Matt Critchley hit a second century of the season as Essex look on track to secure a fourth successive LV= Insurance County Championship victory against Kent.
His 117 was supported by Simon Harmer’s 83, as well as 71 and 49 from Paul Walter and Adam Rossington respectively as Essex declared on 458 for eight.
And a good day got even better as Twanda Muyeye was dismissed with the final ball of the evening after falling lbw to Sam Cook to leave Kent four for one in their second innings, 247 behind.
John Simpson and Max Holden put on a century stand to give Middlesex hope of avoiding the follow-on against reigning champions Surrey at Lord’s.
The visitors ended their innings on 433 with Jamie Smith finishing on 138 and Jordan Clark adding 78.
However, the hosts suddenly found themselves 53 for four before Simpson and Holden added 116 for the fifth wicket but Holden fell shortly before the close as Middlesex reached stumps on 179 for five, 254 in arrears.
Somerset’s seamers ran riot as they edged closer to victory after enforcing the follow-on for Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
Matt Henry and Craig Overton were the pick of the bowlers as 16 wickets fell on the second day, with the duo earning six each overall.
Despite Ricardo Vasconcelos hitting a season’s best 78, Northamptonshire were dismissed for 180 in their first innings and ended day two 151 for six, still needing 20 more to prevent what would be their fifth innings defeat this season.
Ian Holland’s unbeaten 138 put Hampshire in control against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
Holland had earlier taken four wickets for 19 runs as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 100 in reply to Hampshire’s first-innings 166.
The all-rounder’s performance with the bat alongside Liam Dawson’s 82 and James Fuller’s quickfire unbeaten 52 allowed the visitors to declare on 344 for five and Notts survived two overs, but now face a tough task chasing down 411.
George Balderson hit a maiden first-class century as Warwickshire and Lancashire edge towards a draw.
The all-rounder resumed from a nervy 94 not out overnight to hit 116 before his side were all out for 327 and Warwickshire replied with 179 for five at stumps as captain Will Rhodes top-scored with 82.
Alex Lees became the first player to score 1,000 championship runs this season as Durham fought back against Derbyshire in their Division Two clash.
The hosts were bowled out for 443, with wicketkeeper Brooke Guest last out for 197 to Scott Borthwick, who took four for 25.
Along with David Bedingham, the duo added 305 from 333 balls for the third wicket, a new Durham record, and at the end of play the visitors were 364 for four, 79 runs behind Derbyshire’s first-innings score.
Glamorgan finished on 152 for two against Gloucestershire, with only 40 overs on the opening day of their contest due to rain and bad light.
David Lloyd and Zain ul Hassan put on an opening stand of 111 before Ul Hassan fell lbw to off-spinner Zafar Gohar and Lloyd shortly followed.
Colin Ingram and Sam Northeast then took the score past 150 before the weather saw play called off for the day.
Worcestershire need three more wickets to secure victory against Leicestershire with 19 wickets falling in total on day two.
Dillion Pennington finished with four for 36 as Leicestershire were all out for 110 in their first innings in 39.1 overs before Jake Libby hit 67 off 87 balls for Worcestershire to score 169 in 40.4 overs, leaving the hosts chasing 238 to win.
And at stumps Leicestershire reached 114 for seven, still 124 adrift.
Adam Lyth hit his second century of the season as Yorkshire took control against Sussex on day two at Headingley.
After finishing day one 120 for six, the visitors were all out for 216 after Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Nathan McAndrew put on a 94-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
Jack Carson eventually dismissed Lyth and Yorkshire resume day three with a 70-run advantage on 286 for four with England’s Dawid Malan unbeaten on 51.
West Indies in control as Bangladesh battle to avoid follow-on
West Indies will take a 181-run lead heading into day four of their opening Test against Bangladesh.
Having dominated day two, West Indies turned in another excellent display on Sunday to further gain control of the match.
After resuming on 40-2, Bangladesh saw Shahadat Hossain fall to Kemar Roach (1-30), but Mominul Haque did reach 50 before he was pinned lbw by Jayden Seales (2-42).
Shamar Joseph dismissed Litton Das (40) soon after as the Windies bowlers stepped into their rhythm, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (23) was soon sent packing by Alzarri Joseph, who grabbed his second wicket when he bowled Taijul Islam (18).
However, that wicket came after Taijul had combined with Jaker Ali (53) to offer some resistance and ensured the tourists avoided the follow-on.
Jaker was caught by Seales when attempting to slog Justin Greaves (2-34), with Taskin Ahmed (11 not out) and Shoriful Islam (five not out) guiding Bangladesh to 269-9 at stumps, chasing West Indies' first-innings total of 450.
Data Debrief: Bravery needed for Bangladesh
It is all about hanging on now for Bangladesh, who have to somehow see out the next two days if they are to avoid a fifth straight Test defeat.
West Indies, meanwhile, look all set to make it five Tests unbeaten at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, where Bangladesh are out to avoid a third loss.
Greaves hits unbeaten ton as West Indies dominate Bangladesh
Justin Greaves hit an unbeaten century – his first red-ball ton – as West Indies ended day two of their first Test against Bangladesh with a commanding 410-run lead.
Greaves resumed alongside Joshua Da Silva with West Indies 250-5 after day one in Antigua, eventually slamming 115 runs off 206 balls faced as the hosts established a dominant position.
His steady knock ensured the Windies recovered nicely after slipping to 261-7 early on, while Kemar Roach hit a career-best 47 through four defiant hours at the crease.
Hasan Mahmud took three day-two wickets for Bangladesh, including that of Roach, as his short delivery angled in to clip the top of middle stump.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite declared to put Bangladesh at the crease late on, and there was no respite for the tourists against the hosts' four-man pace attack.
Zakir Hasan fell to Jayden Seales for 15, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy edged Alzarri Joseph for five shortly after being dropped, leaving Bangladesh 40-2 at stumps.
Data Debrief: Career-best for Greaves
Greaves' unbeaten 115 marked his first century in Test cricket, surpassing his previous best knock – a score of 33 versus Australia in January – by some distance.
His strike rate of 55.83 on Saturday, while steady, also bettered his effort of 55.00 during that match in Brisbane. Thanks to his efforts, Bangladesh have a real mountain to climb on day three.
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
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