There is one last County Championship preview post to write before the big off on Friday and it is the player markets for Division 2. As with Division 1 there are season long markets for the top batsman and the top bowler in the division and then each team has a batsman and bowler market.
Top Batsman
With 10 sides in the division we are spoilt for choice in this market this season. With Durham and Nottinghamshire being relegated we have some of the best batsmen in the county game in this division to go with the bunch of talented batters who were already in here. You would have to say this is a pretty cramped market but I’ve found a couple I like.
Samit Patel nailed just under 1000 runs in a disappointing season for Nottinghamshire last year and against supposedly weaker bowlers you would think he would go even better this season. Nottinghamshire are going to need their senior men to stand up and be counted this season especially if England come calling for Alex Hales too often and Patel is certainly one of them. At 25/1 he’s a solid looking pick with his talent.
Not many people will have heard of Colin Ackermann but he is actually a very good signing for Leicestershire. He arrives having top scored in the South African domestic competition and you need to be a good player to be able to do that. Grace Road has been exactly that in the last few years – a road so someone with the form and confidence Ackermann has should enjoy himself. As well as seven matches in Leicester he will have matches at Canterbury and Arundel where he can fill his boots so at 28/1 he’s a solid bet.
Top Bowler
There are plenty of high class bowlers in this division this season especially with Durham and Nottinghamshire involved but there is a chance that their bowlers might share the wickets out against potentially inferior batting line ups.
In all honesty I had this market between Graham Onions and Hardus Viljoen and I’m favouring the latter as Chris Rushworth will take out some of Onions wickets whereas Viljoen is the standout leader of the Derbyshire attack this season.
Viljoen had a short spell for Kent last season where he tore through batting line ups and I sense he’ll find the Derby wicket even more to his liking. In that four match spell he took 20 wickets at an average of 19.25 and a strike rate of just over 31 balls per wicket. If he maintains that standard the 11/1 will be looking very juicy in September.
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Top Team Markets
There are three team markets I like the look of this season. I’ve taken Colin Ackermann to top score in the division and I’m going to back him for the Leicestershire market too. Mark Cosgrove is a fair danger but I don’t have Ackermann as anything like a 4/1 shot so I’m happy to take that price.
With no Ed Joyce for much of the season at Hove, Sussex will need someone to move up the order and contribute strongly and that man could well be Ben Brown. Only Chris Nash and Luke Wells who are around this season scored more than Brown for Sussex last season but I sense they’ve plateaued and Brown has more improvement in him. If that is the case the 11/2 on him being Sussex’s leading batsmen is worth a go.
Ben Duckett is all the rage in the top Northamptonshire batting market but off the back of an indifferent winter it remains to be seen how he will adapt being back in county cricket where he is now a leading light. I’m happy to take him on with Rob Newton who is a very good player in the four day game and who has already tucked into a University side in a warm up match in this campaign. Newton only played 10 matches last season but he averaged over 50 for the season which was almost unnoticed given what Duckett did. Newton is solid in his own right and 5/1 is a shade big for such a talent.
Tips
Back S.Patel Top Division 2 Season Batsman (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-4)
Bet on C.Ackermann Top Division 2 Season Batsman (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-4)
Back C.Ackermann Top Leicestershire Season Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 5.00 with William Hill
Bet on B.Brown Top Sussex Season Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 6.50 with William Hill
Back them here:
Bet on H.Viljoen Top Division 2 Season Bowler (e/w) for a 3/10 stake at 12.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-4)
WON – Back R.Newton Top Northamptonshire Season Batsman for a 2/10 stake at 6.00 with Bet365
Bet here:
