Championship D1 preview

Neil Fairbrother makes his return for Lancashire

Lancashire v Surrey

Veteran Neil Fairbrother is set to make his first appearance for the season in Lancashire's home game against the Division One leaders.

Lancashire have named a 13-man squad, with David Byas a notable absentee after the breaking his hand during the C&G Trophy game against Derbyshire.

They will be out to avenge their NUL defeat at the hands of Surrey on 12 May, and are in the form to do so having won their last three limited-overs contests.

Surrey will be without their England players as they sttempt to extend to their lead, which stands at less than two points with Leicestershire snapping at their heels.

Ed Giddins is expected to cover for Alex Tudor, while Jonathan Batty will don the gloves in the absence of Alec Stewart.

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Kent v Sussex

James Kirtley will continue to skipper Sussex in the absence of injured Chris Adams, who is rated a possible to return for Tuesday's NUL game against Essex.

The side is unchanged from the one that drew with Leicestershire in last week's championship fixture at Horsham.

Key: In-form

The two sides are separated by just two points in the lower half of the Division One table, and Kent will look to leapfrog their opponents.

After a lacklustre start to the season, Kent burst to life in their most recent championship fixture with a four-wicket win over reigning champions Yorkshire.

Much will hinge on the performance of in-form opening batsman Rob Key, who scored his second century of the season at Canterbury.

Their confidence would have taken no harm from Wednesday's C&G Trophy win over Norfolk, where Key again featured with 77.

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Hampshire v Warwickshire

Hampshire will be out to strengthen their position at the upper reaches of the ladder against a Warwickshire side languishing at the bottom.

But Warwickshire, still seeking their first win, will be buoyed by the fact they outplayed Robin Smith's men in early May despite having to settle for a draw.

Hampshire have improved since then, and put in their best performance of the season when thrashing Kent by eight wickets at the Rose Bowl.

They will rely on the run-scoring potential of Smith and John Crawley, who returns to the side after playing in the first Test against Sri Lanka.

Off-spinner Neil Smith comes into the Warwickshire side to compensate for the loss of called-up Ashley Giles.

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Leicestershire v Yorkshire

Steve Kirby will replace Gary Fellows in the Yorkshire side for the champions' visit to Horsham.

Coach Wayne Clark reported an otherwise unchanged side to the one that beat Devon in the C&G Trophy on Wednesday.

Kirby: Returns for Yorkshire

Yorkshire finally ended their run of defeats with a draw against Hampshire, but any signs of a resurgence will be sternly tested by a fine Leicestershire outfit.

Little should be read into their laborious win over the Warwickshire Cricket Board on Wednesday, because their championship form prior to that was first-class.

Two rain-affected draws were preceded by two excellent victories, including an eight-wicket stroll over Warwickshire.

Leicestershire's middle-order of captain Vince Wells, Michael Bevan and Darren Stevens have all been scoring runs and they will fancy compounding the woes of the stumbling champions.