Newly-crowned champions Essex displayed a hangover in their penultimate match of the Specsavers County Championship Division One season as they were reduced to 33 for five against Hampshire.
Essex secured their first title in 25 years last week and were aiming to end the season unbeaten but Hampshire, who had earlier been dismissed for 254, had other ideas as Fidel Edwards and Kyle Abbott took two wickets apiece.
There was no place in the Essex line-up for former England skipper Alastair Cook despite his availability, though in-form seamer Jamie Porter was once again among the wickets with figures of four for 53.
Middlesex started this round of fixtures in the bottom two and they fought back to enhance their survival prospects against Lancashire as 15 wickets fell on day one at Lord's, where Haseeb Hameed once again failed to make an impression.
Last year's champions opted to bat first and were wobbling at 89 for seven before half-centuries from numbers eight and nine Toby Roland-Jones (53) and Ollie Rayner (52 not out) got them to 233 all out.
Roland-Jones, who like Hameed will come into consideration for an Ashes spot with England this winter, and Tim Murtagh then claimed two wickets apiece as Lancs closed on 113 for five, 120 behind.
The England selectors will be keeping a keen eye on Hameed in Lancashire's final two fixtures given the issues Cook's other opening Test partners have encountered in the international set-up, but after recording two half-centuries earlier this month following an otherwise lean summer, he was dismissed for just three.
Earlier Tom Bailey had taken five for 54 for the Red Rose while Ryan McLaren weighed in with four for 63.
Surrey's Rikki Clarke claimed five wickets in 34 balls en route to career-best figures of seven for 55 but Somerset still reached 269 thanks to a defiant 86 from Steven Davies and Marcus Trescothick's 65.
In reply, Surrey were 42 without loss as England's Mark Stoneman (21 not out) looked to follow up last week's century on his domestic return.
Jeetan Patel (100) and Ian Bell (51) accounted for 151 of already-relegated Warwickshire's 219 as Yorkshire's Matthew Fisher claimed a five-for at Headingley.
The White Rose, themselves fighting to stay up, then reached 62 for one by stumps.
In Division Two, there was little to separate promotion rivals Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire as Notts made 80 for five in response to their hosts' 194, with Luke Wood and Rory Kleinveldt taking four wickets each for their respective sides.
Glamorgan's number four Kiran Carlson posted a career-best 137 not out as they accumulated 342 for seven against Gloucestershire, while Sussex skipper Luke Wells was another centurion in their meeting with Durham.
Wells made 122 and Stiaan van Zyl contributed 92 in Sussex's 346 all out, with Durham eight for one in response.
Elsewhere, no play was possible between Derbyshire and Kent at Chesterfield.
Source: PA
