WORCESTERSHIRE: Northamptonshire arrive at New Road tomorrow for a clash of promotion candidates. That Worcestershire are so buoyant is because of Phil Jaques’s arrival but this is his last game until early August because of international duty. He has scored 719 runs at 89.87 and been a match-winner.

DERBYSHIRE: Ian Hunter will miss the championship match against Essex beginning today at Derby with a toe injury, but Graeme Welch and Andy Gray are expected to recover from finger problems. Tom Lungley struck what is believed to be a Derby Premier League record of 213 for Ockbrook, his club side, at the weekend.

ESSEX: After taking only eight wickets at a cost of 771 in the heavy defeat by Worcestershire, Essex are to give a first-class debut to Andy Bichel at Derby today. Alex Tudor, who is slowly returning to form, may retain his place as he bowls well to left-handers, Derbyshire possessing several. Darren Gough should be fit to play.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE: The ECB is examining the umpires’ report of Steve Kirby’s beamers against Derbyshire on Saturday. Neil Mallender, the umpire and former England seam bowler, ordered Kirby from the attack after he bowled a beamer to Steffan Jones, then struck Andy Gray on the chest with another.

SOMERSET: The club expect to make about £70,000 profit on the concert by Sir Elton John at the County Ground on Sunday, which was attended by a crowd of 20,000 people. Ian Botham, whom he serenaded with his song Tiny Dancer, was the first person to take a box in the stand named after him.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: Sourav Ganguly makes his debut tomorrow at Worcester in place of Chris Rogers with Kepler Wessels, the coach, glad to have him in the side. “He’s very keen to play and we need his experience in our set-up,” Wessels said. “The Glamorgan guys told me they were very happy with how he went about his business.”

LEICESTERSHIRE: Adam Griffith, 28, a 6ft 5in seam bowler from Tasmania, will make his championship debut against Gloucestershire at Grace Road today. He has taken 122 wickets in 30 first-class matches back home at an average of 30.34. Jeremy Snape will face a late fitness test on his fractured thumb.

GLAMORGAN: Glamorgan will be hit hard by the loss of their Australian opener to international duty. Mark Cosgrove has been the leading scorer in both forms of the game. But even his 607 runs at an average of 60.70 in the championship have not been enough to lift them off the bottom of the table. He will not return until early August.

TODAY’S FIXTURES
11.0, first day of four, 104 overs minimum

SWANSEA: Glamorgan v Surrey

LEICESTER: Leicestershire v Gloucestershire

DERBY: Derbyshire v Essex

TOMORROW
11.0, first day of four, 104 overs minimum

WORCESTER: Worcestershire v Northamptonshire