PREVIEW: County Championship Week Five

6 May 2016 | Cricket
As the teams prepare for the fifth round of matches in this season\'s Specsavers County Championship, here are all the essential stats ahead of another exciting week of action.

DIVISION ONE

Lancashire v Hampshire

Lancashire have lost just once in their last 25 matches against Hampshire (W11, D13), a run dating back until 1992.

Lancashire have won their last three home games against Hampshire, the last time they won more in a row was in a run of five wins between 1957 and 1961.

The Red Rose are unbeaten in 14 County Championship matches (W6, D8), their longest run since going 16 unbeaten in 2013.

Simon Kerrigan’s next innings with the bat will be his 100th in First Class cricket, he currently averages 10.6 and has a high score of 62* which came against Hampshire in 2013.

One more wicket will see Chris Wood reach 100 First Class wickets; he’s taken at least one wicket in all four matches he has played against Lancashire.

Middlesex v Nottinghamshire

Nottingham have won just once in their last 10 trips to face Middlesex away from home (L2).

Of those last 10 games between the sides at the home of Middlesex seven have been drawn and the other three have seen one 10 wicket win and two wins by an innings.

Since the start of the 2014 season Durham (once) are the only side to beat Middlesex at home (W7, D8, 1 abandoned).

Nick Gubbins needs 88 runs to reach 1,000 in First Class cricket; he has played 36 innings so far.

Jake Ball has five more wickets (19) than any other bowler in Division One this season, taking at least six in all three of his matches so far in 2016.

Warwickshire v Somerset

Warwickshire have not won in eight games, the last time they went on a longer winless run was 14 games across the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Warwickshire have lost just once across the last 18 occasions they have hosted Somerset in the County Championship (D12, W5), a run dating back to 1984.

Somerset have drawn their last three away games, the last time they went on a longer such run was in 2012 when they drew six on the spin.

If he features Tim Ambrose will make his 200th First Class appearance, he has scored 9,221 runs at an average of 33.8 so far, and taken one wicket from 2.5 overs (Adam Voges in April 2016).

Chris Rogers’ last match was his 300th in FC cricket; he has 24,648 runs at an average of 49.8.

Yorkshire v Surrey

Yorkshire have drawn three games on the bounce, the last time they went this long without a win was 2012 when they drew eight consecutive games in Div 2.

Surrey have lost just once in their last 13 encounters with Yorkshire (D8, W4), however the last five such fixtures have all ended in a draw.

Yorkshire have not beaten Surrey at home since 1998, a run of six games without victory (D5, L1).

At home Yorkshire are unbeaten in their last 18 games, a run stretching back to 2013 (W12, D6).

Matt Dunn needs four more wickets to reach 100 in First Class cricket.

DIVISION TWO

Derbyshire v Sussex

Derbyshire have gone nine home games without winning (L3, D6), their last win on their own patch coming in 2014 against Leicestershire.

Derbyshire’s last home win against Sussex came in 1995, since when Sussex have picked up three wins (D2).

Sussex have won just twice in the last 12 months, a run of 16 games (L7, D7).

Andy Carter is three wickets shy of 100 in First Class cricket, his bowling average is 29.6 so far.

Chris Nash’s 144 against Leicestershire was his 8th highest First Class score and his best since hitting 178 against Nottinghamshire in 2014.

Glamorgan v Worcestershire

Glamorgan have lost just once on the last 11 instances of them hosting Worcestershire (D6, W3, 1 abandoned).

Glamorgan have failed to win since an eight game unbeaten start to their 2015 campaign (D5, L6).

Worcestershire’s last win on the road was in July 2014, since when they have lost seven of 11 games (D4).

Craig Meschede’s next First Class match will be his 50th; he is two wickets shy of 100 in his career so far.

Both James Kettleborough, and David Lloyd are within touching distance of 1,000 First Class runs, they currently have 950 and 991 respectively.

Kent v Gloucestershire

Kent are unbeaten in their last seven games (D4, W2, 1 abandoned); however they have not won consecutive games since winning three on the spin in June-July 2014.

Kent have not managed to beat Gloucestershire at home since 2009 (L2, D3), their longest such run since failing to beat them in the 1980s (L4, D2).

Gloucestershire have only lost twice in their last 12 away games (W5, D5), a run which includes a win and a draw against Kent.

Daniel Bell-Drummond’s next innings with the bat will be his 100th in First Class cricket, he averages 36.7 so far with a high score of 206*.

Liam Norwell needs six runs to reach 500 in First Class cricket, his average at the moment is 14.5.

Leicestershire v Northamptonshire

Leicestershire have gone four games without defeat, their best run since drawing five games in a row in 2013.

Six of the last eight games between these sides has ended in a draw, with Northamptonshire winning the other two.

Northamptonshire are winless in seven games, however six of these have ended in draws.

If Leicestershire win this match it will be their 50th victory against Northamptonshire (L42, D94).

Josh Cobb will make his 100th First Class appearance if he plays in this game, 89 runs will see him reach the milestone of 4,000.