Image source, Getty Images

It's been an excellent day if your name is Anderson, with or without a double s.

Sir James Anderson proved he is still one of the game's pre-eminent bowlers with 5-64 for Lancashire against Northants, while Martin Andersson hammered a career-best 228 as Derbyshire piled up 625-8 declared.

There were also centuries for Matt Critchley, Colin Ingram, Leus du Plooy and Dan Mousley, who will resume on 112 not out for Warwickshire against Surrey.

We'll be back with you from 10:40 BST for full coverage of the third day's play.

Division One

Glamorgan 302 v Yorkshire 1-0

Yorkshire trail by 301 with 10 wickets standing

Hampshire 48-3 v Essex 461-7 dec

Hampshire trail by 413 with 7 wickets standing

Leicestershire 245 v Sussex 361 & 149-3

Sussex lead by 265 with 7 wickets standing

Somerset 347 v Nottinghamshire 218-3

Notts trail by 129 with 7 wickets standing

Warwickshire 330-2 v Surrey 328

Warwickshire lead by two with eight wickets standing

Division Two

Derbyshire 625-8 dec v Worcestershire 113-2

Worcestershire trail by 512 with 8 wickets standing

Durham 335 & 83-2 v Kent 197

Durham lead by 221 with 8 wickets standing

Middlesex 445-9 dec v Gloucestershire 116-4

Gloucestershire trail by 329 with 6 wickets standing

Northamptonshire 215-9 v Lancashire 384

Northants trail by 169 with one wicket standing

It has been Essex's day both with the bat and the ball but bad light has brought a premature end to proceedings at a gloomy Utilita Bowl.

Matt Critchley's 173 formed the foundation of an excellent effort from the visitors who racked up 461-7 before declaring at the tea break.

There were good contributions from Charlie Allison (80) and Simon Harmer (71no) and Shane Snater 37no).

It always looked like the evening session was going to be a tricky proposition for Hants given the on off nature of the play as bad light struck.

And so it proved with Nick Gubbins, Joe Weatherley and Tom Prest all succumbing to the relentless line and length of the Essex bowlers.

Jake Lehmann had looked a steadying hand on his Hants debut but rode his luck in the last over with two edges to Paul Walter at third slip off Wiaan Mulder.

The first should have been taken and the second was more difficult but he has survived to the close.

It remains Essex's game at the moment but there is plenty left to play for.

A poor second day of the season for seam-bowler lacking Gloucestershire had a brighter evening session thanks to a big partnership, but that was broken with the last ball of the day as Ollie Price fell for 29.

Having watched Middlesex rack up 445-9 declared they then lost their two openers before 18 runs were on the board before tea time.

They then lost Joe Phillips early in the evening session, also to Toby Roland-Jones . It was slow going for the away side all afternoon, trying to avoid further damage.

Miles Hammond had the best day of all the Glos lads, finally getting a bowl and earning 2-2 in his first and only over before the declaration, then finishing 59*.

Leus du Plooy missed out on his 200, but will take 181* and skippering his team to a dominant position in this match already.

Dropped catchpublished at 18:41 BST 4 April

18:41 BST 4 April

Hants 48-3 v Essex 461-7d

Jake Lehmann gets a couple of lives after Wiaan Mulder finds the edge twice in what is sure to be the final over.

Both go to Paul Walter, the first chest high at third slip which he gets a hand to and should have held only for it to burst through the attempted grab and go for four.

And then another hard flash which goes high over Walter's head with the hands not quite reacting quick enough. The second was probably more difficult but a let off for Hants.

Umpires have a look at the light and decide four deliveries of Mulder's over is enough and the two batsmen have no hesitation in departing.

Thanks for all your messages today. That golden button has been the source of plenty of fun and lots of quality analysis as well. Keep 'em coming tomorrow, please.

No more play, due to bad light, but it's been Durham's day, pretty emphatically.

Back at his home county, Sam Northeast was the one to stand firm for Kent as wickets tumbled around him and a handy 52-run stand with Keith Dudgeon for the ninth wicket staved off the threat of the follow-on.

Northeast was eventually last man out for 94, trying to race his way to three figures against the clock, with Matty Potts bowling brilliant for his 3-45, which could easily have been double that, and Kemar Roach also picking up three wickets on debut.

