County Championship Division One roundup: Surrey fight back from wobble against Northants

The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action during day three of the 15th round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches in 2023

The Oval (day three of four): Northamptonshire 357, Surrey 158-6 - Surrey trail by 144 runs with four first-innings wickets in hand

Bottom of the table Northamptonshire reduced first division leaders Surrey to 79 for 6 before Ben Foakes and Jamie Overton led a fightback on another rain-affected day at the Kia Oval.

With title rivals Essex cutting into Surrey's 18-point lead by taking two more bonus points against Hampshire, Surrey needed a spirited response from Foakes and Overton, who made an unbeaten fifty, which took them to 158 for 6 when bad light and rain ended play early. They still trail by 199 but with only a day to go a draw still looks the likely outcome.

After two rain-shortened days, Northamptonshire began day three by resuming their first innings on 351 for 9 and adding just six more runs before Karun Nair, on 144 not out overnight, was caught and bowled by Tom Lawes as he tried to fashion an unorthodox deflection at a short ball but succeeded only in lobbing it back to the bowler.

Former India Test batter Nair, who had previously cut Lawes for his 23rd and final four, had faced 246 balls for his epic 150 – a superb innings which also included two sixes. The 20-year-old Lawes finished with 5 for 105, the second five-wicket haul of his highly-promising early career. Nair was also his 50th first-class victim while Northamptonshire's 357 was only their third 350-plus total of the season.

^{Will Rhodes scored a century against Middlesex [Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images]}

Lord's (day three of four): Middlesex 121 & 96-1, Warwickshire 315 - Middlesex trail by 98 runs with nine second-innings wickets

Sam Robson passed 50 for the fourth time this season to keep alive relegation-haunted Middlesex's hopes of a draw on a truncated day three of their clash with Warwickshire at Lord's.

The former England opener mixed watchful defence with excellent driving to make 51 not out in a stay of a little over two hours as the hosts reached 96 for 1 in their second innings, still 98 short of making Warwickshire bat again. Robson shared an opening stand of 78 with Mark Stoneman, the highest between the pair this season and their first of 50 or more since May 13.

Earlier, Will Rhodes, 102, completed his ninth first-class hundred and his third at Lord's, but Danny Briggs fell one short of a second ever century, their efforts taking Warwickshire to a first innings total of 315.

Tim Murtagh, in his final game at Lord's narrowly missed a career-best, finishing with 6 for 83. The former Ireland seamer was honoured at lunchtime with a montage of photos, depicting his cricket story at a special presentation made in front of the pavilion steps by former teammates Steven Finn and Ben Scott and the county's ex director of cricket Angus Fraser.

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Old Trafford (day three of four): Lancashire 225-6, Nottinghamshire

Lancashire made 225 for 6 on a rain-shortened third day of this County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Emirates Old Trafford with this game steadily heading towards a draw having already lost two days to the weather.

Steven Croft top-scored for the hosts with 45 while 19-year-old Matty Hurst made an assured unbeaten 35 on debut after openers Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells had posted 84 for the first wicket.

Steven Mullaney and Asitha Fernando both claimed two wickets apiece for the visitors, who had opted to bowl first, as they hit back mid-morning with a three-wicket burst in an even contest.

Simon Harmer took his 35th first-class five-for for Essex [Justin Setterfield/Getty Images]

Chelmsford (day three of four): Essex 447-9d, Hampshire 322-8 - Hampshire trail by 125 runs with two first-innings wickets in hand

Tom Prest brilliantly scored his maiden County Championship century to frustrate title hopefuls Essex – despite Simon Harmer's 35th first-class five-wicket haul for the county.

Former England Under-19 skipper Prest masterfully scored an unbeaten 102 to guide Hampshire past the follow-on score with vital contributions from Toby Albert, Fletcha Middleton, James Vince and Keith Barker.

South African Harmer claimed 5 for 143 as he churned away from the River End for 36 overs but Hampshire ended the day on 322 for 8 - and 125 runs adrift - with a potential to set up a result on the final day.

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Taunton (day three of four): Somerset 404-4, Kent

Somerset's Tom Kohler-Cadmore celebrated his England call-up with a savage assault on Kent's injury-hit bowling attack on the third day of the County Championship match at Taunton.

Summoned to take part in the ODI series against Ireland at the conclusion of the game, the uncapped 29-year-old smashed eight sixes in scoring 68 from just 31 balls as the home side extended their first innings total to 404 for 4 before rain washed out the last two sessions.

Lewis Goldsworthy marked his first Championship appearance of the season with 122, his second first-class century, and Andy Umeed contributed 49 to a Somerset run blitz that saw them add 190 to their overnight 214 for 2 in an extended morning comprising 32.4 overs.

But it was Kohler-Cadmore's onslaught that did most to shatter the morale of a Kent side battling relegation and without Michael Hogan, who was added to their lengthy injury list on the opening day. Coming in at 310 for 3, the former Yorkshire player hit his second ball for six and went on to reach fifty off 27 deliveries.