Counties welcome back England players

Three of the C&G quarter-finals take place tomorrow, with Yorkshire match against Northamptonshire being held on Saturday. England's centrally contracted players are all available for selection - with the exception of Michael Vaughan, who is rested to prevent a recurrence of the groin injury he suffered in the NatWest Series, and Kevin Pietersen, who is allowing his minor groin strain to recover. The three matches tomorrow start at 10.45 (BST).

Hampshire will be without Shane Warne, their captain, who has joined the Australian squad and is replaced by fellow Australian Shane Watson. Chris Tremlett returns, but Pietersen has been left out on the advice of England's medical staff. Mark Ramprakash has now recovered from his thumb injury after making his return in the recent National League game against Yorkshire. However, Rikki Clarke has a hamstring injury and may play solely as a batsman. Martin Bicknell is still recovering from a slight side strain, and is not included in the squad. The sides are evenly matched in terms of talent and, if the pitch is anything similar to the one produiced for the final NatWest Challenge match, a mountain of runs could be scored. In the lunch interval Surrey will open the seating blocks in the new stand which are named after four of Surrey's leading players; Saqlain Mushtaq, Robin Jackman, Pat Pocock and Stuart Surridge.

Lancashire, who play in their third consecutive C&G Trophy quarter-final, are strengthened with the return of an in-form Andrew Flintoff, and the new signing of Andrew Symonds, the explosive Australian allrounder. Marcus North, another Australian, is also named in the squad. Sussex welcome back Matt Prior, who was overlooked for all the NatWest Challenge matches. None of Sussex's batsmen have made a hundred so far in the C&G - and only one century has been scored by them in the National League, by Prior - something they will want to amend tomorrow if they are to combat a lethal-looking Lancashire batting side.

Just under 12 months ago, Robert Key made the small matter of a Test double century at Lord's against the West Indies. While the Pietersen versus Thorpe debate has been raging for weeks, Key has become the forgotten man in England's thoughts. With Ian Bell quietly settling in to the Test side, Key will be determined to make as many runs as possible for Kent, and desperate to outshine Bell tomorrow. He is joined by Geraint Jones who makes a rare appearance for Kent. Nick Knight has been in excellent one-day form for Warwickshire this season, making a hundred in each of the C&G and National League competitions and his side are boosted by the return of Ashley Giles, who will add variety to the attack.