Essex could clinch Division Two title – and promotion – at home to Glamorgan, leaders Middlesex are at Lancashire, second-placed Yorkshire face third-placed Somerset at Headingley and there\'s several England one-day and T20 players returning to county action
Division Two
Derbyshire v Leicestershire
Derbyshire are 15 points adrift at the bottom of the table and remain the only team in either division without a win, and have not gone through a season without a win since 1924. They announced new contracts for Ben Cotton and Tom Taylor, two young seamers from Staffordshire, over the weekend. Leicestershire add Lancastrian opener Harry Dearden and former England Under-19 offspinner Rob Sayer to their squad after slipping to seventh with consecutive heavy home defeats by Essex and Sussex.
Essex v Glamorgan
Essex are 20 points clear of Kent at the top of the table with a game in hand, although they need six points to make mathematically certain that third-placed Sussex cannot catch them, and therefore to secure prize money of more than £120,000, and the single promotion place available this year. They have been in Division Two for the last five seasons, and have only had three seasons in the top tier since two divisions were introduced in 2000.
Northants v Gloucestershire
Both teams had good wins in the last round, to consolidate their position in mid-table – Northants are now fifth after ending Kent’s promotion hopes in Beckenham, while Gloucestershire are fourth after completing a double over Glamorgan. Last chance for Ben Duckett to impress ahead of England’s winter tour selection, after scores of 208 and 185 in Northants’ last two Championship games have taken him above Essex’s Tom Westley as the leading runscorer in Division Two, with 1,263 at an average of 63.
Sussex v Worcestershire
Chris Jordan returns from England duty to boost a Sussex team who climbed back to third in the table with an impressive win at Leicester last week, despite the continued absence of captain Luke Wright. But England have asked Worcestershire to give Moeen Ali a break after his busy international summer in all three formats of the game, ahead of the departure for Bangladesh at the end of this month.
Division One
Durham v Surrey
Ben Stokes and Mark Wood are both set to play for Durham, who still have work to do to secure their safety after a heavy defeat at Yorkshire last week. Jason Roy returns for Surrey’s last game of the season, with fourth place looking likely in their first season back in Division One – which would be their best finish since 2007. Zafar Ansari is also back in the squad after missing their last two matches with a back problem. As well as giving him the chance to stake a late claim for winter tour selection, Ansari’s fitness would be a major boost for Surrey ahead of next Saturday’s Royal London One-Day Cup final against Warwickshire at Lord’s, when they are desperate to make up for the disappointment of last September’s surprise defeat by Gloucestershire. Surrey are unbeaten for six Championship matches, three of which they’ve won, but have not beaten Durham in seven Championship matches stretching back to 2007.
Lancashire v Middlesex
Middlesex have had a five-point lead trimmed first to four points, and now to one, by Yorkshire despite holding their nerve to beat Nottinghamshire by five wickets at Trent Bridge on Friday. They are likely to be unchanged, having been boosted last week by the return of Steven Finn after his hamstring injury. Lancashire are now sitting in the place immediately above the relegation zone, only five points ahead of Hampshire, after going nine games without a win. But they still have a game in hand on both Hampshire and Warwickshire, their final opponents at Edgbaston next week who are only three points ahead of them, and have Jos Buttler available this week to make his first Championship appearance of the season.
Yorkshire v Somerset
Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett and David Willey return from England duty to provide a treble boost to a Yorkshire side who have won three consecutive home games to pile the pressure on Middlesex. But Somerset maintained their outside chances of a first ever Championship title with the latest in a series of tense wins, against Warwickshire in Taunton. Craig Overton, Jim Allenby and Josh Davey have been added to the 11 who secured that win for Sunday’s long journey to Leeds – when coach Matthew Maynard was again planning to use the Public Vehicle Licence he secured earlier this year to act as relief bus driver.
League tables here: http://www.ecb.co.uk/stats/tables