That's the end of another enthralling day of Championship cricket, which saw big wins for Essex, Kent and Northamptonshire in Division Two.

Tom Westley made 254 for Essex against Worcestershire and they now need 25 points from their two remaining matches to secure the sole promotion spot.

The title picture in Division One is far-less clear-cut with little to separate Middlesex and Yorkshire, who face a showdown at Lord's in the final round of matches. 

Middlesex appear to have a slightly better chance of victory than Yorkshire in their current games, while defeat for Notts at Durham, for whom Keaton Jennings hit his sixth century of the summer, would push them closer to the trap door of relegation.

Join us tomorrow from 10:40 BST for coverage of the final day's play in our five remaining matches. Until then, have a good evening.

Division One

Durham 244 & 385-8 dec v Nottinghamshire 313 & 17-1

Notts need another 300 for victory

Yorkshire 281 & 143-2 v Hampshire 222

Yorkshire lead by 202

Somerset 553-8 dec v Lancashire 422-9

Somerset lead by 131

Middlesex 242 & 267-7 dec v Warwickshire 172 & 74-3

Warwickshire need another 264 for victory

Division Two

Derbyshire 242 & 360 v Gloucestershire 331 & 10-0

Gloucestershire need another 262 for victory

Graham Onions bowls Notts opener Jake Libby with the final ball of the day after Durham declared during a break for bad light to set the visitors a target of 317. The wicket capped a memorable day for Onions, who earlier scored the first half-century of his career in support of Keaton Jennings' unbeaten 171.

Victory for the home side would go a long way to securing their Division One place for next season. Failure to win for Notts would leave them on the brink of relegation.

Gloucestershire's openers keep Derbyshire at bay in the final five overs of play at Derby. Gareth Roderick is six not out, Chris Dent has four and they need to score another 262 on the final day to win.

But their position would have been a whole lot rosier but for the 82-run stand between Tom Milnes (56) and Harvey Hosein (52 not out) for the home side following Alex Hughes' superb innings of 140.

Warwickshire avoid further damage and need to score another 264 on the final day for victory against the Championship leaders, who are probably favourites at this stage. Ian Bell is 12 not out, nightwatchman Chris Wright has 10 - but the forecast for Saturday is, as I mentioned earlier, dodgy.

Image source, Rex Features

The sun has poked its head out from behind the clouds at Chester-le-Street, so the Notts openers have come out with eight overs to face. Their victory target is 317. Defeat would make relegation all but certain. No pressure then.

No resumption yet at the Riverside - but Durham skipper Paul Collingwood has declared their second innings, leaving Notts a target of 317 for victory. Keaton Jennings finishes unbeaten on 171 and now has 1,262 runs for the season, at an average of 66.42.

Warwickshire have sent out Chris Wright as nightwatchman after Ian Westwood was lbw to Ollie Rayner for 28, with the score on 55. Ian Bell has 11, but their chances of reaching a target of 338 may be compromised by a poor weather forecast for Saturday.

Paceman Craig Miles finishes with 4-82 and match figures of 8-112 after having Derbyshire number 11 Will Davis caught behind for a duck. His dismissal left Harvey Hosein unbeaten on 52 and Gloucestershire need to score 272 to win the game.

Lancashire's last-wicket pair block out the final four overs of play and they will resume on the final morning 131 runs behind, but with a draw the most likely result. Alviro Petersen was the home side's star performer, making 155 off 255 balls, while Lewis Gregory has taken 3-74 for Somerset.

Hosein boosts Derbyshire totalpublished at 18:01 BST 2 September 2016

18:01 BST 2 September 2016

Derbyshire 242 & 359-9 (95 overs) v Gloucestershire 331

Derbyshire wicketkeeper Harvey Hosein picks up a boundary - the seventh of his innings - off Josh Shaw to reach the second first-class fifty of his career, but the over ends with Tony Palladino caught at mid-on by David Payne. The home side's lead is 270.

After some rough treatment from Tom Milnes and Harvey Hosein, David Payne has disposed of the former for 56, ending a stand of 82 in 14.5 overs. Derbyshire are 262 ahead.

Jonathan Trott has failed for the second time in the game, falling lbw to left-arm spinner Ravi Patel for eight. Warwickshire captain Ian Bell is now at the crease and could be the key figure if they are to successfully chase down their target of 338 on the final day.

The umpires finally lose patience with the light and call off play at the Ageas Bowl. Yorkshire are 202 ahead, with Gary Ballance 46 not out and Andrew Gale on 19, and will face a tricky declaration decision on the final day.

Hampshire director of cricket Giles White told BBC Radio Solent: "I think it's in Yorkshire's hands and they might view it that they would like to force a result, which might open the door for us, but it's up to them to make that call."

That may be it for the day at Chester-le-Street where the light has closed in with 11 overs left. Durham opener Keaton Jennings has batted all day for 171 not out, facing 324 balls and hitting 22 fours. 

They lead by 316 and all results are possible on the final day.

Milnes reaches deserved fiftypublished at 17:34 BST 2 September 2016

17:34 BST 2 September 2016

Derbyshire 242 & 336-7 (89 overs) v Gloucestershire 331

Tom Milnes hits a boundary off David Payne to bring up his 50 from 44 balls. Suddenly Derbyshire are 247 ahead and this game could go either way tomorrow.

Image source, Rex

David Masters misses out on 10 wickets in the match as Graham Napier grabs the final Worcestershire wicket for figures of 5-59 to complete Essex's sixth win of the season. 

Skipper Ryan ten Doeschate takes the catch to dismiss Jack Shantry for 18 and his side are now 24 points clear of Kent in Division Two with two games to play.

Next up for Essex is a home fixture against Glamorgan, and if they win that one, they may only need bonus points at Canterbury in the final match of the season to seal promotion.