Let’s take a look at all the actions from Group 2 of the County Championship.
Somerset v Leicestershire, Taunton
Somerset 461/9 decl. (Conway 88; Griffiths 3-93) lead Leicestershire 390/7 (Swindells 119*; De Lange 3-95) by 71 runs.
Harry Swindells and Edward Barnes added an unbroken 118-run partnership for the eighth wicket as Leicestershire squeezed the first innings deficit to just 71 runs by the end of Day 3.
Leicestershire were reduced to 117/4 after losing Josh Inglis early in the day. Swindells then held the fort from one end. He got support from Ben Mike and Barnes. Mike made 40 before falling to Marchant de Lange (3-95). Barnes (54*) joined Swindells (119*), and the two of them saw off the things without any further damage.
Hampshire vs Surrey
Hampshire 488 (de Grandhomme 174*; Clark 4-86) lead Surrey 72 (Amla 29*; Barker 4-24) and 6/2 (Virdi 1*; Wheal 1-1) by 410 runs.
Resuming on 42/4, Surrey could only muster 40 more runs to the tally to get bundled out for 72 in the first innings. Only two batters reached the double-digit mark, while as many as four of them failed to score. Hashim Amla's 29 was the highest score of the innings.
Keith Barker (14-6-24-4) was the primary architect of this destruction. He was ably assisted by Kyle Abbott and Bradley Wheale.
Hampshire asked Surrey to bat again, and the story has been similar to their first innings. Rory Burns was undone by Wheal for a duck, while Mark Stoneman was nailed on the pads by Barker. They finished the day on 6/2, still trailing Hampshire by 410 runs.
Gloucestershire vs Middlesex
Gloucestershire 248 ( Hammond 75; Bamber 3-39) and 198/6 (Bracey 88; Andersson 2-26) lead Middlesex 101 (Robson 37; M Taylor 4-19) by 345 runs.
A disciplined bowling effort from Gloucestershire has put them into the driving seat after they bowled out Middlesex for 101 in the first innings. Apart from Sam Robson's 37 and Peter Handscomb’s 21, none of the batters managed to score more than six runs. Mark Taylor (4-19) was the pick of the bowlers, while Tom Price walked out with three in his bag.
Gloucestershire then rode on James Bracey’s 88 to extend their lead to 345 by stumps on Day 2. Bracey was involved in two fifty-run stand, with Miles Hammond for the second wicket and Jack Taylor for the fifth.