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Phew! Another day of twists and turns ijn the County Championship draws to a close.

Hampshire have put themselves in a great position to set a big fourth innings target against Somerset, while Essex are just about on top in a hard-fought battle at Edgbaston.

Lancashire look to be heading for another victory to heap more misery on bottom side Gloucestershire, and it's even stevens at Northampton.

So much to play for on day three. We hope to see you then.

Division One

Southampton: Hampshire 238 & 146-1 v Somerset 288

Edgbaston: Warwickshire 190 v Essex 110-3

Division Two:

Bristol: Gloucestershire 136 & 58-3 v Lancashire 240

Northampton: Northamptonshire 229-4 v Middlesex 341

Miles Hammond cuts one away to backward point and the day will end with Gloucestershire on 58-3 - still 46 runs behind Lancashire's first-innings total following a mammoth second day in Bristol.

An incredible second day's play - I think we had almost 100 overs bowled in a day with has brought about 17 wickets in total.

Gloucestershire were quickly skittled this morning for 136 all out but the Red Rose failed to capitalise fully and themselves were bowled out for 240.

The home side then lost another three wickets after tea with Hammond (10 not out) and James Bracey (16 not out) returning to the crease tomorrow morning.

I think we're all going to have a good night sleep after that one.

James Bracey looks to guide another one into the leg side but it is well stopped by the square-leg fielder.

George Balderson then beats the outside edge of Bracey's bat with one that stays low from the medium-fast. What a match he has had so far with six wickets to his name.

He completes his work for the day with a second consecutive maiden over. One over remains at 19:05 BST.

Don Topley
BBC Essex

The cricket we've seen today has been really good.

It's been a hard fought day when we've seen it.

Unfortunately, we've seen a little bit of rain and drizzle and we've lost a bit of play this afternoon.

We still have a lot of cricket to play. If Warwickshire bowl well they could have a lead, if Essex bat well they might get a little lead.

Any lead for day three could be paramount and it should be an engaging and interesting day's play for me tomorrow.

James Bracey drives a full delivery from Arav Shetty to the long on boundary and it races along the ground for four more.

Two overs remaining in the day.

A good tidy over by George Balderson goes for a maiden.

With three overs remaining, we will have a change of bowling for Lancashire - Arav Shetty is on for a bit old fashioned off break under the dying light.

Having turned down a single off the final ball of the 38th over, Sam Cook will look to soak up the last six balls of the day from Ed Barnard.

By hook or by crook he survives and that's stumps.

A good day of tough red-ball cricket ends with Essex on top, trailing the hosts' first innings total by 80 with seven wickets intact.

Sam Hain earlier played through for an unbeaten 88 to drag Warwickshire up to 190 and keep them in the game.

Delicately poised going into day three.

Ed Seabourne
BBC Radio Bristol commentator

That is an absolute regulation catch from second slip.

It's come at Jennings at a decent height.

He did put one down in the first innings, he went palms facing down and he just misjudged the height that it was coming at but that one? I'm not sure what's gone on there.

50 up for Gloucestershirepublished at 18:56 BST 18 April

18:56 BST 18 April

Gloucs 52-3 v Lancs (trail by 52 runs)

50 up for Gloucestershire as Miles Hammond runs a good three after clipping into mid-wicket.

They still trail Lancashire by another 52 runs with seven wickets still in hand.

We're into the penultimate over of the day. at Edgbaston.

Charlie Allison is in firmly behind his first ball as Ethan Bamber again targets the stumps.

A thick outside edge gives Allison a chance to get down the other end and he takes it. Over to you, stand-in skip.

Sam Cook opens the face and plays it down to third man and collects another single. Essex are nearly there.

Sam Cook miscues a drive off Ed Barnard straight along the groudn back to the bowler.

Big appeal for lbw but the umpire is uninterested. Cook is falling over a little as the ball smacks into his front pad.

The replay shows it as missing leg. Good decision.

Then a play and a miss. Two overs to go.

Dropped catchpublished at 18:49 BST 18 April

18:49 BST 18 April

Gloucs 47-3 v Lancs (trail by 57 runs)

What a chance - and what a let-off for Miles Hammond.

He edges a wide one to Keaton Jennings at second slip and it looks like a regulation take.

Unlike the one Jennings grabbed about 25 minutes earlier, this one goes in the bread basket and then slips out again.

Ethan Bamber in to Charlie Allison who has raced to 39 after those three successive boundaries off Keith Barker.

Will he be tempted to reach his fifty before the close? Probably not in fairness.

He brings out an array of defensive strokes before Bamber runs a lovely delivery past his outside edge. A third maiden for the Bears bowler.

Three to go in the West Midlands sunshine.

It's been a mammoth day two in Bristol as we enter the 94th over since we started bang on 11:00 BST this morning.

With the final ball of the 93rd over, James Bracey uses the blade of the bat to angle down a boundary at third man.

Postpublished at 18:45 BST 18 April

18:45 BST 18 April

Warks 190 v Essex 108-3

Ed Barnard into the attack and Sam Cook will wish he hadn't.

A single from Charlie Allison gives his skip a couple of deliveries to survive.

The first of those hits him straight in the unmentionables.

You have our sympathy.

One from the over - four to go.

Phil Britt
BBC Radio WM

He'll be desperately disappointed because things have looked good for Essex since they've come back out after tea.

But alas this will just open the door quite nicely for Warwickshire who'll be over the moon.

Bad light has beaten us once again at Northampton.

The home side will enjoy their evengn refreshments after a brilliant recovery from 42-3 to 229-4 led by Nathan McSweeney (87) and James Sales (78).

They will resume their unbroken stand of 131 in the morning.

Miles Hammond drives confidently in the off side and gets a timely boundary for Gloucestershire off the bowling of Paul Coughlin.

We still have eight overs remaining in the late Saturday evening Bristolian sunshine.

Anthony Gibson
BBC Radio Somerset

Disappointing from Somerset.

134-7 they were today and Hampshire 46-1 and that expresses fairly eloquently the balance of advantage in this day's cricket.

Somerset had a very good day yesterday, a very disappointing day today.