Former South Africa all-rounder Andrew Hall will miss Northants Steelbacks’ first-meets-second Friends Life t20 Midlands, Wales & West Group game with Glamorgan at Wantage Road tomorrow through injury.
The 37-year-old suffered the unspecified problem in this week’s LV= County Championship loss to Lancashire and is unavailable as Northants seek to halve Glamorgan’s lead.
The Steelbacks are also missing Graeme White, who has returned to Nottinghamshire after a loan spell. Fellow spinner James Middlebrook and fit-again seamer Steven Crook come into a 13-man squad.
Glamorgan could again be without injured all-rounder Will Owen, who missed yesterday’s defeat of Somerset - the Welsh County’s fourth win from four matches.
Alviro Petersen is set to be absent for third-placed Somerset as they welcome bottom side Worcestershire Royals to Taunton. Top-order batsman Petersen was available for Somerset’s first three group games before joining South Africa’s squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.
Warwickshire Bears, who yesterday gained their first victory in this year’s competition by beating Worcestershire to move off the foot of the table, have named an unchanged squad to face fourth-placed Gloucestershire Gladiators at Cheltenham.
That means the Bears are again set to be led by Varun Chopra in fellow batsman Jim Troughton’s injury absence while seamer Chris Wright is still out with a back strain. Gloucestershire today end a championship clash with Kent.
Middlesex Panthers, who went top of the South Group ahead of Surrey on net run-rate yesterday by thrashing Essex Eagles, host holders and third-placed Hampshire Royals at Richmond.
Middlesex are again without England batsman Eoin Morgan, who suffered a broken finger last month, while Tom Helm replaces fellow seamer Tim Murtagh in the Panthers’ party.
Fourth-placed Essex, who entertain fifth-placed Sussex Sharks at Chelmsford, named the same squad for yesterday and tomorrow’s fixtures. That means England all-rounder Ravi Bopara (side strain), Mark Pettini (quad), fellow batsman Tom Westley (broken finger) and seamer David Masters (Achilles) are still sidelined.
Sussex left-arm seamer Lewis Hatchett is again set to be absent through injury.
Lancashire Lightning, who usurped Derbyshire in the North Group’s second spot by beating the Falcons yesterday, meet Durham Dynamos at Emirates Old Trafford.
Lancashire spinner Stephen Parry is again likely to be missing due to injury while fifth-placed Durham are set to be unchanged after hammering Yorkshire Vikings yesterday, with England seamer Graham Onions again unavailable despite not making his country’s XI for the Trent Bridge Ashes Test.
The same is set to apply with Tim Bresnan for bottom-of-the-table Yorkshire, who play third-placed Derbyshire at Chesterfield.