A micro-round of Championship games finished with three knuckle gnawers and one that petered quietly into a bad-light induced draw.At Southampton, Tom Abell guided Somerset to their second win of the season, leaving them top of Division One and flames ablaze in every West Country heart.His calm 101 not out, his second century of the season, defied even an eye-catching bowling performance from Hampshire’s Sonny Baker (five for 62).Run-up almost back to the rope, Baker pistoled in and, with a last-chance new ball, caterwauled Lewis Gregory’s middle stump and had Alfie Ogborne, a former housemate, tickling behind.But Abell, with stoic support from Jack Leach, saw Somerset home by two wickets.

On an Edgbaston pitch more frisky than average, Warwickshire nipped over the line shortly after Somerset, bowling out Essex for 164.Keith Barker, returning to his old club after an eight-year hiatus, made his mark with three wickets in his first over of the day: Dean Elgar lbw offering no shot, Sam Cook squirting to cover and Charlie Allison bowled by a crawler.From there, it was uphill all the way for Essex, who fell short by 41 runs despite the best efforts of Simon Harmer and Zaman Akhter.Keaton Jennings hit 78 not out to guide Lancashire to victory at Bristol, against a Gloucestershire attack who chipped away energetically, but didn’t quite have enough runs to play with.Lancashire’s win by four wickets takes them top of Division Two.

The Lancashire captain, Jimmy Anderson, also the division’s leading wicket taker, was asked if he could cope with a fourth game on the trot.“We will wait and see,” he said.” I struggled to get out of bed this morning.”Sam Robson’s 162 not out, combined with gloom and light meters, ensured Middlesex’s game with Northamptonshire ended in a draw.So that’s it from this micro-round.

Three cracking finishes and one put out of its misery just at the right time,And more James Rew, more Sonny Baker, more Jimmy Anderson for everyone to chew over,There will be seven games in round four (Middx, Northants, Hants and Somerset miss out), starting on Friday,See you then and have a lovely evening – bye!DIVISION ONESouthampton: Somerset 288 & 288-8 BEAT Hampshire 238 and 336 by two wicketsEdgbaston: Warwickshire 190 & 220 BEAT Essex 205-9 & 164 by 41 runsDIVISION TWOBristol: Lancashire 240 & 203-6 BEAT Gloucestershire 136 and 305 by four wickets,Northampton: Northants 409 DRAW with Middlesex 341 & 353-3Northampton: Northants 409 DRAW with Middlesex 341 & 353-3Northamptonshire 15 points, Middlesex 13I think that will be it at Wantage Road, so am going to start writing up.

Will come back with any news,And so to Wantage Road, where Sam Robson was out, embarrassingly unnoticed ATL, for 162,Ah, they’re taking a light reading and it looks like they’re putting this game to bed, coming off for bad light,And then there was one,DIVISION ONESouthampton: Somerset 288 & 288-8 BEAT Hampshire 238 and 336 by two wicketsEdgbaston: Warwickshire 190 & 220 BEAT Essex 205-9 & 164 by 41 runsDIVISION TWOBristol: Lancashire 240 & 203-6 BEAT Gloucestershire 136 and 305 by four wickets.

Northampton: Northants 409 v Middlesex 341 & 352-3 – Middlesex lead by 284 runsAll over at Edgbaston, Akhter the final wicket to fall attempting to ramp a boundary off Webster and seeing it gobbled up by Sam Hain running around at fine leg.Warwickshire bag their first win of the season by a margin 41 runs, with Keith Barker, four for 29, setting it up courtesy of that remarkable three-wicket over first thing.Will Chris Woakes even get back into the side? (Clue: He will).Edgbaston: Warwickshire 190 & 220 BEAT Essex 205-9 & 164 by 41 runsGot ‘im! Big wicket here as Simon Harmer is eventually prised from his rock courtesy of a bit of nibble from Big Beau Webster and a fine low take by Rob Yates at slip.Harmer stood his ground for a second but was quickly sent on his way (replays suggest the catch was clean).

