Lewis Gregory appears to have a slight limp as he walks back to his mark but that doesn't stop him charging in to try and break this partnership.

Matt Critchley collects the first boundary of the morning as he strokes the ball through the covers with a minimum of fuss.

He follows it with a straight drive but Gregory just manages to take the pace off it with his outstretched fingers.

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New ballpublished at 11:05 BST 23 August

11:05 BST 23 August

Glos 251-3 v Worcs - lead by 134

Scratch that!

One over of Jake Libby and Worcestershire are taking the new ball and Ben Allison has it!

A sign of things to come at Cheltenham...

The 80 overs are up but Worcestershire begin bowling with Jake Libby. His first over of the innings and a man with 13 wickets in his first-class cricket.

Is the game going to be set up for a chase this afternoon?

Gloucestershire are 134 ahead.

Lovely loop from Jack Leach, who turns one past the edge of Charlie Allison's groping defensive bat with his fourth delivery of the morning.

We start with a maiden.

So, 170 runs needed for a Middlesex win at Merchant Taylors' School.

Alternatively, six wickets needed for a Kent victory.

Whichever of the two teams you follow, we could have a potentially exciting finish. Let's hope so anyway.

Leus du Plooy resumes on 36 not out and Ryan Higgins - who claimed the 500th wicket of his career in all formats yesterday - is on 10.

Hard to predict what will happen on the final day here.

Essex will be looking to bat long in the hope of securing a draw, which would be a great effort after following- on.

A couple of early breakthroughs, though, and Somerset will once again be fancying their chances of adding another one to the 'win column'.

Charlie Allison is 105 not out, Matt Critchley has 76 and spinner Jack Leach will bowl the opening over. The sun is shining, it's a lovely day for cricket.

Image source, Shutterstock

With Durham stretching away at the top after their Derbyshire demolition job, it's all about the battle for second.

Kent occupy that spot at the moment and they begin day four of their contest with Middlesex at Northwood, needing six wickets to secure the victory. Yet the hosts will still believe they can chase down the 170 they require for the W.

Northants are only just behind Kent and they will strongly fancy their chances of heading south from Old Trafford with victory at some point today.

They dominated day three from start to finish against a sorry Lancashire side, who begin this morning on 24-2 with a nominal target of 446.

Worcestershire could do with winning to stay in the hunt, but they were held up by Gloucestershire on Saturday. The hosts resume at Cheltenham on 248-3, a lead of 131, so there is a lot of work for either side to force a result.

Image source, Getty Images

Somerset head coach Jason Kerr believes victory is still possible for his side despite being frustrated by an unbroken stand of 187 between Charlie Allison and Matt Critchley on day three at Taunton.

The visitors are only three runs ahead and early wickets will revive Somerset's chances of what would be an important win in the Division One title race.

"I can't fault our lads. I prefer to give credit to Charlie Allison and Matt Critchley for the way they batted. I thought they were outstanding," said Kerr.

"The opposition are allowed to play well. We knew Essex would bounce back from the way they performed in their first innings."

Allison will resume on 105 not out and he said: "We can't really think about winning the game, but a draw would be a great outcome for us after the way we batted in our first innings."

Image source, Shutterstock

Both sides conceded Yorkshire have their noses in front at Southampton with Adam Lyth insisting the visitors would have taken a lead of 273 on a low-scoring deck “all day long” on day three.

Contributions down the order saw Yorks to 301 in their second knock and it is now over to spin according to Lyth, who as one of three in the line-up will have plenty of work to get through.

“We are in the box seat. The pitch now is starting to turn more and more,” said the opener. “Hopefully tomorrow us three spinners can do the bulk of the work.”

Hants are not giving up with 172 runs needed and seven wickets still standing and coach Russell Domingo insisted they were “one good partnership” away from being really close.

“We need two guys to get 80 or 90 (partnership) not out and we can find a way to be really close,” said Domingo. “We are very much in this contest and the first session is really important for us.”

Image source, Shutterstock

A fourth-day finish at Leicester didn't look likely when 15 wickets fell on Day Two but we're here after a battling batting performance from the home side led by Sheridon Gumbs, who scored 93 in only his second championship match.

Despite Leicestershire's efforts the two-tone pitch has never looked easy for the batters so Glamorgan are up against it even though they only need 131 more runs with five wickets left.

They're looking to captain Kiran Carlson who resumes on 73 and is realistic about his team's prospects; "Cricket's a funny old game and if we can see a couple more partnerships we'll hopefully tick the runs down," he said.

"There's obviously wicket balls on that wicket. But if I can try and stay there and a few lads come in and tick the scoreboard over, you never know."

Division One

• Utilita Bowl: Hampshire 197 & 106-3 v Yorkshire 173 & 301 - Hampshire need 172 to win
• Leicester: Leicestershire 151 & 257 v Glamorgan 152 & 126-5 -Glamorgan need 131 to win
• Taunton: Somerset 469 v Essex 158 & 314-3 - Essex lead by 3

Division Two

• Cheltenham: Gloucestershire 150 & 248-3 v Worcestershire 267 - Gloucestershire lead by 131
• Old Trafford: Lancashire 137 & 24-2 v Northamptonshire 284 & 298-4 dec - Lancashire need 422 to win
• Northwood: Middlesex 249 & 186-4 v Kent 350 & 254 - Middlesex need 170 to win

Image source, Shutterstock

Good morning!

Welcome to day four of this round of Championship games with the excitement of yesterday evening still lingering.

Ben Stokes' efforts with bat and ball, Notts' all-round as a brilliance as a team with Olly Stone to the fore and a quite sensational finish to the match at Edgbaston. Red-ball cricket at its absolute finest.

If you're worried today could fall flat, don't. We're in the middle of three fascinating run chases while Somerset have work to do to beat Essex and remain in the thick of the title race.

So let's crack on!