Somerset begin this round in third place, 14 points behind Essex on 99 points.

But the team will want to forget about their innings defeat against Durham in the last round, in a game punctuated by injury, a sickness bug that swept through the team and a match haul of 8-77 by a promising bowler called Ben Stokes.

Aussie opener Matt Renshaw has finished his seven-game stint for the club and it is likely Tom Abell will open with Tom Lammonby, the latter of whom has 546 runs at 49 this season.

Jack Leach celebrated his 33rd birthday and is in decent fettle with the bat himself after a century for the second XI last week.

Notts are sixth, a couple of points ahead of Warwickshire, on 79 points and are in need of more to keep above the relegation zone.

They'll hope for better weather than they got in their last round, a draw against the Pears at New Road, which was restricted to 103.1 overs by rain - a pity, because they bowled the hosts out for just 80 runs after winning the toss.

There's no Luke Fletcher in the squad this time, but Dillon Pennington, Dane Paterson and Lyndon James are all there, plus the extra pace of Olly Stone.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore comes into the Somerset top six. There's no Matt Renshaw this time as the Aussie opener has completed his seven-game stint for the club this season.

All rounder Kasey Aldridge is also in the XI in the absence of Lewis Gregory. Craig Overton will deputise as captain for this game.

Jack Leach will feature at some point with the ball after turning 33 yesterday. He does have form with the bat too after a second XI century last week.

Olly Stone has been added to a strong Notts bowling attack, replacing Luke Fletcher.

The attack includes Dillon Pennington, Dane Paterson and Lyndon James - all of whom took wickets in the last round against Worcestershire.

Image source, Rex Features

The last round of Championship games provided a major boost to Essex's title ambitions as an innings win over Kent enabled them to close to within two points of leaders Surrey.

Sam Cook and Jamie Porter are the joint leading wicket-takers in Division One with 29 but there is no resting on laurels at Chelmsford, with Eathan Bosch signed to add further seam-bowling depth.

Bosch has a good record in domestic cricket in South Africa and is also a decent bat, with a first-class century to his credit.

He has agreed a four-game deal and following this one and next week's showdown with Surrey, will return in August for two more.

Division One

Chelmsford: Essex v Durham

Durham won the toss and will bat

Canterbury: Kent v Lancashire

Lancashire won the toss and put Kent in

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire v Somerset

Notts won the toss and will bat

Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Hampshire

Hampshire won the toss and will bat

Worcester: Worcestershire v Surrey

Worcestershire won the toss and put Surrey in

Division Two

Cardiff: Glamorgan v Northamptonshire

Northants won the toss and will bat

Lord's: Middlesex v Derbyshire

Middlesex won the toss and will bat

Hove: Sussex v Leicestershire

Leics won the toss and put Sussex in

Scarborough: Yorkshire v Gloucestershire

Gloucs won the toss and put Yorkshire in

Image source, Getty Images

Prithvi Shaw played one of the most memorable innings of last summer, scoring 244 off 153 balls for Northants in the One-Day Cup.

His stint was cut short by injury but the good news for Northants fans is that he is back - and set for his first experience of Championship action for the club, replacing compatriot Karun Nair.

Shaw knows a bit about red-ball cricket as six years ago he became the youngest Indian to score a debut Test century, aged 18.

For Glamorgan, Sam Northeast needs 12 runs to pass 700 for the season, which he began with 335 not out against Middlesex.

It's looking good.

"The next few days are set to bring the warmest weather of the summer so far," said BBC Weather's Ben Rich following yesterday's late TV news bulletin.

There is talk of the temperature being closer to 30 C than 20 in the south-east by the middle of the week - in short, perfect weather to don the whites for some enthralling Championship action.

Image source, Rex Features

So where were we?

After eight rounds of matches in April and May, Surrey hold a slender lead at the top of Division One as they look to become the first team to complete a hat-trick of titles since Yorkshire 1966-1968.

Essex are their main pursuers at the moment - and the head to head between the two at The Oval, starting next Sunday, could have a major bearing on the title outcome come the end of the summer.

In Division Two, Sussex and Middlesex are setting the pace, with the men from Hove - who finished third in 2023 - eight points clear.

Leicestershire are third, but need to find the secret of winning games, having drawn all seven they have played so far. Middlesex and the Foxes are the only two sides still unbeaten across the two divisions.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Rex Features

Remember red-ball cricket? It last a bit longer than three hours and there are regular meal breaks.

Yes, after four weeks of T20 Blast action, the County Championship is back for phase two of this summer's competition.

There are only two rounds of matches before the Championship is popped back into its box until August, so let's make the most of them.

We have a full complement of nine games today. Play starts at 11:00.