Essex 43 to win, Warwickshire one wicket away.Wondering if a second nail-biter is loading here at Edgbaston...Simon Harmer and Zaman Akhter have steadily chiselled out 51 for the ninth wicket to get within striking distance.

Essex need 43 more to win, Warwickshire two more wickets...Tom Abell sails four through midwicket to win the game, 101 not out!Southampton: Somerset 288 & 288-8 BEAT Hampshire 238 and 336 by two wicketsHampshire 3 points, Somerset 20 pointsAbell tonks a full toss, gets a single off the last ball and will face Kyle Abbott.Three needed.

Abell not taking the singles, three balls left of Baker’s over.The crack of the bat loud over the empty tense ground.Abbott with a maiden.Four needed for Somerset.Abell, on 96, to face the next over from Baker.

Jack Leach, short sleeved jumped pulled down over his bottom, leans back and axes Baker for four.But then takes a single to retain the strike at the end of the over.Four needed.A crack of the bat, and Abell flicks Abbott for four, the field up, the target now down to nine.Back comes Baker for a final over.

And Baker has a second! Ogborne fancies this one for cover-drive glory but instead edges behind.Somerset eight down, need 15.Abell still there.Here comes Jack Leach.“If you’re going to get serious about Bs,” writes Richard Spiller, “try Boycott, Butcher (A), Brearley, Botham and Bairstow (snr) for England v India at The Oval in 1979.

”Sonny Baker to win the game.Marches to his mark, somewhere back east of Eden.An excellent centre parting, brylcream and curtains hairdo, at least that’s what it looks like on wobbly Youtube.Mid run-up skip and charge.And sends Gregory’s middle stump caterwauling! Twenty-five needed.

The new ball gamble is working, but for Somerset, not Hampshire – Abell wristily sends Abbott flowing to the rope.The target now just 30.Ruining the B-team thing, Jordan Thompson has just removed Severus Snater with a bit of movement and a superb diving catch by Al Davis behind the stumps“Your “B” query,” writes Ali, “reminds me of the time Mike Atherton referred to Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad and Dom Bess as a case of ‘England’s B-team’ coming good.YJB slightly missed the point, took huge offence etc.”Right, they’re taking the new ball at Hampshire.

Oh, and I think they’ve given it to Dawson? Somerset need 49.If the next three wickets at Edgbaston are also Barker/Bamber/Barnard, will that be some kind of B record? Essex still need an unlikely 104, with Harmer (14 not out) and the tail to come.Somerset are crawling backwards towards their target, trousers torn on the barbed wire.Dawson, in sunglasses, wheels in.Gregory prods.

The target is 53, four wickets in hand,Over and out at Bristol,Gloucestershire have now lost three in the bounce, but this was a better, fighting, performance,Lancs pocket their second win of the summer, with Balderson (nine wickets) and Anderson (eight) crucial here,Bristol: Lancashire 240 & 203-6 BEAT Gloucestershire 136 and 305 by four wickets.

Gloucestershire 3 points; Lancashire 19 points,​Hurtling towards a result here at Edgbaston, with Warwickshire striking twice after lunch to leave Essex seven down, still 124 runs shy of the target,Keith Barker nabbed his fourth, teasing an edge from Michael Pepper, and now Ethan Bamber has bowled Luc Benkenstein with a bit of nip to beat the outside edge,Felt like he made it look a better ball than it was – footwork was minimal – but it was also the product of a good probing over,Two quick post-lunch wickets: Arav Shetty Ollie Priced for 31; Michael Pepper Keith Barkered for nine.

