PREVIEWS: Red Ball cricket returns to the cricketing calendar!

​The purist form of cricket returns on Sunday as red ball cricket makes a much-welcomed comeback to our cricketing calendar. After a few weeks off as limited overs took centre stage it is a welcome relief to many county members up and down the country as a more steady and serene pace reappears. 

Just one Division One game takes place as Surrey look to climb off the bottom of the table with victory over Nottinghamshire at the Oval, meanwhile, in Division Two leaders Essex will look to extend their lead at the top of the tree with success over the much-improved Leicestershire side who will look to return to winning ways after an embarrassing defeat to Worcestershire last time out. In the other game in Division Two that completes the trio of ‘proper cricket’ fixtures sees Glamorgan tackle Kent at the SWALEC stadium in Cardiff. 

As always View From the Outfield will bring you everything you need to know ahead of the clashes with our comprehensive previews. We’ll start in Division One with Surrey v Nottinghamshire. 

Where? Oval, London
When? 19th-22nd June 2016, 11am
Form: 
Surrey: P7, W0, L4, D3 (9th)
Notts: P7, W1, L3, D3 (7th)
Last time out: 
Surrey: Lost by one-wicket v Somerset
Notts: Match Drawn v Durham
Last meeting: Nottinghamshire won by three-wickets, Trent Bridge, April 2016
Who?
Surrey: Batty ©, Ansari, Burke, Burns, T. Curran, Davies, Foakes (w/k), Harinath, Kapil, Meaker, Rampaul, Sangakkara, Sibley and Wilson
Notts: Ball, Carter, Christian, Fletcher, Gurney, Hutton, Libby, Lumb, Mullaney ©, Patel, Smith, Taylor and Wessels (w/k)
Danger men:
Surrey: Zafar Ansari
Notts: Michael Lumb
Weather: 
Sunday: Cloudy with highs of 20c
Monday: Light rain with highs of 19c
Tuesday: Cloudy with highs of 20c
Wednesday: Cloudy with highs of 21c
Match Odds:
Surrey: 6/5
Notts: Evens
VFTO Predicts: Draw 

Specsavers Division Two:

Essex v Leicestershire: 
Where? Essex County Ground, Chelmsford
When? 19th-22nd June 2016, 11am
Form: 
Essex: P7, W2, L0, D5 (1st)
Leicestershire: P6, W1, L1, D4
Last time out: 
Essex: Match Drawn v Northamptonshire
Leicestershire: Lost by seven-wickets v Worcestershire
Last meeting: Essex won by five-wickets, Grace Road, September 2015
Fun Fact: Essex v Leicestershire was the first ever First-Class clash in Essex’s history, the game took place at Leyton in 1894 with Leicestershire winning by 68-runs. 
Who?
Essex: ten Doeschate ©, Foster (w/k), Bopara, Browne, Lawrence, Masters, Mickleburgh, Moore, Napier, Porter, Quinn, Ryder, Westley and Zaidi
Leicestershire: Robson, Horton, Dexter, Cosgrove ©, Pettini, Eckersley (w/k), Ali, Raine, Taylor, McKay, Sykes and Shreck
Danger men:
Essex: Jamie Porter
Leicestershire: Paul Horton
Weather: 
Sunday: Cloudy with highs of 20c
Monday: Heavy rain with highs of 19c
Tuesday: Cloudy with highs of 20c
Wednesday: Cloudy with highs of 20c
Match odds:
Essex: 4/7
Leicestershire: 13/8
VFTO Predicts: Home win

Glamorgan v Kent:
Where? SWALEC, Cardiff
When? 19th- 22nd June 2016, 11am
Form: 
Glam: P6, W0, L3, D3 (9th)
Kent: P7, W2, D5 (3rd)
Last time out: 
Glam: Match Drawn v Essex
Kent: Match Drawn v Leicestershire 
Last Meeting: Kent won by 10-wickets, Canterbury, May 2016
Who: 
Glam: Squad yet to be announced…
Kent: Northeast ©, Bell-Drummond, Latham, Denly, Dickson, Stevens, Billings (w/k), Haggett, Coles, Tredwell, Claydon and Hunn
Danger men:
Glam: Will Bragg
Kent: Daniel Bell-Drummond
Weather: 
Sunday: Light rain with highs of 17c
Monday: Rain interspersed with sunny intervals with highs of 18c
Tuesday: Cloudy with highs of 17c
Wednesday: Cloudy with highs of 19c
Match odds:
Glam: 39/29
Kent: 4/6
VFTO Predicts: A rain-affected draw

Previews by David Bowden (@Bowdenwhu)