Derbyshire will be without New Zealand recruit Martin Guptill when they take a weakened squad to Glamorgan in LV= County Championship Division Two.
Guptill proved his star-quality with a double-century in the seven-wicket win over Gloucestershire, but his brief stint at Derbyshire has been cut short by a minor injury.
Wes Durston has also been ruled out while opener Billy Godleman, who signed a one-year contract extension on Saturday, begins his two-game ban.
Chesney Hughes and Scott Elstone are set to be given their chance while spinner David Wainwright is fit again after injury.
“It’s sad to lose Martin, Wes and Billy for the trip to Cardiff, but it's a good opportunity for the new guys to show what they can do,” Derbyshire elite performance director Graeme Welch said.
“Chesney and Scott will come into the side and it's a good opportunity for these lads. I spoke to the younger lads and the rest of the squad a couple of weeks ago, and said because we’ve got such a small squad everybody will play a part.
“I told them to get ready for whenever they’re called upon and now they have their chance.”
Glamorgan are boosted by the availability for the first time this season of Michael Hogan, the tall Australian seamer who has given them such good service over the last two summers, but missed their opening draws against Leicestershire and Surrey with a hamstring injury that also denied him a Sheffield Shield final appearance for Western Australia.
Andrew Salter, the promising off-spinner from Haverfordwest, is also added to a squad that includes the former Derbyshire seamer Graham Wagg.
“We’re delighted that Michael is back because he’s been the spearhead of our attack for the past two years and he has a proven record,” said Glamorgan head coach Toby Radford said.
“Adding his prowess to what we’ve already seen from Andy Carter, Graham Wagg and Craig Meschede gives us a strong seam attack and we’re keen to capitalise on that.
“We’ve scored runs quite freely and lots of our batsmen have had good scores so there will be a real focus on trying to take 20 wickets.”
Lancashire will bid to make it three consecutive wins to start life under new coach Ashley Giles when they travel to Northamptonshire.
The Red Rose lead the fledgling table after healthy wins over Derbyshire and Kent and have won their past four games against Northants, who were relegated with them last summer.
Captain Tom Smith remains sidelined by a back injury so Steven Croftcontinues as skipper. Nathan Buck, the seamer signed from Leicestershire who has yet to make his debut, is again included in a 12-man squad.
Northants could displace Lancashire from the top with a victory, having drawn their first game against Gloucestershire then beating Leicestershire at Grace Road.
But they will have to do so without David Willey, who is given a break to prepare for a possible England debut in Friday’s one-day international against Ireland in Dublin. He is likely to be replaced by the former Lancashire all-rounder Steven Crook.
Essex have brought in three new names after they impressed in a rain-affected draw with Surrey at the Kia Oval.
Mark Pettini and Tom Moore are drafted in alongside 29-year-old leg-spinner Adeel Malik, who is the brother of former Pakistan international Shoaib, who signed a three-month contract during the week.
“Adeel has spent the winter training with us, and has made a good impression,” head coach Paul Grayson said.
“He took wickets for the Second XI last week, and he fully deserves this chance with the first team.”
Gloucestershire have named an unchanged squad for the third successive game as they chase their first win.
“There are massive positives from the first two games but we need to put performances together over all four days,” assistant coach Ian Harvey.
“We haven’t been performing when the pressure is in the first innings and that’s where we need to improve – that’s been the case not just in the last two matches but over the last few years.
“In both games we have got ourselves into good positions and failed to capitalise.”
Leicestershire may be established as the whipping boys of county cricket, with Wednesday’shome defeat by Northamptonshire their 19th in 34 Championship matches since their last win in September 2012.
But it is Kent who currently prop up the Division Two table having taken only seven points from defeats by Essex and Lancashire in their first two games.
They will see the visit of Leicestershire, against whom they have a 10-match unbeaten run stretching back to 2003, as the perfect chance to win their first home game of the season for the first time since 2007.
Darren Stevens generally relishes playing against his home county, having played for them for eight seasons before joining Kent in 2005.
Leicestershire are again without Atif Sheikh, the left-arm seamer who injured his shoulder in their opening draw against Glamorgan, while Niall O’Brien is away on Ireland duty.
Matthew Boyce, Rob Taylor, Lewis Hill and Jigar Naik come into a team tat showed signs they could end their winless run during the defeat to Northants.
Ben Raineclaimed six wickets in the match as his re-branding as a bowler continued.
“A couple of years ago I was opening the batting and if somebody told me then I’d go on to open the bowling in county cricket, I’d have laughed at them," he said.
“I’ve worked hard on my game and it’s now flipped around a little bit. It was nice to be given the new ball against Glamorgan and I also enjoyed bowling first change against Northants. It’s about doing whatever I can to help the team win.
“There have been a few tough selection decisions and that will continue to be the case with lads performing in the seconds, so all of the players are looking to contribute as much as they can to the team.
"It’s a good place for the squad to be in.”
LV= County Championship Division Two facts
Essex v Gloucestershire
- Six of the last eight clashes between these teams have been drawn; the other two were won by Essex, including the most recent meeting, at Chelmsford last June.
- Gloucestershire won their first two games against Essex at Chelmsford, in 1928 and 1930, but have not tasted victory since (lost five, drawn three).
- Gareth Roderick has reached 50 in eight of his past 12 Championship innings.
- Since the start of last season only Daryl Mitchell (five) has scored more Division Two centuries than Nick Browne and Will Tavaré (four).
Glamorgan v Derbyshire
- Glamorgan’s win at Cardiff last season ended a run of five straight Derbyshire victories in this fixture.
- Glamorgan’s average first-innings total in their last four matches against Derbyshire is 188.
- Mark Footitt needs six wickets for 100 in the Championship since the start of last season. The next most is Steve Magoffin, with 82.
- Dean Cosker needs six wickets to reach 600 in first-class cricket. Graham Wagg needs five to reach 350.
Kent v Leicestershire
- Kent are unbeaten in their past 10 against Leicestershire (won four, drawn six).
- Kent’s average first-innings total in these 10 games is 361.
- Angus Robson has reached 50 on 12 occasions since the start of last season, the joint-most with James Taylor and Adam Lyth.
- Sam Northeast has scored 869 runs in his past 15 Championship innings, at an average of 62.1.
Northamptonshire v Lancashire
- Lancashire have won their past four Championship matches against Northamptonshire.
- Lancashire’s total of 650/6 against Northamptonshire at Old Trafford last season was the highest innings total of 2014.
- Northamptonshire’s win against Leicestershire ended a run of 20 Championship matches without a win.
- Simon Kerrigan (2.7%) and Steven Croft (3.2%) have the two lowest boundary percentages this season, minimum 15 overs bowled. They also have the two highest dot ball percentages.