County Championship Previews: Sunday 3rd of July - Battle of the Bridge and Division One Leaders in action

Sunday sees first meet second in Division Two as well as being dubbed the Battle of the Bridge at Chelmsford, leaders Kent will look for their first victory of the season over the Eagles having fallen to defeat at the Essex County Ground in both the T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup. The hosts welcome England skipper Alastair Cook back into their side as they look to return to winning ways and back to the summit of the Division Two table. 

For Kent, South African seamer Kagiso Rabada makes his first Championship appearance as the Spitfires strengthen their bowling ranks as they look to tighten their grip on the singular promotion spot. 

Elsewhere, in Division Two fellow promotion hopefuls Worcestershire are in action against the much-improved Leicestershire at New Road with both sides looking to close the gap on the top two.

In Division One, bottom of the table Hampshire travel north to Durham looking for a second win that could see them climb out of the wooden spoon spot. The visitors will be without their inspirational skipper James Vince who is away with England. 

Meanwhile, in the picturesque setting of Scarborough, second-placed Yorkshire take on title rivals Middlesex looking to close the gap on Red Rose rivals Lancashire who face Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. The Outlaws will look to get their season back on track with victory and their hopes will be boosted by the arrivals of Imran Tahir and the returning England man Stuart Broad. 

As always, View from the Outfield will bring you everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s action below with squad news, weather, and match odds as the Championship season reaches the halfway point.

Division One: 

Durham v Hampshire:
Where? Riverside, Chester-Le-Street
When? 3rd – 6th July 2016 @ 11am
Form: 
Durham: P7, W2, L0, D7 (4th)
Hampshire: P7, W1, L2, D4 (9th)
Last time out:
Durham: Match Drawn v Yorkshire
Hampshire: Match Drawn v Somerset
Last meeting: Hampshire won by seven-wickets at Chester-Le-Street, September 2015
Who?
Durham: Stoneman ©, Jennings, Borthwick, Burnham, Stokes, Richardson (w/k), Pringle, Coughlin, Arshad, McCarthy, Rushworth and Onions
Hampshire: Smith ©, Adams, Weatherley, Ervine, Alsop, Berg, Andrew, Carberry, McManus, Tomlinson, McLaren, Wheater ©, Crane and Best
Weather:
Sunday: Overcast with highs of 17c
Monday: Overcast with highs of 17c
Tuesday: Sunny intervals interspersed with rain with highs of 17c
Wednesday: Overcast with highs of 18c
Match Odds:
Durham: 4/7
Hampshire: 7/4

Nottinghamshire v Lancashire: 
Where? Trent Bridge, Nottingham
When? 3rd – 6th July 2016 @ 11am 
Form: 
Nottinghamshire: P9, W1, D4, L4 (7th)
Lancashire: P8, W3, L2, D3 (1st)
Last time out:
Nottinghamshire: Match Drawn v Warwickshire
Lancashire: Match Drawn v Middlesex
Last meeting: Lancashire won by eight-wickets, Old Trafford, April 2016
Who?
Nottinghamshire: Broad, Gurney, Hutton, Libby, Kitt, Lumb, Mullaney, Patel, Read (c, w/k), Tahir, Taylor and Wessels
Lancashire: Croft (©, w/k), Brown, Buck, Clark, Hameed, Jarvis, Livingston, Parkinson, Proctor, Smith and Wagner
Weather:
Sunday: Sunny intervals with highs of 19c
Monday: Rain interspersed with sunny intervals with highs of 17c
Tuesday: Sunny intervals with highs of 19c
Wednesday: Overcast with highs of 19c
Match Odds:
Nottinghamshire: 11/10
Lancashire: 10/11

Yorkshire v Middlesex:
Where? North Maine Road, Scarborough
When? 3rd – 6th July 2016 @ 11am
Form:
Yorkshire: P7, W2, L0, D5 (2nd)
Middlesex: P8, W1, D0, D7 (3rd)
Last time out:
Yorkshire: Match Drawn v Durham
Middlesex: Match Drawn v Lancashire
Last meeting: Middlesex won by 246 runs, Lords, September 2015
Who?
Yorkshire: Ballance, Bresnan, Coad, Gale ©, Hood (w/k), Leaning, Lees, Lyth, Patterson, Rafiq, Rhodes, Shaw and Williamson
Middlesex: Franklin ©, Bailey, Eskinazi, Finn, Fuller, Gubbins, Harris, Higgins, Murtagh, Rayner, Robson, Roland-Jones, Simpson (w/k) and Stirling
Weather:
Sunday: Sunny intervals with highs of 18c
Monday: Rain showers with highs of 17c
Tuesday: Rain interspersed with sunny intervals with highs of 17c
Wednesday: Overcast with highs of 16c
Match Odds:
Yorkshire: 8/13
Middlesex: 6/4

Division Two:

Essex v Kent:
Where? Essex County Ground, Chelmsford
When? 3rd – 6th July 2016 @ 11am
Form:
Essex: P8, W2, L1, D5 (2nd)
Kent: P9, W2, L0, D7 (1st)
Last time out:
Essex: Lost by four-wickets v Leicestershire
Kent: Match Drawn v Derbyshire
Last meeting: Kent won by an innings and 207 runs, Tunbridge Wells, July 2015
Who?
Essex: ten Doeschate ©, Foster (w/k), Bopara, Browne, Cook, Lawrence, Masters, Mickleburgh, Napier, Porter, Quinn, Westley and Zaidi
Kent: Northeast ©, Denly, Dickson, Cowdrey, Blake, Ball, Stevens, Jackson (w/k), Claydon, Tredwell, Rabada and Thomas
Weather:
Sunday: Sunny intervals with highs of 21c
Monday: Overcast with highs of 20c
Tuesday: Rain with a chance of sunshine with highs of 20c
Wednesday: Overcast with highs of 21c
Match Odds:
Essex: 4/5
Kent: 8/7

Worcestershire v Leicestershire:
Where? New Road, Worcester
When? 3rd – 6th July 2016 @ 11am
Form:
Worcestershire:  P8, W1, L1, D6 (5th)
Leicestershire: P8, W2, L1, D5 (4th)
Last time out:
Worcestershire: Match Drawn v Derbyshire
Leicestershire: Match Drawn v Gloucestershire
Last meeting: Worcestershire won by seven-wickets, Grace Road, May 2016
Who?
Worcestershire: Mitchell ©, D’Oliveria, Fell, Clarke, Kohler-Cadmore, Whiteley, Cox (w/k), Leach, Barnard, Shantry, Abbott and Morris
Leicestershire: Robson, Horton, Dexter, Cosgrove ©, Pettini, Ali, Eckersley (w/k) Raine, Taylor, McKay, Jones, Shreck and Sykes 
Weather:
Sunday: Sunny intervals with highs of 20c
Monday: Overcast with highs of 19c
Tuesday: Rain with a chance of sunshine with highs of 20c
Wednesday: Overcast with highs of 20c
Match Odds: 
Worcestershire: 4/5
Leicestershire: 11/10

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Previews by David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu)