Derbyshire's wholesale demolition of Lancashire's lingering aspirations to become champions was a quite extraordinary reversal of fortune.

Lancashire started the season with a new, high-pedigree coach in Dav Whatmore, a respected Test cricketer fully studied in the avant garde of Australian coaching methods and whose influence in guiding Sri Lanka to last year's World Cup triumph was genuine.

On paper, for all the presence of Devon Malcolm, Phil DeFreitas and Dominic Cork, they really should have been too good for a Derbyshire side riven by dressing-room splits since the sudden departure of their original captain, Dean Jones, and the demotion of their own Australian coach, Les Stillman.

Now, bowled out twice in a day (primarily by an avenging Malcolm, who sensed the possibility, perhaps, that he might not be named in the England team for the Oval unless he produced something special), it is Lancashire for whom internal strife becomes almost inevitable. They had set out to appease a frustrated membership - the largest of all the county clubs - by winning their first championship title since sharingwith Surrey 47 years ago.

Sadly, and not for want of trying in his benefit season, Michael Atherton, their England captain, has failed to produce anything like the weight of runs he should have done (295 runs in 11 innings). The other England opening batsman, Jason Gallian, is expected to leave the club to join Middlesex, though Sussex would also like his services. Inconsistency is Lancashire's middle name and this weekend there was no Sunday league match to deflect the flak.

Consequently, the genuine championship challengers are at last starting to sort themselves out. If Middlesex are to stay in the race after an innings defeat by Surrey they must win at Chester-le-Street, without Mark Ramprakash. Similarly, Essex cannot afford not to win in their first match at Worksop for 67 years.

Kent will again be without Dean Headley at Taunton, but Martin McCague was kept fresh for this match at the expense of his own outside chances of catching the eye of the selectors again by doing well against the Australians.