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Paul Newton
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Essex

It looks like rain has curtailed play on day three with 22 overs unbowled.

Another absorbing day's cricket saw Essex take their overnight 65-1, leading by 25, to 329-8 in 91 overs.

Notts reduced Essex to 132-5 at lunch, but Paul Walter (79) and Matt Critchley (68) added 132 for the sixth wicket and Shane Snater hit out boisterously to extend Essex's lead to 289 when the heavens opened at 17:30.

Haines dropped on 124published at 17:45 British Summer Time 7 April

17:45 BST 7 April

Sussex 250-5 v Northants 371

Tom Haines goes to 120 with a switch it off Zaib through orthodox backward point for four.

Five runs off the over.

21 overs and counting for Rob Keogh and Haines gets two more runs with a cut to backward point.

A single scooped into the on side and Hudson-Prentice is back and across to tap the next ball for a single to long on.

The last ball is short, wide and cut to Karun Nair - who spills a sharp chance. The 250 is up for Sussex in 68 overs.

James Rew and Kasey Aldridge have steadied the ship somewhat after a flurry of Somerset wickets at Canterbury.

Kent are packing the slip cordon as they chase further breakthroughs in the final hour of play.

Somerset's deficit is just nine.

Rain stops playpublished at 17:40 British Summer Time 7 April

17:40 BST 7 April

Notts 293 v Essex 253 & 329-8

The bad light has given way to rain at Trent Bridge.

That could be the end of any more prospect of play on day three. The players initially left the field about half an hour ago.

Image source, Rex Features

Mike Smith, the match referee for the Lancashire v Surrey game, has spoken to the media to explain the decision not to restart play after lunch at Old Trafford today.

Although there was no rain at the time, Smith said health and safety concerns prevented play from resuming straight away.

Smith said: "The radar suggested there was going to be more rain and the umpires decided the covers should be put on during the lunch interval as a preventative measure. After lunch, when it was dry, the head grounds manager Matt Merchant said that it was so windy that it would put the health and safety of his staff at risk to ask his staff to remove the covers. We didn't want anyone to be hurt, either by being lifted in the air or slapped by the flat sheets in that wind.

"Lancashire's safety officer thought that was a reasonable position but we did say that the flat sheets should be removed if the wind dropped to an acceptable level. However, we didn't get to that stage because the rain returned and curtailed the rest of the day’s play.

"I haven't come across such a situation before but I understand that they were not going to be using the flat sheets at Edgbaston because Gary Barwell, the head groundsman, said he would not be asking his staff to put the flat sheets on in that wind. And it is dangerous to be manoeuvring very heavy flat sheets in wind like that."

Bartlett injuredpublished at 17:38 British Summer Time 7 April

17:38 BST 7 April

Sussex 240-5 v Northants 371

Hudson-Prentice tries to slap the last ball of Rob Keogh's over through square leg and that slams into the helmet of George Bartlett at forward short leg.

Bartlett is going off and a new helmet is being brought on.

Justin Broad takes over in the danger zone.

A forward short leg comes in for Rob Keogh now.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice is forward to block, having played and missed an attempted reverse sweep earlier in the over.

HP is down the track to Keogh's fifth ball, lofting it down to long on for four runs.

Adrian Harms
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Sussex

That was a dreadful shot, a dreadful way to get out.

Saif Zaib can not believe he's got a wicket with a ball like that James Coles can not believe that he is holed out.

That was a horrible delivery by Zaib, it should have probably gone outside of the ground.

James Coles' eyes would have lit up but he's just hit the ball straight down mid-on's throat.

Well done to Luke Procter for changing the bowling but James Coles will bitterly, bitterly disappointed to get put for 78.

Since then, John Simpson has been and gone too.

There are still 19 overs of the day remaining at Canterbury, where Kent have dragged themselves back into contention in the past hour with a succession of wickets.

The weather is not looking too bad, so James Rew and Kasey Aldridge will hope to bat Somerset into a first-innings lead by the close.

partnershippublished at 17:28 British Summer Time 7 April

17:28 BST 7 April

Middlesex 425-4 v Glamorgan 620-3 dec

That is a lovely clip off his legs from Jack Davies to the long midwicket boundary off the first ball of Craig Miles' latest over.

It brings up the 150 partnership between him and Ryan Higgins.

This is going a long way towards batting Middlesex to safety.

We have a slip in for Rob Keogh and Tom Haines tucks the second ball away to square leg for one.

John Simpson gets his first runs in Sussex colours with a deft little dab to third man for two.

A half shout for lbw as Simpson misses a sweep, but that's too leg side to interest the umpire.

Simpson keeps the strike with a drive through the off side for one.

Dave Bracegirdle
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Nottingham

Notts won't mind to go off.

It's taken a little bit of time out of the game. It's certainly disrupting the flow that Snater and Rossington have dropped into.

Image source, Rex Features

Tom Haines cuts Rob Keogh to deep cover for one to get up to 115.

James Coles is trying to scoop Keogh on to the leg side but can't quite clear George Bartlett just behind square.

He squeezes the fourth ball through wide mid on for one and Haines sees out the over.

Now it's time for Saif Zaib to have another bowl.

Michael Finan drops short and Tom Haines pulls over mid wicket for two. That ball really slowed up on the outfield.

Finan is no-balled on his fourth delivery, which Haines swings square for three.

The frustration for Northants is compounded by James Coles who heaves the next ball on the front foot through square leg for four.

14 runs off the over.

With this game finely poised, the umpires come together and decide that the light is not good enough to continue.

The Essex batters of Adam Rossington and Shane Snater head off with a lead of 289.