When a title is at stake, you want the games that matter to be in the balance.
That is certainly the case at Headingley where Yorkshire need another 174 to beat Warwickshire, and at the Ageas Bowl where the game is heading towards a run-chase by Division One leaders Notts, after Keith Barker took 7-46 to earn Hampshire a first-innings lead.
Lancashire are in control at Taunton, but Somerset are showing plenty of fight in their second innings as they try to keep their hopes alive.
We'll be back with you tomorrow for the third day's play. If the weather is kind, it should be a cracker.
Close of play scores
Division One
Ageas Bowl: Hampshire 226 & 133-7 v Nottinghamshire 155
Hampshire lead by 204 with 3 wickets standing
Taunton: Somerset 90 & 226-4 v Lancashire 373
Somerset trail by 57 with 6 wickets standing
Headingley: Yorkshire 108 & 50-3 v Warwickshire 155 & 176
Yorkshire need another 174 with 7 wickets standing
Division Two
Cardiff: Glamorgan 309 v Gloucestershire 224-4
Gloucestershire trail by 85 with 6 wickets standing
Northampton: Northamptonshire 183 & 10-0 v Durham 400
Northants trail by 207 with 10 wickets standing
Kia Oval: Surrey 107-7 v Essex 439
Surrey trail by 332 with 3 wickets standing
Division Three
Derby: Derbyshire 156 v Kent 285 & 147-1
Kent lead by 276 with 9 wickets standing
Leicester: Leicestershire 291-2 v Sussex 359
Leicestershire trail by 68 with 8 wickets standing
Lord's: Middlesex 144 & 233-6 v Worcestershire 171
Middlesex lead by 206 with 4 wickets standing
Close of play at the Ageas Bowl
Hampshire 226 & 132-7 v Notts 155
Brad Wheal survives and Hampshire end day two with a lead of 204 against Division One leaders Nottinghamshire.
Undoubted star of the day is Keith Barker, who took the first seven wickets in Notts' first innings and finished with career-best figures of 7-46.
Hampshire were 28-4 in their second innings, but skipper James Vince made 52 in a stand of 82 with Liam Dawson and Barker was 11 not out at the close.
Notts won't want this lead to get much larger - the chase is already going to be a tough one, with so much at stake.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 133-7 v Notts 155
Keith Barker takes one from Luke Fletcher's opening delivery. That will suit Notts, who would like to concentrate their attack on Brad Wheal.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 132-7 v Notts 155
Liam Patterson-White to continue - he has 2-17 so far.
Brad Wheal's job is surely to protect partner Keith Barker.
He does it well, blocking out a maiden, but Barker will be on strike at the start of the last.
Hampshire lead goes past 200
Hampshire 226 & 132-7 v Notts 155
Unlucky. Luke Fletcher finds the edge of Keith Barker's bat, but it runs away past third slip for four. Barker is 10 not out and there are two overs to come at the Ageas Bowl.
WICKET and stumps at Headingley
Malan c Bresnan b Norwell 12 (Yorkshire 108 & 50-3 v Warwickshire 155 & 176)
With the final ball of the day!
There goes my close of play report praising England's Dawid Malan for sticking with Gary Balance in a useful partnership.
Liam Norwell has his second as Malan tickles one allowing Tim Bresnan to catch a third at first-slip.
Yorkshire need 174 to win, Warwickshire will require a further seven wickets.
You know what they say, low-scoring games are always the most exciting.
WICKET
Organ lbw Patterson-White 11 (Hampshire 226 & 126-7 v Notts 155)
Felix Organ flicks Liam Patterson-White through mid-wicket for four, but the next ball beats his defensive prod and he is leg before.
Brad Wheal comes out ahead of James Fuller, with Hampshire 197 ahead.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 122-6 v Notts 155
Another over ticks by at the Ageas Bowl. Just a single from it to Felix Organ. Four overs to come.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 121-6 v Notts 155
Hampshire bowling hero Keith Barker fails to make proper contact with a reverse sweep, but is undaunted and finds the boundary after repeating the stroke. Two dot balls follow - there are five overs to come and the ome side lead by 192.
Close of play at Derby
D3: Derbyshire 156 v Kent 285 & 147-1
The umpires call off play for the day after taking the teams off because of murky light at Derby.
Kent are firmly in control, having found their Championship form in the second phase of the season, after dismissing the home side in 43.3 overs, with Grant Stewart taking 5-23.
Jordan Cox and Zak Crawley (68) began their second innings with a stand of 114 and Cox will resume on 58 on the third morning.5
Close of play at the Oval
Surrey 107-7 v Essex 439
Surrey are in real danger of being made to bat again, they end day two 332 runs behind Essex with just three wickets in hand.
The one positive for the hosts though is that South African Hashim Amla is still not out at stumps.
He's on 58 from 114 and will be joined by James Taylor (two not out) tomorrow morning.
Close of play at Taunton
Somerset 90 & 226-4 v Lancashire 373
James Hildreth (22) and Lewis Goldsworthy (five) make it to stumps with Somerset 58 runs away from making Lancashire bat again.
