County Championship: What’s at stake in final round of fixtures?

In Division Two, Sussex only need five points from their home game against Middlesex to be confirmed as champions.

But Middlesex, who beat Derbyshire by an innings and 66 runs last week with skipper Toby Roland-Jones taking 10 wickets in the game, have every possible incentive to put on another good show at Hove.

Middlesex are in third place and must somehow turn around a 15-point deficit, if they are to pip Yorkshire – who host Northamptonshire – to the second promotion spot.

“Fitness wise, I’ve felt really good coming into this last stretch,” 36-year-old Roland-Jones said.

“Playing a bit less cricket during those white-ball spells has helped to make sure I’m fresh for the red-ball stuff.

“We’ll go to Hove looking to do what we have done all season, which is to do what we can to win the game.”

Yorkshire are still waiting to hear whether skipper Shan Masood will be able to return from Pakistan in time for Thursday’s game, which would be his first Championship appearance for the Tykes since June.

“Everything that we wanted to do at the start of the year is still in our hands,” head coach Ottis Gibson told BBC West Yorkshire Sport.

BBC Sport will have full radio and text coverage of all nine games in the final round of this year’s County Championship, from 26-29 September.