Middlesex’s Josh de Caires took career-best figures of seven for 105 as Essex were reduced to 303 for nine on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division One clash.
Nick Browne (59) and Sir Alastair Cook (58) put on a century stand before De Caires, the 21-year-old son of Michael Atherton, took centre stage.
His efforts saw Essex reduced to 169 for five inside 16 overs en route to 303 for nine at the close.
Surrey are set to extend their lead at the top of Division One after taking 17 wickets on the second day at the Oval.
The hosts were all out for 396 and Warwickshire were subsequently bowled out for 161 thanks to Kemar Roach (four for 64) and Dan Worrall (three for 34).
Surrey then enforced the follow-on and the Bears quickly fell to 35 for five as Worrall and Jordan Clark took three wickets each.
Dan Mousley remains at the crease with an unbeaten 60, but Warwickshire closed on 126 for seven, still trailing by 109.
Keith Barker’s five-wicket haul saw Hampshire take control as Somerset were all out for 137.
Kyle Abbott’s dismissal saw Jack Brooks earn his first five-wicket haul of the season as the hosts were all out for 308 in the morning.
Barker then got off to a flying start to dismiss Sean Dickson in the third over and Andrew Umeed top-scored for Somerset with 43, leaving Hampshire to resume on day three on 45 without loss.
Josh Bohannon’s mammoth knock put Lancashire in the driving seat as they lead Northamptonshire by 160 runs.
The 26-year-old batted nearly the entire day to hit 175, his highest score of the season, and shared a partnership of 150 with George Balderson.
Alex Lees and Graham Clark both put on centuries as Durham took advantage against Sussex in Division Two.
Lees earned his fifth Championship century of the season with 103, putting on a 146-run partnership with Scott Borthwick, who scored 56.
The hosts lead by 158 with five wickets remaining and Clark (102*) and De Leede (71*) remained unbeaten at stumps.
A vital final session saw Leicestershire regain control over Gloucestershire on an eventful day two.
From a position of relative comfort overnight, Colin Ackermann’s dismissal saw the hosts collapse from 150 for three to 204 all out with top-scorer Rishi Patel earning 73.
Patel became Luke Charlesworth’s maiden first-class victim and the bowler took three wickets in total alongside Zaman Akhter’s four for 46.
Gloucestershire posted 95 for three at tea, but Leicestershire regained the upper hand through Tom Scriven (three for 43) as the visitors closed on 179 for eight, with a lead of 134.
Jamie McIlroy’s four wickets helped Glamorgan fightback as Worcestershire closed day two on 127 for eight in their second innings.
Eighteen wickets fell on the second day, including Logan van Beek’s four wicket-haul as Glamorgan were reduced to 170 all out, as wicketkeeper Chris Cooke top-scored with 38, but Worcestershire still held the advantage with a first-innings lead of 114.
However, McIlroy returned career-best figures of four wickets for 27 runs as the hosts reached stumps on 127 for eight.
Wayne Madsen missed out on a century in his 200th first-class appearance for Derbyshire as Yorkshire took a 229-run lead at Scarborough.
Madsen hit 93 for the visitors along with opener Mitch Wagstaff, who also posted 52, but they were soon reduced from 173 for three to 247 all out.
Seam duo Matthew Fisher and Jordan Thompson both claimed three wickets each for Yorkshire, who built on their lead in the second innings finishing the day on 179 for two.
Openers Fin Bean and Adam Lyth put on a century stand before James Wharton and captain Shan Masood scored an unbroken half-century partnership to close.