Lancashire's Luke Wells is the man of the day with 3-8 off seven overs.
A brilliant game so far for the opener who scored exactly 100 on day one too.
As for Somerset, Tom Lammonby's 100 was a rare bright spark with the host losing 14 wickets in one day.
WICKET
Vince b Fletcher 52 (Hampshire 226 & 116-6 v Notts 155)
James Vince is gone.
Luke Fletcher squeezes one between bat and pad and hits off stump.
That's a big wicket for Notts, who want to keep their run-chase as close to 200 as possible.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 116-5 v Notts 155
Felix Organ produced some expansive shots in his first-innings knock and he gets off the mark with a slog sweep for six off Liam Patterson-White. The lead is 187 at the end of that over.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 110-5 v Notts 155
James Vince misses out on a half-volley from Luke Fletcher, whose latest over is a maiden. There are eight still to come at the Ageas Bowl with Hampshire now 181 ahead.
Vince is 52 not out and Felix Organ has yet to score.
Close of play in Leicester
Leicestershire 291-2 v Sussex 359
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A great day for Hassan Azad (122) and Lewis Hill (109) who share an unbroken partnership of 183 to stumps at the Uptonsteel County Ground.
It is a third-wicket record for the county against Sussex, beating the 163 by George Watson and Maurice Tompkin at Hastings in 1947.
Leicestershire took five Sussex wickets for 49 during the morning, as Chris Wright claimed 6-94, but lost Sam Evans to the first ball of their reply.
George Rhodes made 37, but Azad and Hill struck 11 fours each - plus two sixes by Hill - to leave their side 68 behind at the close.
Close of play at Lord's
D3: Middlesex 144 & 233-6 v Worcestershire 171
John Simpson is 59 not out and Luke Hollman has 40 as Middlesex reach the end of day two at Lord's with a lead of 206.
Worcestershire managed to add 58 to their overnight 113-8, with Tim Murtagh returning figures of 5-64 for the home side.
Middlesex were then reduced to 39-4, but Max Holden (46) and Martin Andersson (45) steadied the innings before Simpson and Hollman put on 80 to stumps.
Live Reporting
Josef Rindl and Paul Grunill
All times stated are UK
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Rex FeaturesCopyright: Rex Features 
Rex FeaturesCopyright: Rex Features
Latest PostSigning off
When a title is at stake, you want the games that matter to be in the balance.
That is certainly the case at Headingley where Yorkshire need another 174 to beat Warwickshire, and at the Ageas Bowl where the game is heading towards a run-chase by Division One leaders Notts, after Keith Barker took 7-46 to earn Hampshire a first-innings lead.
Lancashire are in control at Taunton, but Somerset are showing plenty of fight in their second innings as they try to keep their hopes alive.
We'll be back with you tomorrow for the third day's play. If the weather is kind, it should be a cracker.
Close of play scores
Division One
Ageas Bowl: Hampshire 226 & 133-7 v Nottinghamshire 155
Hampshire lead by 204 with 3 wickets standing
Taunton: Somerset 90 & 226-4 v Lancashire 373
Somerset trail by 57 with 6 wickets standing
Headingley: Yorkshire 108 & 50-3 v Warwickshire 155 & 176
Yorkshire need another 174 with 7 wickets standing
Division Two
Cardiff: Glamorgan 309 v Gloucestershire 224-4
Gloucestershire trail by 85 with 6 wickets standing
Northampton: Northamptonshire 183 & 10-0 v Durham 400
Northants trail by 207 with 10 wickets standing
Kia Oval: Surrey 107-7 v Essex 439
Surrey trail by 332 with 3 wickets standing
Division Three
Derby: Derbyshire 156 v Kent 285 & 147-1
Kent lead by 276 with 9 wickets standing
Leicester: Leicestershire 291-2 v Sussex 359
Leicestershire trail by 68 with 8 wickets standing
Lord's: Middlesex 144 & 233-6 v Worcestershire 171
Middlesex lead by 206 with 4 wickets standing
Close of play at the Ageas Bowl
Hampshire 226 & 132-7 v Notts 155
Brad Wheal survives and Hampshire end day two with a lead of 204 against Division One leaders Nottinghamshire.
Undoubted star of the day is Keith Barker, who took the first seven wickets in Notts' first innings and finished with career-best figures of 7-46.
Hampshire were 28-4 in their second innings, but skipper James Vince made 52 in a stand of 82 with Liam Dawson and Barker was 11 not out at the close.
Notts won't want this lead to get much larger - the chase is already going to be a tough one, with so much at stake.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 133-7 v Notts 155
Keith Barker takes one from Luke Fletcher's opening delivery. That will suit Notts, who would like to concentrate their attack on Brad Wheal.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 132-7 v Notts 155
Liam Patterson-White to continue - he has 2-17 so far.
Brad Wheal's job is surely to protect partner Keith Barker.
He does it well, blocking out a maiden, but Barker will be on strike at the start of the last.
