County Championship Cricket Preview- Matches commencing 12th May 2022

As we head into the middle of May, we are already heading towards the sixth round of county championship matches, and with T20 Blast season imminent, teams will be desperate to put the red ball campaign on hold with a positive result.

In Division One, leaders Surrey make the short trip to Beckenham to face Kent starting on Thursday.

This matchup is a tale of top versus bottom with Kent sitting at the foot of the table without a win all season.

For Surrey, they are sitting pretty at the top, currently eight points ahead of Hampshire with three wins so far and not a single loss.

Surrey will head to Beckenham on the back of a comprehensive innings victory over Northamptonshire at the Kia Oval.

Captain Rory Burns returned to form with his first century of the season as well as Daniel Worrall picking up six wickets in the match.

Second-placed Hampshire do not feature in the latest round of matches, but third-placed Lancashire do as they face Yorkshire in the battle of the roses at Headingley.

Both sides drew their latest outing with Yorkshire featuring in a high scoring game against Essex at Chelmsford and Lancashire picking up 14 points in the draw against Warwickshire at Old Trafford.

Warwickshire are back at Edgbaston where they will face Northamptonshire, who are still awaiting their first County Championship win of the season.

At Bristol, there is an intriguing west country derby where Gloucestershire entertain Somerset.

Gloucestershire will be looking to bounce back from their heavy defeat to Hampshire after a poor first-innings batting performance saw the side bowled out for 179. Ryan Higgins was the best of a bad bunch as he scored 46.

Despite half-centuries from George Scott, and Miles Hammond, the target of 368 proved too many to chase down.

In Division Two new leaders Middlesex are back at the home of cricket where they face their successors in Nottinghamshire.

Middlesex chased down a stiff target of 370 to defeat Sussex at Hove with three overs to spare, thanks to a superb 149 from Sam Robson and half-centuries from captain Peter Handscomb and Max Holden.

For Sussex, it was another defeat for a side who are still yet to put their first win on the board after suffering three losses and two draws in their five matches.

Second place Glamorgan will start the next round of matches eight points behind Middlesex, having played one match more, after a six-wicket victory over Leicestershire at Cardiff.

Chasing 150 to win, the hosts reached their target thanks to an unbeaten 40 from Sam Northeast.

Glamorgan make the long trip to Chester-le-Street to face Durham on Thursday. The North East county are still looking for their first victory of the campaign after a drawn match against Worcestershire last week.

Meanwhile, Worcestershire travel up to Derby to face Derbyshire, with the home side looking for their second victory of the season.

The hosts will be looking for further runs from the bat of Pakistani opener Shan Masood who has already hit two double centuries this season and is in a rich vein of form.

The final game to feature in Division Two is Leicestershire who are up against Sussex.

The bottom two in the division look horns, with both sides still searching for their first win of the season.

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