Lancashire have enjoyed a near-perfect start to life in the second division and the Red Rose can extend their lead at the top of the table if they are able to defeat Leicestershire at Old Trafford this week.
Leicestershire have long been considered the whipping boys of Division Two, but they recently ended a 37-game run without a win by defeating Essex at Chelmsford by six wickets earlier this month
This match will see the return of a former Lancashire player in Andrea Agathangelou, who was released by the Red Rose over the winter. Agathangelou was at the crease with Lewis Hill when the Foxes hit the winning runs to secure their first Championship win since the 2012 season and he will have a point to prove after parting company with his former teammates.
Since that victory Leicestershire have slumped into familiar territory; suffering a 178-run defeat to Surrey, who are Lancashire's nearest contenders for the Division Two title, trailing the current leaders by 31 points with a game in hand.
Lancashire have stormed the second division, achieving five wins in the first half of the season with their latest victory coming at Bristol courtesy of another superb spell of bowling from Kyle Jarvis, who is the leading wicket-taker in the country with 47 scalps in eight matches.
A win would see Lancashire extend their already commanding lead before missing the next round of matches, although there is already a sense that when they play Surrey in the penultimate four-day game of 2015 that automatic promotion, or indeed the title, will already be taken care of if their form continues.
Spectators must remember that each day of this LV= County Championship match starts at 12.30pm.
Key Players:
Since the departure of Kyle Hogg and Kabir Ali, the Lancashire faithful were concerned that they would be unable to find frontline bowlers to replace such experienced players, but Bailey and Jarvis have ripped through sides this season and, at times, they have been unplayable. Bailey's best performance of the season came in the reverse fixture at Grace Road, where he claimed 5-12 in the second innings, as Leicestershire were bowled out for 78.
Ben Raine was incredibly unlucky in the reverse fixture at Grace Road and should have had so many more wickets on the first day, were it not for a series of dropped catches in the morning session. The 23-year-old has claimed 30 wickets in seven matches at an average of 28.27. His best figures of the season of 5-48 came in Leicestershire's win against Essex and Raine has enjoyed general consistency for the Midlands outfit this season.
He has also proven to be a useful all-round asset to Leicestershire, accumulating 233 runs at an average of 19.42. Raine's best score of the season came against Surrey at The Oval, where he hit 57 before Kevin Pietersen overshadowed the efforts of all other batsmen with 355 not out.
Team News:
Lancashire 12-man squad: Steven Croft (c), Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Jordan Clark, Alex Davies (w/k), James Faulkner, Paul Horton, Kyle Jarvis, Simon Kerrigan, Arron Lilley, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince.
Glen Chapple, who made his first appearance of the season against Gloucestershire, has said this week that he has a calf strain and that he will out of action for a while. Alviro Petersen will make his 200th first-class appearance in this game, should he continue his record of featuring in every four-day game this season so far. Simon Kerrigan, who was rested for Lancashire's trip to Gloucestershire, needs just one more wicket to reach 250 first-class wickets.
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Leicestershire 13-man squad: Mark Cosgrove (c), Andrea Agathangelou, Umar Akmal, Ned Eckersley, Ollie Freckingham, Jigar Naik, Niall O'Brien, Ben Raine, Angus Robson, Charlie Shreck, Atif Sheikh, James Sykes, Rob Taylor.
Clint McKay is to be rested for the visitors, who welcome Pakistan's wicket-keeper batsman, Umar Akmal, into their ranks for his debut. Andrea Agathangelou is set to make a return to Old Trafford and will be out to make an impression, while Angus Robson has made three half-centuries in his last four innings, making him an important scalp for the home side.
Match Information:
Weather and conditions: The first day appears to be the worst of all four days and there could be a large amount of the first day lost to bad weather. The rain makes its way over Manchester by 3pm and is set to stick around until later on in the evening. Moving into the latter stages of the game, the weather improves although it would be wrong to rule out a rouge shower at some stage. For a full weather forecast, click here.
Ground: Emirates Old Trafford
Start time: 12.30pm
Umpires: Nick Cook, Martin Saggers
Match Odds (SkyBet): Lancashire 1/3, Leicestershire 9/4
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