Reigning champions Lancashire were staring down the barrel of an innings defeat at the hands of Warwickshire despite an attempted fightback on day three of their LV= County Championship Division One match at Edgbaston.
Lancashire, who are still without a win having lost three of their opening five matches, were forced to follow on after being bowled out for 197 in reply to Warwickshire's mammoth 557 for six declared.
Ashwell Prince fought a one-man battle for the visitors but he was left stranded on 87 not out as Lancashire - whose next-best contribution was 17 from opener Stephen Moore - were dismissed in the afternoon session. Chris Wright, Chris Woakes and Jeetan Patel picked up three wickets apiece for Warwickshire.
Lancashire made a better fist of their second innings, with Paul Horton making an unbeaten 56 and Karl Brown 45, but they also lost Prince for just one as they closed on 122 for three - still 238 runs adrift.
In the other Division One games, Sussex and Somerset hold the upper hand going into the final day of their matches against Worcestershire and Surrey.
Sussex boast a 199-run lead with 10 wickets still in hand after openers Ed Joyce (70 not out) and Chris Nash (69no) put on an unbroken 143-run opening stand at the start of their second innings at New Road.
Earlier, Worcestershire could only add 29 runs for their final three wickets to be bowled out for 259.
At The Oval, Somerset have a 278-run lead over Surrey with three second-innings wickets remaining.
Surrey fought back well with bat and ball on day three, though, to give themselves a chance of victory.
Chasing Somerset's 512 for nine declared, the hosts added over 100 runs for their final four wickets this morning before being dismissed for 388, with Tom Maynard (89), Gareth Batty (36) and number 10 Jon Lewis (42) frustrating their opponents.
Stuart Meaker then took five for 42 as Somerset were reduced to 154 for seven by the close in their second innings, although, with the in-form Nick Compton (50) and Craig Kieswetter (43) both making decent scores, Somerset will still be optimistic of taking the win.In Division Two, Derbyshire's impressive start to the season continued as they crushed Glamorgan by eight wickets with a day to spare.
Glamorgan's fragile batting failed again with only Will Bragg offering any resistance with 78 as they collapsed to 188 all out in their second innings against the spin of David Wainwright, who took five for 51, and Wes Durston's three for 43.
That left Derbyshire needing only 70 and they took less than 13 overs to seal a 23-point victory which leaves them on top of the standings and Glamorgan rooted to the bottom.
The outcome of the three other matches in Division Two remains uncertain, though, with no side looking favourites for victory.
At Headingley, Yorkshire declared their first innings on 399 for nine in reply to Hampshire's 427, with Anthony McGrath (106 not out), Phil Jacques (93) and Gary Ballance (76) all making major contributions.
Hampshire then reached 21 for one in reply to extend their overall lead to 49, with Liam Dawson the man out for eight.
Leicestershire hold a 111-run lead over Essex after reaching 148 for three in their second innings at Grace Road.
The home side had looked in trouble as they slipped to 29 for two but Will Jefferson (49) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (61 not out) guided them to safer waters with a third-wicket stand of 97.
Essex had earlier earned a 37-run first-innings advantage after making 409. Wayne White claimed figures of five for 74, including that of 19-year-old Ben Foakes, who fell seven runs short of a maiden first-class century for Essex.
A draw looks the most likely result at Canterbury, with Kent having reached 280 for six in reply to Northamptonshire's 418 at stumps on day three.
Kent duo Mike Powell (61) and Darren Stevens (57) shared in a century partnership for the fifth wicket while Andrew Hall claimed three for 39 against his former county.