But where Lancs only need ten, Essex need 126.DIVISION ONESouthampton: Hampshire 238 and 336 v Somerset 288 & 223-6 – Somerset need 64 runs to winEdgbaston: Warwickshire 190 & 220 v Essex 205-9 & 80-5 – Essex need 126 runs to winDIVISION TWOBristol: Gloucestershire 136 and 305 v Lancashire 240 & 188-5 – Lancashire need 14 runs to winNorthampton: Northants 409 v Middlesex 341 & 211-2 – Middlesex lead by 143 runsTom Prest is causing all sorts of commotion in his first over, and the last before lunch – but Abell and Gregory survive, to leave Somerset needing another 64 to win.They go off for lunch, as they do round the grounds, even at Bristol where Lancs must fancy some grub before climbing on the coach home.As lunch approaches:Somerset need 74 to beat Hampshire with four wickets remaining.Tom Abell, vitally, still there on 63.

Big Craig, been and gone.Liam Dawson weaving magic.Lancashire, spearheaded by Keaton Jennings, 74 not out, are nearly there.Need just 32 to beat Gloucestershire and, despite the best efforts of Will Williams, have five wickets left.At Edgbaston, Luc Benkenstein and Michael Pepper have a tricky rebuilding task, Essex need 131 against Warwickshire, with five wickets left.

Robson and Holden continue in their merry way at Wantage Road.Both into the eighties, Middlesex sitting comfortably with a lead of 129 and barring disaster tootling towards a draw.Liam Dawson is finding spit and sawdust.Abell edges through Brown’s legs who ends up sprawled as the ball flies to the rope.Useful runs as this task suddenly turns tricky for Somerset.

And it is – for him.Bowled Dawson, four.Somerset six down, need 89.Craig Overton wants to get this nonsense over with this morning.And another mid-morning wicket, this time from Southampton, where Somerset’s steady progress is interrupted.

Hants hopping with happiness as Smeed reaches again and is caught at backward point by Jake Lehman.The quick Eddie Jack with the breakthrough.Somerset 188-5, need 99 to beat Hampshire.A third wicket for Will Williams at Bristol, Matty Hurst chips and then flops over his bat in misery as the ball loops into the hands of Tommy Boorman.Lancs are now five wickets down, but KJ is still there, 60 not out.

Fifty eight needed.​Essex are five down and staring at an afternoon on the coach home, discussing where it all went wrong over a bag of Quavers.Things appeared to have quietened down after that breakneck start but then Ed Barnard brought himself on, persuaded Tall Paul to drive down the ground, and the ball skewed off the toe-end of the bat to Keith Barker at mid-off.Decent grab, too, stretching above his head.Will Smeed, yet to hit his red ball sweet spot, reaches outside off stump to drive Yusuf but no cigar.

He and Tom Abell have, carefully, added 40 since Rew was out early this morning.Somerset need another 104 – and, with a couple of runs stroked into the off side, that’s the second time Abell has passed fifty this season.I pressed too soon, shortly afterwards Will Williams persuades Michael Jones to nibble to second slip for 30.And then Jennings is caught off a no ball from Brookes.Lancs 126-4, need 76.

Switch over to coverage of Lancs v Glos to hear Ed Seaborne say: “Lancashire are dictating the terms.”Good morning Tim Maitland!“A series of unhelpful suggestions, inaccurate advice and poor decision making led me, in my formative years, to attempt an education in geology where I learnt two important things: to ask yourself “what aren’t we seeing” and that I did not want to be a geologist.“The first of those has been nagging away at me in the early weeks of the County championship and I’ve finally found the answer: where are the pedal-to-the-metal, hard-sell-to-the-IPL, run-a-ball knocks this year?“On the absolute road produced at the Oval for Surrey’s game with Leicestershire, Ollie Pope’s progress towards his ton was, compared to the standards set at the height of Bazball, a Tavare-esque crawl (16 fours, no sixes at a strike rate of 76.3), while I’m amazed that chants of “Are you Boycott in disguise” didn’t accompany the once-swashbuckling Jamie Smith’s tortoise-like progress to 166 (19 fours, 2 sixes at 69.17)