Kent made a couple of early inroads once again but a classy partnership between Ben McKinney and David Bedingham has taken the hosts' lead past 220 with eight wickets in hand, and they are in a strong position to start life back in Division Two with a win over the next couple of days.

Despite the loss of Daniel Hughes for 72 in the final over of play at Grace Road, Sussex are in firm control with a lead of 265 and seven wickets standing.

Having resumed on 15-1, Leicestershire were bowled out for 245 despite 83 on debut by Australia opener Jake Weatherald.

Ben Cox (44) and Ben Green (43 not out) made the only other contributions of note with the bat for the home side, who are playing their first Division One game for over 20 years.

Jack Carson survives the final over from Sam Wood and is 12 not out, with James Coles to resume tomorrow on 23.

Who'd be a bowler? It's not a lot of fun for them at Derby where batsmen have been firmly on top for two days.

Martin Andersson made a career-best 228 and Luis Reece weighed in with 114 as Derbyshire piled up 625-8 before declaring.

Zak Chappell picked up a couple of top-order Worcestershire wickets but 19-year-old Dan Lategan advanced to 77 not out before play ended for the day.

A tough task tomorrow, though, for the Pears as they look to avoid the prospect of following on.

Looks like another light reading under way at CLS.

Not going to hold our breath, although they were playing for 40 minutes beyond this point last night.

Looks very gloomy still.

Tom Prest and Jake Lehmann have steadied a ship that was rocking early edging their way on to the front foot and moving the score on from 5-2 to 27-2.

Sam Cook is into his sixth over but is not causing the same sort of problems he did earlier in his spell as the batters get their eye in.

They are still reining in their more attacking instincts, waiting for the bad ball, with Lehmann crashing a rare boundary square of the wicket from Cook to the score into the 30s.

He follows up with a clipped two off his toes and has looked fairly assured so far in his innings.

No return to the middle at Sophia Gardens after bad light forced the players off just 10 balls into the Yorkshire first innings.

Player of the day was Glamorgan's Colin Ingram, who scored 103 before falling caught behind to Ben Coad.

There were handy lower order runs from Mason Crane (51) and Timm van der Gugten (40), who shared 59 for the eighth wicket to help push the Glamorgan total past 300.

It's April 2026 and we've been getting these messages for going on two years. Got a good feeling if we fast-forward 12 months we'll still be getting them, too...

50 for Miles Hammond & 100 for Glospublished at 18:20 BST 4 April

18:20 BST 4 April

Middlesex 445-9 dec v Glos 102-3

After 2-2 in the one over he got to bowl before Middlesex's declaration, Miles Hammond has faced over 100 balls for his 50.

He has dug his side out of a hole but they are still way behind Middlesex's imposing total.

Ollie Price is 22* off 79 balls alongside him.

The umpires chatted to Craig Overton for nearly 10 minutes after the other 12 players left the field.

Then both umpires stayed there whilst Nick Pepper's team brushed the wicket and did not instantly cover the playing area. But now they have been given the signal.

Notts win the day, athough James Rew and Tom Abell did get Somerset up to 206-3 before Rew's unfortunate dismissal to that fantastic Kyle Verreyne catch yesterday, so are not miles behind them.

But the Champions look set and both of these two will fancy a century tomorrow morning.

Joe Clarke 70* and Jack Haynes 53* when they resume at 11am tomorrow (no they do not start earlier in the Championship to make up overs lost from previous days sadly sorry.)

James Coles flashes Sam Wood through the covers for an imperious boundary and that brings up a 50 partnership with Daniel Hughes that has taken just 60 balls. Coles is 21 not out.

That will probably be that seeing as it is gone six in the evening here, but not officially yet.

Craig Overton is chatting with both umpires as his troops trudge off the field well behind the two batters who swiftly depart the playing area.

Image source, Getty Images

Stumps have been removed by a member of the ground staff and that is that for the day as bad light ends proceedings early.

It is day that belongs to the visitors Lancashire and, more specifically, to their evergreen captain Jimmy Anderson who took 5-64 with a devastating spell.

Anderson was at his imperious best with an early spell that was as good as unplayable and conjured thoughts that he could still do a job for England in this sort of form.

From 41-5 Northants have fought back though with contributions from George Bartlett (31), Nathan McSweeney (32), Louis Kimber (33) and Lewis McManus (54).

They remain behind the game with a wicket remaining but still trailing by 169 runs. Not as bad a situation as threatened earlier but not a strong one for Darren Lehmann's side.