The mid-summer set of matches in the Rothesay County Championship conclude this week when another bunch of games get underway on Sunday with teams jostling for position ahead of the latest break in the campaign.
We are once again resigned to the live streams if we want to follow any of these matches visually with the Test match getting underway on the final day of these games but the quality is good enough that it doesn’t hamper us too much.
Division One
It is still Nottinghamshire who are leading the way in the top flight and they will look to take a step closer towards winning the title when they make the trip to Taunton to take on a Somerset side who are slowly closing in on them. Surrey are actually the closest challengers to Nottinghamshire with just two points separating the pair at the top now and they host Durham looking for another win to push closer to a successful title defence. Sussex have continued their excellent season to sit in third spot in the table going into the week and they host a Warwickshire side who are in the top half of the table as well. The other two matches see the two sides either side of the relegation line meeting in York where Yorkshire will look to come out of trouble when they host an Essex side who could put real ground between themselves and the bottom two with a win. Hampshire are the other home side this week. They welcome rock bottom Worcestershire to the Utilita Bowl.
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Division Two
Leicestershire are blazing a bit of a trail at the top of Division Two. They sit 33 points ahead of seven place going into the week and perhaps more significantly to them 45 points clear of third and they will look to extend their advantage at the top when they play host to second from bottom Middlesex. Derbyshire are the surprise package in second spot in the table and they will look to consolidate their automatic promotion hopes when they host a winless Lancashire outfit. Glamorgan will be hoping for some slip ups from the two sides ahead of them in the table when they welcome Gloucestershire to Cardiff while the other match sees bottom of the table Kent hosting a Northamptonshire side who are beginning to get to grips with things this term.
Betting
I’m very surprised that Northamptonshire can be backed at 4/5 to get the better of Kent over the four days this week. With the Kookaburra ball you need an elite spinner, especially with the temperatures that are doing the rounds in the south of England this week, and Yuzvendra Chahal returning to the Northamptonshire squad for the first time this season is exactly that. He might not have been needed anyway because Kent are starting to lose the plot a little in the Championship.
Admittedly, injuries have been a bit of a killer for Kent this season but they resorted to opening the batting with Matt Parkinson last week and that can’t be a good sign for them. Northants were one of just two winners across both of the divisions last week and while they were fortunate that Middlesex needed to win and therefore set a tempting final day chase, any time you chase 311 down in the fourth innings deserves credit. Northants are on the up under Darren Lehmann. I don’t see how we can say the same about Kent so I like the visitors here.
Tips
Back Northamptonshire to beat Kent for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Boylesports
Back them here:
