Find out what happened on day two of the latest round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches
DIVISION ONE
Edgbaston (second day of four): Warwickshire 292, Lancashire 280-9 - Lancashire trail by 12 runs with one first-innings wicket in hand
Steven Croft ended his recent Warwickshire hoodoo to lead Lancashire's defiance on the second day of an absorbing LV= Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.
Croft's previous three red-ball innings against the Bears had brought just three runs, but his gritty 90 (183 balls, ten fours, one six) led his side to 280 for 9 in reply to 292.
On an intensely competitive, hard-fought day, Lancashire's first innings was a mirror image of Warwickshire's the day before. Where Sam Hain's century had underpinned the home side's batting with only sporadic support, Croft formed a similar backbone for the Red Rose with similarly bit-part contributions from his colleagues.
Liam Norwell, playing his first game back after injury, led the Bears' bowling with 4 for 78.
With Lancashire 12 runs behind with one first innings wicket left, the match could hardly be more finely poised at the halfway point.
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Canterbury (second day of four): Gloucestershire 438, Kent 232-3 - Kent trail by 206 runs with seven first-inning wickets in hand
Kent fought back on day two of their County Championship match with Gloucestershire, reaching 232 for 3 at stumps, a deficit of 206.
In a contest so far dominated by the bat, Daniel Bell-Drummond made 89 and Ben Compton 80, leaving Kent needing another 57 to avoid following on against their Division One relegation rivals. Jack Leaning and Jordan Cox were unbeaten on 24 and 21 respectively at stumps.
Bottom of the table Gloucestershire were earlier dismissed for 438, having added 50 to their overnight score, Ollie Price going for 51 and Zafar Gohar 49, while Matt Milnes finished with 4 for 93.
Ben Compton was among the runs again for Kent [Justin Setterfield/Getty Images]
Southampton (second day of four): Yorkshire 428, Hampshire 225-4 - Hampshire trail by 203 runs with six first-innings wickets in hand
Nick Gubbins moved past 500 County Championship runs for the season with his fourth half-century but Yorkshire remained on top at the Ageas Bowl.
The left-handed Hampshire batter averages 56 this season after two centuries and two other innings which past fifty as he settles into life on the south coast having moved from Middlesex almost a year ago.
Jordan Thompson had snared both Hampshire openers within the first five overs of the riposte but Gubbins’ 58, coupled with Liam Dawson and Ben Brown’s unbroken 114-run stand, made sure the hosts weren’t blown away, albeit still 203 runs in arrears.
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Taunton (second day of four): Somerset 180, Surrey 382-7 - Surrey lead by 202 runs with three first-innings wickets in hand
Rory Burns’ second County Championship century of the season helped leaders Surrey into a potentially winning position on the second day of the match with Somerset at Taunton.
Unbeaten on 35 overnight, the England Test opener went on to score 113, off 217 balls, with 16 fours and a six, to help his side post 382 for 7 in their first innings, a lead of 202.
Will Jacks contributed a fluent 88, with 10 fours, and Jordan Clark 63 not out as Surrey capitalised on a true pitch in a manner Somerset had singularly failed to do on day one.
Rory Burns scored a century at Taunton [Harry Trump/Getty Images]
DIVISION TWO
Cardiff (second day of four): Sussex 376, Glamorgan 258-1 - Glamorgan trail by 118 runs with nine first-innings wickets in hand
A double century partnership between Colin Ingram and Eddie Byrom was the highlight of a run filled day in Cardiff in the County Championship match between Glamorgan and Sussex. The Glamorgan pair both finished the day with undefeated hundreds with Sussex’s first innings lead reduced to 118 and Glamorgan still just one wicket down.
The day had started with Oli Carter marshalling the Sussex tail as they plundered 131 runs in 23.4 overs. Carter finished with a career best 185 with Sussex posting 376 all out.
Glamorgan lost David Lloyd early on but from there Ingram and Byrom batted superbly against a green Sussex attack who seemed to have few answers in the face of some class batting.
Glamorgan reached the close at 258 for 1 with Ingram on 145 not out and Byrom still undefeated on 105 in a day that saw 389 runs for the loss of just four wickets.
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Chester-le-Street (second day of four): Durham 642-7d, Worcestershire 140-3 - Worcestershire trail by 502 runs with seven first-innings wickets in hand
Durham mustered their third-highest first-class total of 642 for 7 to take control of their County Championship Division Two clash against Worcestershire at Seat Unique Riverside.
Rachin Ravindra continued his fine debut for the home side scoring his maiden first-class double hundred, notching 217 before he was finally dismissed for the second-highest score made by a Durham debutant.
Paul Coughlin and Ben Raine also became centurions for the first time, sharing a record-breaking stand for Durham's eighth wicket worth 213 to leave their side in a dominant position.
Raine also got the better of the visitors with the ball, claiming the wickets of Jake Libby and Azhar Ali to reduce Worcestershire to 140 for 3 at stumps, trailing Durham by 502 runs ahead of day three.
Colin Ingram and Eddie Byrom shared an unbeaten 253-partnership on day two [Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images]
Chesterfield (second day of four): Middlesex 251 & 95-3, Derbyshire 229 - Middlesex lead by 117 runs with seven second-innings wickets in hand
A superb spell from Middlesex fast bowler Toby Roland-Jones completely changed the course of the County Championship match against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.
Roland-Jones took 5 for 14 in seven overs as Derbyshire lost their last seven wickets for 21 to crumble to 229 all out.
Derbyshire had looked in control when Wayne Madsen (62) and Brooke Guest (40) were together but Roland-Jones finished with 5 for 45 to earn Middlesex a first innings lead of 22.
An unbeaten 60 from Mark Stoneman increased that to 117 by the close of day two but at 95 for 3, the game is still in the balance.
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Leicester (first day of four): Leicestershire 440, Nottinghamshire 373-5 - Nottinghamshire trail by 67 runs with five first-innings wickets in hand
Ben Duckett made 145 and there were half-centuries for Joe Clarke and Haseeb Hameed as Nottinghamshire built a strong response after Leicestershire posted a season’s-best 440 all out on day two of their County Championship match at the Uptonsteel County Ground.
Clarke made 89 after he and Duckett had shared a partnership of 198 for the third wicket on a pitch that offered the home side’s bowlers little margin for error, but the home side’s bowlers made inroads in the final session to leave Nottinghamshire 373 for 5 at the close, still 67 runs behind.
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