LEICESTERSHIRE V SURREY at Leicester (LVCC2), 7-10 JUNE 2015

Leicestershire have won a game! That's right, the Foxes scored their first championship victory in 992 days last week, beating Essex by 6 wickets at Chelmsford, where the home side are yet to notch up a batting point this season. So, it's a case of seventh playing host to second in Division Two.

Angus Robson, who hit 120 and shared in a 74-run stand for the eighth wicket with Clint McKay in the Foxes' first innings against Essex, now has an impressive 499 championship runs at an average of 41.58 this term. Ned Eckersley (484 at 40.33), Mark Cosgrove (397 at 36.09) and Niall O’Brien (256 at 42.66) are the other main dangers with the bat. But 25-year-old South African Andrea Agathangelou (formerly of Lancashire), played an important role at Chelmsford and there's some backbone too, in the shape of Rob Taylor, Ben Raine and McKay lower down the order.

Leicestershire have a three-pronged bowling attack - seamers Charlie Shreck (27 championship wickets at 33.40 runs apiece), McKay (24 wickets at 26.58) and Raine (24 wickets at 30.87). But perhaps that's the Foxes' main problem still, namely the lack of other options in order to keep the pressure on the opposition batsmen. Off-spinner Jigar Naik is currently averaging 44.00 with the ball in four-day cricket, while Ollie Freckingham, Rob Taylor and Tom Wells are faring even worse.

Zafar Ansari (1,934) is approaching 2,000 first-class career runs. If he plays, James Burke will be making his County Championship debut. Turning to Leicestershire, overseas signing Clint McKay looks set to make his 50th f-c appearance.

Kevin Pietersen and Jason Roy (international duty) step aside while James Burke, Dominic Sibley, Chris Tremlett and Gary Wilson join the remainder of the side that drew with Lancashire in the County Championship last week. For Tremlett, who has been battling a hamstring strain, it will be only his third appearance of the season, assuming he starts. Meanwhile, Jade Dernbach (side strain) is on course to be fit for next weekend's T20s against Somerset and Sussex and Tim Linley (knee) is now playing regularly for the second eleven.

The weather is set fair for the next four days and Surrey's recent record against Leicestershire points to a victory for the Oval outfit. But will the hosts prepare a pitch as flat as the one they served up for their curtain-raiser against Glamorgan in April, or, indeed, the one that thwarted Surrey in 2003, when John Maunders made 171 on the final day to save the game for the Foxes? Prediction - draw.

M Boyce, A Robson, N Eckersley, M Cosgrove (capt), A Agathangelou, N O’Brien (wk), R Taylor, C McKay, J Naik, B Raine and C Shreck.

Graham Lloyd and Neil Mallender..

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