Durham poised to go top

Durham return to Lord's for the first time since their Royal London One-Day Cup triumph against Warwickshire last September needing only six points to go top of the early-season Division One table with the leaders Sussex not in action this week.

Their coach Jon Lewis has named an unchanged 13 for the third consecutive match, but will hope to have Mark Wood available to strengthen his bowling options for next week's home game against Nottinghamshire. Middlesex are also in buoyant mood after making 405 for five on Wednesday, the fourth highest fourth innings run chase in their history, to claim an improbable first win of the season against Somerset at Taunton, and could also go top with a convincing win.

Adam Voges, who made a crucial contribution with 132, will be making his penultimate appearance as captain before joining Australia's squad in the West Indies. Steve Finn is available, with England's squad for next Friday's one-day international in Ireland not due to gather until Wednesday night, and is likely to team up with Tim Murtagh, who has recovered from the back twinge he suffered in Taunton, before they face each other in Malahide.

Craig Overton and Alfonso Thomas are set to make their first appearance of the season for Somerset in a meeting between two counties who are joint bottom of the table after losing their first two matches. Overton, who has been working his way back from a calf injury sustained on the England Lions tour of South Africa, is set to replace his twin brother Jamie, who has had scans on a heel problem that limited him to seven balls as Middlesex scored 405 for five to inflict the second of Somerset's defeats at Taunton on Wednesday.

Tim Groenewald also drops out of the squad. Worcestershire have had a week to recover from their consecutive defeats by Yorkshire and Sussex, but they have not beaten Somerset in six Championship matches since 2006, when Graeme Hick scored a century and Ben Smith a double.

Gloucestershire have not won a Championship match at Chelmsford since 1930, and will arrive as rank outsiders against an Essex team who remain on a roll despite being denied the chance to press for a seventh consecutive win by a washout of the last day of their game against Surrey at the Kia Oval.

They are still missing Tom Westley with a broken thumb, as well as Ravi Bopara at the Indian Premier League, but Nick Browne and Daniel Lawrence shone in Kennington in their absence, Lawrence becoming the third youngest player in history to score a Championship century. Gloucestershire name an unchanged squad with Gareth Roderick, their Durban-born wicketkeeper, aiming to extend a run of making a half century in each of his four innings this season.

Glamorgan are boosted by the availability for the first time this season of Michael Hogan, the tall Australian seamer who has given them such good service over the last two summers, but missed their opening draws against Leicestershire and Surrey with a hamstring injury that also denied him a Sheffield Shield final appearance for Western Australia. Andrew Salter, the promising off-spinner from Haverfordwest, is also added to a squad that includes the former Derbyshire seamer Graham Wagg.

Derbyshire have lost their opener Billy Godleman for two matches, suspended for throwing the ball dangerously close to a Gloucestershire batsman in their win at Bristol, and that could hand a first chance of the season to Chesney Hughes. Martin Guptill, who smashed a spectacular double century in that game as well as taking three brilliant catches, will be making his farewell appearance before linking up with New Zealand for their tour opener against Somerset in Taunton next week.

Leicestershire may be established as the whipping boys of county cricket, with Wednesday's home defeat by Northamptonshire their 19th in 34 Championship matches since their last win in September 2012. But it is Kent who currently prop up the Division Two table having taken only seven points from defeats by Essex and Lancashire in their first two games. They will see the visit of Leicestershire, against whom they have a 10-match unbeaten run stretching back to 2003, as the perfect chance to win their first home game of the season for the first time since 2007.

Darren Stevens generally relishes playing against his home county, having played for them for eight seasons before joining Kent in 2005. Leicestershire are again without Atif Sheikh, the left-arm seamer who injured his shoulder in their opening draw against Glamorgan, and may consider one or more of several players who have impressed for the second team, including Matthew Boyce and Jigar Naik.

Lancashire have won four consecutive Championship matches against Northants, two in 2013 when the counties were promoted together from Division Two, and two last year when they both went straight back down. They have also started the season with two consecutive wins under their new coach Ashley Giles, despite losing their new captain Tom Smith with a back injury.

He will again be missing this week, so Steven Croft continues as skipper. Nathan Buck, the seamer signed from Leicestershire who has yet to make his Red Rose debut, is again included in a 12-man squad. Northants could displace them from the top with a victory, having drawn their first game against Gloucestershire then beating Leicestershire at Grace Road.

But they will have to do so without David Willey, who is given a break to prepare for a possible England debut in next Friday's one-day international against Ireland in Dublin. He is likely to be replaced by the former Lancashire all-rounder Steven Crook