There's the bonus point for Worcestershire, brought up by an edge past the keeper from Beyers Swanepoel, who has 63* from 55 balls after his third six.

Tom Taylor has just collected two of his own in consecutive balls and the Pears have chosen to declare on 263-7.

A lead of 83 and they'll have a crack at the Red Rose batters shortly.

Ben Foakes tickles one down to fine leg off Sam Cook for a single.

He's 95 not out now.

We know this game will finish in a draw - that much has been clear since yesterday's washout - but the question remains of which team will end it occupying second place in the table?

For now, it's still Kent - but their lead over Northamptonshire is now down to one point and, if the batting side reach 400 without losing two more wickets, it'll be level pegging.

With 38 overs left, Northamptonshire may feel they can reach 450 and overtake Kent in the table.

We're past the 16:00 BST resumption time after tea, but unfortunately the cover remains on the wicket at Edgbaston.

The umpires are currently in the middle and having a chat with the groundstaff.

Updates when we have them.

Beyers Swanepoel has brought up a blistering half-century for Worcestershire from 47 balls with his fifth four to go along with two sixes.

The Pears are 12 shy of a first batting point against Lancashire, who need two more wickets for a third bowling point.

Archie Vaughan has been handed the ball for the first over of the final session, with Somerset hoping he can extract some turn from a surface which hasn't shown much inclination towards spin so far.

Vaughan's first over yields a single to Daniel Hughes, but an interesting moment when Tom Haines goes to cut and almost chops on.

Mike Taylor
BBC WM commentator

Even though the prospects of a definite result in this match have long seemed remote, the bonus-point system – and the close nature of the Division One table – has made for some interesting wrinkles to this final day’s play.

Nottinghamshire have added three points to their Championship total today, and need just one more wicket for another. Warwickshire have added none, and there is little prospect of them achieving any.

Olly Stone followed up his ten-wicket match at The Oval last week with five more here today. He bowled long spells of sustained pace and hostility, swinging the ball and challenging the outside edge. His afternoon spell dismissed Alex Davies, edging an outswinger, and Jordan Thompson, beaten for pace and bowled.

Thompson and Michael Booth both pulled Stone for sixes in a short counter-attack after they had fallen to 89-6 shortly after lunch. Vansh Jani had shown composure and control in his batting, before losing his wicket in pursuit of a short single, refused by Ed Barnard. The Warwickshire captain would soon be back in the dressing room to debate it with him, torpedoed by a shooter from Ben Martindale, the bowler’s maiden first-class wicket.

Warwickshire wobbled, but held on to tea as the blue splodges on the rain radar screen advanced on Edgbaston. At tea they were 13 runs short of avoiding the follow-on and fully making the game safe, but poor light may yet prevent the players coming back on at all.

Just the one game going on at present and it's at New Road.

Lancashire have picked up a sixth wicket, and second bowling point, as Henry Cullen has picked out Arav Shetty at cover off the bowling of Ben Walkden.

And now George Balderson has his fourth wicket, removing Matthew Waite's leg stump for nine as he tried an ill-advised scoop.

The Pears are 214-7, still 36 shy of a batting point, but Beyers Swanepoel has been going great guns, 42* from 38 balls.

Division One

• Warwickshire 163-8 v Nottinghamshire 325-8 dec
• Sussex 250 & 20-0 v Somerset 202 & 350-9 dec - Sussex need 283 more runs to win
• Yorkshire 263 v Leicestershire 84-0 - match drawn with no play possible on day four
• Essex 279 v Surrey 183 & 247-7
• Glamorgan 161 & 21-3 v Hampshire 162 & 300-8 dec - rain stopped play, Glamorgan need 281 more runs to win

Division Two

• Durham 384 & 4-0 v Gloucestershire 137 & 250 - Durham won by 10 wickets
• Northamptonshire 351-4 v Kent 345
• Worcestershire 210-6 v Lancashire 180
• Derbyshire 131 & 108-3 v Middlesex - Middlesex forfeited first innings

No sign of an imminent resumption at Sophia Gardens, where the covers have been on for about an hour.

Hampshire need seven more wickets for victory but it feels like the weather is going to prevent them from having a chance of getting them.

Six overs gone and Sussex's 10 second-innings wickets remain intact without much in the way of alarm.

Daniel Hughes has 12, Tom Haines six and there are a minimum 38 overs left in this match.

Derbyshire lead by 239 at tea.

Wayne Madsen is 31* and Martin Andersson 16*.

43 overs remain in the day.

Will Middlesex get to bat in this match? Might be a quirky one....

Dillon Pennington continues and finds Michael Booth's outside edge first up.

But it bounces short of the slip cordon and the Bears all-rounder has a single to move into the 30s.

Ethan Bamber drives square for four and that's the final runs of the session as tea is taken.

With rain in the air the hover cover rumbles into life. Let's hope the shower is a fleeting one. Back in 20.

Just the one wicket lost by Surrey in the afternoon session and they've gone a long way towards saving the game.

That job is not done just yet, though, with 30-odd overs remaining in the day's play.

Surrey's lead is 152 - I wonder if, at some stage soon, they'll fancy a cheeky declaration and a bash at skittling Essex out?

Just the second over of spin in the match as Liam Patterson-White turns his arm over for the first time.

He immediately gets a little turn to bamboozle Ethan Bamber.

Maiden as the rain begins to fall gently over Edgbaston.

100 partnership between Foakes and Lawespublished at 15:36 BST

15:36 BST

Essex 279 v Surrey 183 & 247-7

What a tremendous partnership this has been and the century partnership is brought up with a quite brilliant cover drive for four by Ben Foakes.

Foakes and Tom Lawes have been almost faultless since coming together at 144-7, with Surrey only 48 runs ahead at that stage.

Lawes needs six more runs for a half-century, while Foakes is eight runs away from what would be a deserved hundred.

Let's not forget, though, that Foakes could have been dismissed very early in the day's play by Simon Harmer, who dropped a caught-and-bowled opportunity.

It's proved to be a costly miss.