A fresh round of CricInfo Championship games begins with a top of the table clash between Yorkshire and Kent at Headingley.

The Yorkshire team is augmented by the return of Matthew Hoggard, fresh from taking six wickets in the Second Test against Pakistan.

"He'll be disappointed about what happened yesterday, but it'll be good to have him back," county captain, David Byas said, in contrast to his Kent counterpart, Matthew Fleming.

"That's disappointing," Fleming admitted on hearing that Hoggard was part of the opposition. "I would rather he wasn't playing, but if he is we'll just have to deal with it," he conceded.

James Golding replaces Mark Ealham in the Kent squad, while Darryl Cullinan is ruled out due to a knee injury. His place is taken by James Hockley.

Surrey will be weakened by the absence of their England stars involved in the NatWest Series, and fear that Alex Tudor may also miss out with a thigh strain.

Somerset, though without Trescothick and Caddick on international duty, will be boosted by the return of Richard Johnson to team up with Bulbeck and Steffan Jones in a strong looking seam attack.

Captain Jamie Cox is confident that his side are playing the Champions at a good time. "Surrey are a missing a few players and they haven't won a (championship) game this year," he noted.

Aftab Habib and Phil DeFreitas will be missing from the Leicestershire line-up travelling to Old Trafford to face Lancashire, for whom Mike Atherton returns.

Essex are waiting on fitness tests for Ricky Anderson and Ashley Cowan as they prepare to take on Glamorgan at Chelmsford. It's a game both teams are determined to win.

"It's a bit of a grudge match," explained Glamorgan coach Jeff Hammond. "There's a bit of a feeling from last year, especially when they batted on a flat wicket at Cardiff and made 400 from 200 overs. It caused the crowd to get somewhat irate."

Essex captain Ronnie Irani agreed: "They (Glamorgan) are fiercely competitive so we'll have to be on our toes."

Meanwhile in the Second Division Jack Russell finally returns for Gloucestershire, replacing Reggie Williams who has deputised so well behind the stumps. The West Country side travel to Trent Bridge for their clash against Notts who are hoping Paul Franks will pass a late fitness test. David Lucas will replace him if necessary.

Neil Killeen (ankle) and Jimmy Daley miss out for Durham, but Simon Brown returns for the game against Derbyshire, while the in form Robin Martin-Jenkins (side strain) and Chris Adams (family bereavement) are unavailable for Sussex who play Worcestershire at Horsham.

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