County Cricket

Essex are preparing to face Kent in both the NatWest T20 Blast and Specsavers County Championship with plenty at stake in both "Battle of the Bridge" contests.

Worcestershire have confirmed that wicket-keeper Ben Cox has signed a new four-year contract which will keep him at New Road until the end of the 2020 season.

Rain played spoilsport on what had the potential to be an intriguing day's play in the Specsavers County Championship with only Kent's game against Derbyshire seeing any action at all.

Essex will have England captain Alastair Cook available to them for the Specsavers County Championship Division Two match against Kent which begins this Sunday (3rd July).

Rain brought about an early end to the action at all five County Championship matches being played today, but not before Nick Gubbins registered a maiden double-century and Wayne Madsen hit his fourth ton of the season.

Day two of the latest round of Specsavers County Championship matches was good for Derbyshire, Somerset, Lancashire, and Warwickshire while Leicestershire and Gloucestershire got their game underway.

After losing out on the services of New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne due to injury last week, Essex have confirmed they will not be recruiting an overseas player to replace him for the NatWest T20 Blast.

The Overton twins sharing eight wickets for Somerset against Hampshire and a record partnership for Kent against Derbyshire were among the highlights of the four Specsavers County Championship matches that got underway today.

Northamptonshire have replaced Birmingham Bears at the top of the North Group of the NatWest T20 Blast while a win for Gloucestershire has put them second in the South Group thanks to wins over Leicestershire and Sussex respectively.

A final day badly affected by rain to the extent that only 35 overs were possible saw the game between Sussex and Northants peter out to a draw but Essex went on to register a convincing win over Surrey in the Natwest T20 Blast.

Glamorgan beat Surrey in a top-of-the-table NatWest T20 Blast South Group clash while there were six other matches played tonight as teams continue to battle to reach the quarter-finals including a huge win for Lancashire over Worcestershire.

After rain limited play on day two in Arundel, Northamptonshire used day three to build up a significant advantage over hosts Sussex in Division Two of the Specsavers County Championship.

Middlesex beat Somerset by four runs in a nine-over NatWest T20 Blast match that moved the home side ahead of their opponents and into fifth place in the South Group table.

Leicestershire have signed South African international Farhaan Behardien as a replacement for compatriot Rilee Rossouw, who was due to join them for their NatWest T20 Blast campaign.

It was draws all round as three more County Championship matches concluded today while the Sussex-Northamptonshire match was hampered by rain.

Yorkshire all-rounder Tim Bresnan has lauded his side's bowling effort during their one-run NatWest T20 Blast win over Derbyshire, which saw them get off the mark in this year's competition at the fifth attempt.

Fast bowler Wahab Riaz has left Essex earlier than scheduled to join up with a training camp organised by Pakistan as part of their preparations for touring England this summer.

Gloucestershire's iconic Cheltenham Cricket Festival is ready to launch for 2016, and this year not only will fans get to watch their team in first-class, one-day and T20 action, but also welcome international cricket to the Cheltenham College ground.

Surrey completed a comprehensive victory over Nottinghamshire as more dry weather around led to plenty of County Championship drama, including an exciting finish to the match between Essex and Leicestershire.

After a day hampered by rain yesterday, it was good news all round in the County Championship as all six matches saw a complete day's play.