There is one more round of matches in the Rothesay County Championship prior to the break for the start of the Vitality Blast and they get underway on Friday when all 18 counties look to end the opening half of the campaign with a win.
The Test match and the Indian Premier League have the TV coverage over the course of the four days so if you have a bet on any of these matches and want to follow it ball-by-ball you’ll need to load up the live stream that the home county provides.
Division One
Despite losing their unbeaten record last week, Nottinghamshire are still setting the pace in Division One and they will look to remain on top when they travel to Headingley to face a Yorkshire side who are second from bottom and now having to do without their captain Jonny Bairstow after he’s legged it to the Indian Premier League. Surrey are now the only undefeated side in the competition and they will be looking to maintain that record when they host Essex at The Oval. Warwickshire lost for the first time last week too and they’ll look to get back to winning ways when they make the short trip to New Road to take on rivals Worcestershire while in the other two matches Hampshire will look to take care of local rivals Sussex at the Vitality Bowl and Durham will go up against Sussex.
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Division Two
Leicestershire have built up quite a lead at the top of the Division Two table and whatever happens this week they will go into the halfway point of the season ahead of the rest. They play host to Lancashire this week in what could be another good test of their title credentials. Derbyshire are second in the table despite just one win in their six matches. They will hope to double their tally when they entertain a Kent side who have flattered to deceive so far. Northamptonshire dropped to the bottom of the table last week and host Gloucestershire with the aim of picking up a win which would take them off the foot of the standings. The other match sees third placed Glamorgan hosting fifth placed Middlesex in Cardiff.
Betting
I’ll go with a pair of bets to take us to the halfway point of the season, one from each division. In Division One I like Durham to get the better of Somerset. Not only is it a long trip for the cider boys but they go there without Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Sean Dickson while James Rew has been named in the squad but he was on the England balcony at Trent Bridge on Thursday so whether he will be there remains to be seen. Importantly, David Bedingham looks to have clearance for Durham to come into a batting unit which has been firing anyway recently. It might not be ideal that Brydon Carse has been pulled out by England but I’m never worried about a Durham pace attack given the depths they have in their squad. Usually I would want bowlers over batters but the summer has been so dry, although there is rain in the forecast this week ironically, that you have to score runs and Durham have the stronger line up to do that.
Moving into the second division and I’m surprised that Leicestershire still aren’t getting the respect for the season that they are putting together. I took them at odds against to win away to Middlesex last week and they duly obliged and now they host Lancashire as a pick’em and that can’t be right. Lancashire are in a right mess. I’m not surprised because every club Dale Benkenstein touches ends up in a mess and it is only a matter of time before he is moved on. Until then, I think Leicestershire are the better side. That might not be the case later in the season when you would imagine that Rehan Ahmed and Josh Hull will be away with England teams but they are here now and a Leicestershire side who are 30 points clear at the top on merit should be shorter to beat Lancashire than they are.
Tips
Back Durham to beat Somerset for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
Back Leicestershire to beat Lancashire for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
