SURREY: Anil Kumble, the India leg spinner, will make his county debut against Somerset at Guildford today. Ian Salisbury and Nayan Doshi have taken 68 championship wickets between them this season and Kumble’s arrival raises the intriguing prospect of the team including three spinners as they step up their drive for promotion.

ESSEX: Alex Tudor, who missed the NatWest Pro40 match against Northamptonshire last night, returns in the championship match against Glamorgan today, which will start at noon and end at 7pm on the first two days because of last night’s late finish. Bryan Pietersen, 23, the brother of Kevin, made 41 on his second-team debut yesterday.

WORCESTERSHIRE: Gareth Batty, the vice-captain, believes that if he concentrates on helping the county to double promotion he can work his way back into the England team. “I’m confident that if I keep taking wickets I will stay in the shake-up,” he said. In the past year, Monty Panesar, Jamie Dalrymple and Alex Loudon have overtaken him.

DERBYSHIRE: The county do not intend to change the team who beat Somerset for the match against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Graham Wagg has explained the plan that brought career-best figures of six for 38 at Taunton. “It was reversing, so I came around the wicket and did a left-handed Freddie Flintoff,” he said.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE: After a dispiriting defeat at home to Essex, Derbyshire then pushed them down to fifth in the table the next day. If they lose away to Worcestershire, promotion will become a distant hope. That makes the return of Hamish Marshall and Philip Weston, after a month out with hand injuries, ever more imperative.

LEICESTERSHIRE: Stuart Broad could be rested against Derbyshire today as the county continue to manage the workload of the youngster. Hylton Ackerman set a record match aggregate for Leicestershire by scoring 309 not out and 62 against Glamorgan, beating the previous best of 367 by Maurice Hallam in 1959.

GLAMORGAN: After salvaging a draw at home to Leicestershire, Glamorgan will be buoyed by the return of James Franklin, who missed the match with a back injury. However, Nicky Peng and Alex Wharf picked up injuries that will keep them out. Adam Harrison and Gareth Rees are in the squad for the match at Chelmsford today.

SOMERSET: Neil Edwards, a tall opening batsman, and Mike Munday, a leg spinner who has just graduated from Oxford University, are included in the squad to play Surrey at Guildford. Both are Cornishmen. James Hildreth, the promising middle-order batsman who has been out of form, is expected to play for the second XI.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: The club’s tour match against the Pakistanis tomorrow has been reduced from a four to three-day affair. “Both sides have problems with injuries and we wanted to field as strong a side as we could,” Mark Tagg, the chief executive, said. Lance Klusener plays as a batsman, but Matt Nicholson is likely to be rested.