Mark Stoneman leads resistance as Durham bid to avoid Yorkshire defeat

Mark Stoneman is leading Durham's bid to avoid an innings defeat after reaching 116no at stumps on day three of the Division One clash with Yorkshire.

The opener has seen four wickets fall at the other end as Durham closed the day 244-4 in their second innings, still 105 runs short of making Yorkshire bat again.

Resuming the day on 140-5 in their first-innings at Emirates ICG, the hosts were dismissed 208, with Tim Bresnan having Scott Borthwick (54) caught behind before a lower-order collapse that left Ryan Pringle stranded on 69no.

their second dig began well, with Stoneman putting on 116 for the opening wicket with Keaton Jennings (41) only for Adil Rashid, hoping for an England call on Wednesday, to have Jennings caught. 

Borthwick could only make 11 second time around and when Paul Collingwood (20) was caught by Bresnan to hand Rashid his second, Durham were 168-3. 

Michael Richardson made a fluent 29 before he fell to Jack Brooks, leaving Gordon Muchall to join Stoneman in steering their side to the close without further setback.

Sussex's clash with Warwickshire looks to be heading to a draw after Warwickshire reached day three's close on 367-5 in reply to 601-6d at Edgbaston.

The hosts began the day on 62-3 and lost only two wickets to boost their hopes of avoiding the follow-on. 

Nightwatchman Chris Wright (65) and Jonathan Trott (68) batted throughout the morning session but were dismissed in the afternoon - Trott bowled by Matthew Hobden and Wright caught and bowled by Ashjar Zaidi. 

But Laurie Evans (103no) and Tim Ambrose (65no) batted doughtily through the evening session, adding an unbroken 160 for the sixth wicket to frustrate the visitors and edge towards the follow-on target of 451. 

Middlesex will be confident of wrapping up victory over Hampshire after reducing their opponents  to 195-7 in their second innings on day three at Lord's.

Resuming the day on 298-8 in their own first-innings, Middlesex added 32 runs - Bradley Wheal claiming his fourth wicket (4-101) by bowling Ollie Rayner to wrap up the innings.

But their bowlers, specifically James Harris put them in control of the match as Hampshire were quickly restricted to 56-3 in their second innings with both Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry caught behind off the paceman before Vince was bowled for three.

Sean Terry's stout innings brought him 52 from 171 balls before he was pinned in front by Tim Murtagh after three-and-a-half hours.

Will Smith then dug in himself with 30 from 123 balls - his vigilance allowing Adam Wheater to be more expressive as the wicketkeeper smashed a quickfire 50 from 45 balls before he was trapped in front by Rayner.

Rayner then struck again by bowling Joe Gatting for four and leave Hampshire in a hold ahead of day four.

Nottinghamshire's encounter with Worcestershire remains in the balance after day two with the hosts 115-3 at the close at Trent Bridge for a lead of 72 runs.

Worcestershire had earlier been dismissed for 283, with Richard Oliver falling one short of a century at 160-3.

His departure sparked a slump in the visiting batting line-up as they lost their last seven wickets for 76 runs, Ben Hilfenhaus claiming 4-67 wth only Tom Fell (72) providing any substantial resistance.

However, Notts have lost three big-hitters in their second dig, with Brendon Taylor, Michael Lumb and Alex Hales all falling after getting starts, although James Taylor (20no) and Riki Wessels (25no) saw them to the close without further setback.