England opener Zak Crawley hit a superb 170 to help Kent to 342-7 on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash against Essex at Canterbury.
Crawley struck 27 boundaries and one six as he notched his highest score for Kent, the hosts successfully avoiding the follow on despite 4-141 from Essex spinner Simon Harmer.
Earlier, Nick Browne hit 159 before Essex declared on 451-5. Tom Westley made 148 and Michael Pepper was unbeaten on 52.
Elsewhere in Division One, Hampshire sealed the biggest win in their history as James Fuller helped skittle Northamptonshire twice in the space of just three hours at Wantage Road.
Following on after being bundled out for 149 before lunch - Hampshire had declared their first innings on 482-8 - Northants were bowled out for 63 in their second innings.
It brought Hampshire victory by an innings and 270 runs and an unwelcome place in the history books for the hosts - their eighth-heaviest defeat against any county opposition.
Fuller bagged the hosts' final four first-innings wickets in the morning session - including a spell of 4-9 - to add to the two he took on Friday evening, to finish with 6-37. He claimed 1-22 in the second innings, with Mohammad Abbas (4-31) and Kyle Abbott (3-9) sharing seven wickets.
Stuart Broad claimed four wickets and Joe Clarke struck a valuable half-century as Nottinghamshire put themselves in contention to push for a final-day victory over Middlesex at Lord's.
England pace bowler Broad finished with 4-68 as Middlesex, having started day three on 111-2, were dismissed for 274 to leave Nottinghamshire with a first-innings advantage of 90.
The visitors then extended that lead to 248 by the close of play and, with four wickets still in hand, they will hope to make rapid progress on Sunday morning as they chase a second win of the season. Clarke was dismissed for 52 off the final ball of the day.
Somerset trail Lancashire by 72 runs after reaching 41-0 in their second innings at Taunton, the hosts having taken advantage of a lucky break.
Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings looked set to post a huge total and forge a substantial first-innings lead for his side when he was forced to retire on 189 due to a hamstring injury before lunch.
Somerset bowlers Lewis Gregory and Peter Siddle took 3-81 and 3-97 respectively as Lancashire - dismissed for 554 - were restricted to a lead of 113.
In Division Two, Yorkshire closed in on their first victory in a year as they reached 138-3 in their second innings, needing 63 more to win on the final day against Sussex at Hove.
After bowling Sussex out for 137 in their second innings, Finlay Bean, Saud Shakeel and Dawid Malan all failed to reach double figures before Adam Lyth (69 not out) and Shai Hope (53no) added an unbroken 99 for the fourth wicket to put the visitors in control.
In Cardiff, Durham's Brydon Carse hit a career-best 91 in his side's first-innings total of 471-9 declared and Glamorgan trail by 318 runs after closing day three on 153-5.
Carse and Liam Trevaskis put on 128 runs - a seventh-wicket record stand for Durham against Glamorgan - before the visiting seamers took five wickets to put them in complete control.
Gloucestershire hold a commanding 246-run lead over Worcestershire with seven wickets remaining after closing on 172-3 in their second innings at New Road.
Ajeet Singh Dale's career-best 6-41 and half-centuries from Chris Dent (66) and James Bracey (51) steered Gloucestershire into a powerful position going into the final day.
