old trees have turned and are already falling.

After the 116-wicket Championship madness of yesterday, today may bring a result or two. Two games are nearly half completed – here at Lord’s and at the Ageas Bowl – with Trent Bridge and Sophia Gardens not far behind.

Some overnight news – yesterday’s Lord’s sensation Darren Stevens has signed another one year contract with Kent. What an reliable evergreen old pro he has turned out to be – he joined Kent in 2004, has scored nearly 15,000 first-class runs, made 40 centuries in Championship and one-day cricket and taken 720 wickets. From a 45 year old to a 42 year old – take a bow!

It could be an on and off day round the country. They’ve already had a shower at New Road, Headingley and Grace Road and the slate sky doesn’t look too encouraging here. September cricket – wickets and weather…