LV= County Championship round 4 team news

Andy Wilson looks ahead to the team news in the other LV= County Championship games starting this weekend…

Derbyshire v Northamptonshire

Hashim Amla will make his debut for his fourth English county, following Essex, Nottinghamshire and Surrey, after Derbyshire signed him on a short-term deal to team up with their captain Wayne Madsen, a former South Africa under-19 team-mate.

Northants are second in the table and Derbyshire third. Derbyshire have only won once in 18 Championship matches against Northants since 2002.

Tony Palladino and Tom Taylor are set to return after being rested for their rain-affected draw against Glamorgan.

Northants are expected to name an unchanged team, with David Willey missing a second consecutive Championship match after making his England debut in Ireland to ensure his freshness for their NatWest T20 Blast opener at Durham next Friday night.

Lancashire v Gloucestershire

Peter Siddle will make the last of his four appearances for Lancashire before linking up with Australia for the summer. Lancashire remain 15 points clear at the top of the Division Two table despite being held to a draw in Northampton, and are still missing their captain Tom Smith with a back problem.

His predecessor Glen Chapple, who has joined Ashley Giles’s coaching staff, had been planning to make his first appearance of the season at Leicester next week in place of Siddle, but is now doubtful for that game after breaking his finger in fielding practice.

Gloucestershire’s coach Richard Dawson was thrilled by the performance of all his bowlers as they claimed a first win of the season at Essex, and has named an unchanged squad.

Gloucestershire have only once in 18 Championship visits to Old Trafford since 1965, in August 1994 when Courtney Walsh hit an unbeaten 31 in 17 balls to snatch a thrilling two-wicket victory.

Surrey v Leicestershire

Chris Tremlett is set to make his first Championship appearance of the season for Surrey, after missing their first two matches (both drawn) with a hamstring problem.

But Jade Dernbach will be out for at least six weeks with the side injury he suffered in their last game against Glamorgan.

Jason Roy and Zafar Ansari will be available after their trip to Ireland with England, and Leicestershire expect to include their Irish wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien – whose brother Kevin will also join the county this week for the NatWest T20 Blast.

Off-spinner Jigar Naik, who made his first appearance of the season in Leicestershire’s draw against Kent, claimed career-best figures of seven for 96 in the county’s last Championship win against Surrey at The Oval in 2010.