Hampshire lead goes past 200
Hampshire 226 & 132-7 v Notts 155
Unlucky. Luke Fletcher finds the edge of Keith Barker's bat, but it runs away past third slip for four. Barker is 10 not out and there are two overs to come at the Ageas Bowl.
WICKET and stumps at Headingley
Malan c Bresnan b Norwell 12 (Yorkshire 108 & 50-3 v Warwickshire 155 & 176)
With the final ball of the day!
There goes my close of play report praising England's Dawid Malan for sticking with Gary Balance in a useful partnership.
Liam Norwell has his second as Malan tickles one allowing Tim Bresnan to catch a third at first-slip.
Yorkshire need 174 to win, Warwickshire will require a further seven wickets.
You know what they say, low-scoring games are always the most exciting.
WICKET
Organ lbw Patterson-White 11 (Hampshire 226 & 126-7 v Notts 155)
Felix Organ flicks Liam Patterson-White through mid-wicket for four, but the next ball beats his defensive prod and he is leg before.
Brad Wheal comes out ahead of James Fuller, with Hampshire 197 ahead.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 122-6 v Notts 155
Another over ticks by at the Ageas Bowl. Just a single from it to Felix Organ. Four overs to come.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 121-6 v Notts 155
Hampshire bowling hero Keith Barker fails to make proper contact with a reverse sweep, but is undaunted and finds the boundary after repeating the stroke. Two dot balls follow - there are five overs to come and the ome side lead by 192.
Close of play at Derby
D3: Derbyshire 156 v Kent 285 & 147-1
The umpires call off play for the day after taking the teams off because of murky light at Derby.
Kent are firmly in control, having found their Championship form in the second phase of the season, after dismissing the home side in 43.3 overs, with Grant Stewart taking 5-23.
Jordan Cox and Zak Crawley (68) began their second innings with a stand of 114 and Cox will resume on 58 on the third morning.5
Close of play at the Oval
Surrey 107-7 v Essex 439
Surrey are in real danger of being made to bat again, they end day two 332 runs behind Essex with just three wickets in hand.
The one positive for the hosts though is that South African Hashim Amla is still not out at stumps.
He's on 58 from 114 and will be joined by James Taylor (two not out) tomorrow morning.
Close of play at Taunton
Somerset 90 & 226-4 v Lancashire 373
James Hildreth (22) and Lewis Goldsworthy (five) make it to stumps with Somerset 58 runs away from making Lancashire bat again.
Lancashire's Luke Wells is the man of the day with 3-8 off seven overs.
A brilliant game so far for the opener who scored exactly 100 on day one too.
As for Somerset, Tom Lammonby's 100 was a rare bright spark with the host losing 14 wickets in one day.
WICKET
Vince b Fletcher 52 (Hampshire 226 & 116-6 v Notts 155)
James Vince is gone.
Luke Fletcher squeezes one between bat and pad and hits off stump.
That's a big wicket for Notts, who want to keep their run-chase as close to 200 as possible.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 116-5 v Notts 155
Felix Organ produced some expansive shots in his first-innings knock and he gets off the mark with a slog sweep for six off Liam Patterson-White. The lead is 187 at the end of that over.
Post update
Hampshire 226 & 110-5 v Notts 155
James Vince misses out on a half-volley from Luke Fletcher, whose latest over is a maiden. There are eight still to come at the Ageas Bowl with Hampshire now 181 ahead.
Vince is 52 not out and Felix Organ has yet to score.
Close of play in Leicester
Leicestershire 291-2 v Sussex 359
A great day for Hassan Azad (122) and Lewis Hill (109) who share an unbroken partnership of 183 to stumps at the Uptonsteel County Ground.
It is a third-wicket record for the county against Sussex, beating the 163 by George Watson and Maurice Tompkin at Hastings in 1947.
Leicestershire took five Sussex wickets for 49 during the morning, as Chris Wright claimed 6-94, but lost Sam Evans to the first ball of their reply.
George Rhodes made 37, but Azad and Hill struck 11 fours each - plus two sixes by Hill - to leave their side 68 behind at the close.
Close of play at Lord's
D3: Middlesex 144 & 233-6 v Worcestershire 171
John Simpson is 59 not out and Luke Hollman has 40 as Middlesex reach the end of day two at Lord's with a lead of 206.
Worcestershire managed to add 58 to their overnight 113-8, with Tim Murtagh returning figures of 5-64 for the home side.
Middlesex were then reduced to 39-4, but Max Holden (46) and Martin Andersson (45) steadied the innings before Simpson and Hollman put on 80 to stumps.
Post update
Somerset 90 & 217-4 v Lancashire 373
Four overs to go.
Somerset happy to dig in until close.
WICKET
Dawson lbw Patterson-White 29 (Hampshire 226 & 110-5 v Notts 155)
Liam Dawson won't like that, losing his wicket to another left-arm spinner - and to another Liam as well.
He plays across the line as the ball hurries onto him and the umpire says that is out, ending a stand of 82 with James Vince.
The lead is 181 as Felix Organ comes out to bat.