The international summer has wound down which means that all of the attention can now go into the end of the County Championship season, in which the penultimate set of matches begin up and down the country on Monday.
It looks like we’re heading for a last week title showdown in the top flight but both Somerset and Essex need results this week to guarantee that while the outstanding race for promotion from Division Two will take plenty more twists over the four days.
Division One
Somerset took hold of top spot last week but they face a tricky test if they are to stay there as they go to fourth placed Hampshire. Essex will be looking to keep up the pressure on them when they welcome Surrey to Chelmsford. Elsewhere the bottom two meet at Trent Bridge as Nottinghamshire host Warwickshire with the hosts knowing they will be playing in Division Two next season. The other match comes from Headingley as the former champions Yorkshire take on a Kent side who have defied the odds this year.
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Division Two
Lancashire were the first team to secure a return to the first division last week and they will win the Division Two title if they beat Middlesex at Old Trafford but it is in behind them where the real interesting stuff takes place. Northamptonshire sit second and they host fourth placed Durham knowing a win could secure their promotion if Sussex fail to win. Jason Gillespie’s men head to Derby to take on a Derbyshire who will surely have more than one eye on T20 finals day on Saturday. Gloucestershire are in third place and know they have to keep winning to keep up their hopes of going up. They head to New Road to face T20 semi-finalists Worcestershire while the other match sees Glamorgan looking to stay in the mix for promotion when they host bottom of the pile Leicestershire at Cardiff.
Betting
I like a couple of bets over the week here with the first one coming in the form of a Warwickshire side who have enough form about them to see off a Nottinghamshire side who have stunk the division out this season and whose campaign hangs on Saturday rather than this match. As a result Peter Moores has named a number of academy players in his squad for this one and the more experienced Warwickshire should be good enough to take advantage of that. Warwickshire haven’t struggled for runs in recent times despite a tough schedule and given that they shouldn’t find it has hard to bowl out Nottinghamshire as they have Somerset and Essex in three of their last four matches I like the Bears here.
Sussex are coming with a good late run and I would expect them to pick up the win up at Derby. To be fair to Derbyshire they are respecting the competition and have named a strong squad because there are many who wouldn’t when you factor in that they have their biggest day in the better part of 30 years on Saturday. Even so the longer this match goes on their eyes must drift to that and so I’ve got to like Sussex here. There is talk of Reece Topley getting a game with the ball but Ollie Robinson has been a revelation this season and they have enough runs in their line up to get the job done and keep their promotion hopes alive here.
Tips
Back Warwickshire to beat Nottinghamshire for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with BetVictor
Back them here:
Back Sussex to beat Derbyshire for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with William Hill
Back them here:
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