James Anderson, in the first over of the day, gets Gloucestershire opener Cameron Bancroft to waft at one outside off stump.

Maiden over to start the match in Bristol in overcast conditions. The floodlights are on here already.

Dan George
BBC Sport at Utilita Bowl

Good morning from the Utilita Bowl where the sun is just threatening to peak through the clouds and we are almost ready to get under way.

The players have finished their warm-ups which for some included a kick about with a football before getting into some fielding and bowling practice.

Hampshire have won the toss and elected to bat first so we will see Nick Gubbins and Toby Albert open for the hosts.

Middlesex have won the toss and will have first bat.

Sam Robson and Josh du Caires make their way to the crease.

Harry Conway to open the bowling.

Essex have won the toss and bowl first at Edgbaston.

The visitors give Zaman Akhter his debut in place of the absent Wiaan Mulder.

Hampshire have won the toss and will have a bat first at the Utilita Bowl.

They make one change from the side that won at Headingley on Monday - Toby Albert replaces Joe Weatherley.

Somerset make four changes from their win at Essex as Lewis Gregory returns to captain the side.

Lancashire have won the toss, and over gloomy Bristol skies, captain James Anderson has unsurprisingly decided his side will have a bowl first.

There are two debutantes in Gloucestershire's side as Tommy Boorman and Henry Brookes come in for Joe Phillips and Craig Miles while Cameron Bancroft continues to captain the team.

As for the visitors, there are four changes from the side that beat Derbyshire in a thriller at Old Trafford.

Keaton Jennings, George Balderson, Arav Shetty and Ajeet Singh Dale all come into the side, replacing Harry Singh, Tom Hartley, Mitch Stanley and Tom Bailey.

Image source, Shutterstock

Lancashire head to Bristol to take on Division Two's bottom club Gloucestershire after sealing their first win of the season on Monday - a dramatic 29 run victory against Derbyshire.

An inspirational spell from James Anderson on the final day, which saw him pick up 4-18, as well as a run out in the final wicket of Derbyshire's second-innings, was enough for Lancs to climb up to second in the table behind Durham.

They face a Gloucestershire side low on confidence after their bowling on day one, after winning the toss, was destroyed by a terrific batting performance by Durham in a heavy innings and 225 runs defeat at home.

In the week, Gloucestershire turned to former New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen as their new bowling consultant until the end of June after head coach Mark Alleyne labelled their start to the campaign as "disastrous".

A win this weekend would certainly be a good start to addressing their problems, but they will also have to deal with Australian batsman Marcus Harris - who scored a century in his first innings back in England for Lancs having returned for a second season at Old Trafford.

Image source, Shutterstock

Northamptonshire head coach Darren Lehmann has heaped praise on his skipper Luke Procter - and not just for his unbeaten 261 last weekend in the draw with Kent at Canterbury.

The former Australia leader hailed Procter as a skilled tactician as he became one of four Northants batters to reach three figures in their innings - a club record.

Northants were unable to force the win over Kent, adding a second draw of the season after battling well to avoid defeat at home to lancashire in their season opener.

They sit fourth and welcome a fifth-placed Middlesex side who sit just three points in arrears.

It has been a mixed bag of a start for the Londoners following an innings thumping of Gloucestershire at home with a low-scoring defeat to Worcestershire in three days at Lord's.

Today they hit the road for the first time this campaign.

Image source, Shutterstock

Somerset find themselves in uncharted territory as they travel to the Utilita Bowl to take on Hampshire, top of the Division One table.

They have never won the County Championship but start the day top of the pile following a 10-wicket victory against Essex last weekend which included a captain's performance from stand-in skipper Craig Overton - who scored 141 and picked up four wickets in the match as Somerset romped home inside three days.

Hampshire were big winners last time out too, dismantling Yorkshire at Headingley, to pick up their first win of the season after a big defeat on the first weekend of the season by Essex.

Australian domestic player of the year Jake Lehmann shone with the bat and he was backed up by the evergreen Kyle Abbott as the 38-year-old South African produced figures of 6-21 in the second-innings and picked up 10 wickets in the match.

This one promises a lot then with both sides going into today's clash in handy nick.

Batters may well be licking their lips at the prospect of stepping onto the Edgbaston wicket.

The first match of the season saw 1,319 runs plundered while just 24 wickets fell over the four days as Surrey ultimately held on for the draw in relative comfort.

The Warwickshire bowlers were again unable to finish the job last week at Hove as Sussex chased down 328 to win with five wickets in hand.

It's been a start of extremes for Essex who opened with an impressive innings victory away to Hampshire before succumbing by 10 wickets at home to Somerset in round two.

They make the trip to Birmingham sitting fourth in Division One, but without South all-rounder Wiaan Mulder who has returned home to South Africa for personal reasons.

Division One

Utilita Bowl: Hampshire v Somerset

Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Essex

Division Two

Bristol: Gloucestershire v Lancashire

Northampton: Northamptonshire v Middlesex

Image source, Getty

Good morning and welcome!

The county season is already well into its stride as we kick off round three of the championship campaign.

We'll bring you all the action and talking points from four matches in a condensed round, with two from the top tier and a couple from Division Two.

But there will be a lot riding on it for a smattering of England wannabes who will want to press their claims for a call-up for the approaching Test summer.

So let's get straight into it and see what we have coming up.