Champions Middlesex are on course to claim their first Specsavers County Championship Division One win of the season after taking seven Yorkshire wickets after tea on the second day at Lord's.
Replying to Middlesex's 446, Yorkshire collapsed from 82 for two to 178 for nine to a mixture of poor shot selection and some probing bowling, particularly by Toby Roland-Jones who removed Alex Lees and Peter Handscomb.
The only prolonged resistance for Yorkshire came from Gary Ballance, who held the innings together with an unbeaten half-century, and a composed 38 by teenager Harry Brook on debut.
The White Rose closed on 186 for nine, still trailing by 260 against a side who pipped them to the title on the final day last season.
Ravi Bopara and James Foster both collected long-awaited centuries in a sixth-wicket stand of 229 as Essex kept Warwickshire in the field for more than five sessions at a sweltering Chelmsford.
The pair 's 66-over partnership - a record for an Essex sixth wicket against Warwickshire, beating the 140 by Keith Fletcher and Allan Border at Edgbaston in 1988 - enabled the Division One leaders to declare five overs post-tea, just after the third new ball had been taken, on 541 for nine.
By the close, Warwickshire were 60 for two, still 328 short of their follow-on target as they attempt to avoid a fourth innings defeat in seven Championship matches this summer.
Alex Davies' third Championship century of the season and an unbeaten 76 by Dane Vilas enabled Lancashire to recover from 69 for three against Hampshire. The home side reached the close on 278 for five in reply to Hampshire's 395.
Samit Patel and James Pattinson put Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire into a strong position at the halfway stage against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge.
Patel scored a double-hundred for the second match in a row before Australia fast bowler Pattinson took five wickets for 33 runs.
Leicestershire had no real answer to the pace of Pattinson and were dismissed for 134 in 49.5 overs, a deficit of 414. Nottinghamshire captain Chris Read then enforced the follow-on with four overs remaining - but bad light prevented the players returning.
Joe Clarke made a return to form with his first century of the season for Worcestershire and then Josh Tongue, another highly-rated young player, pressed home the advantage against Kent.
Clarke scored five Championship hundreds last summer and has firmly established himself as a member of the England Lions side for the past 18 months.
But the 21-year-old has struggled to build on several promising starts this summer until he oozed class and composure in making 142, scored off 197 balls with 22 fours. By the close Kent were 120 for three to lead by 44 runs.
Graham Clark's maiden century put Durham in command against Glamorgan at Chester-le-Street.
The match was evenly balanced when Paul Collingwood joined Clark at 87 for three in reply to 295, but Durham's record stand against the Welsh county of 185 helped them to 281 for four.
Clark was out for 109 three overs before the close, but Collingwood remained unbeaten on 71, the sixth time in his last seven innings he has passed 50.
Source: PA
