Snow is falling in various parts of the UK this week which can only mean one thing – yes it is the return of the County Championship which begins on Thursday! We’ll get into the structure, format and season long bets later but before we do it is time for our County-by-County guides.
The County Championship is split up into three groups this season so rather than an enormously long post which will get monotonous to read by the time you get to Hampshire, we’ll do one county-by-county guide for each group, starting with Group 1.
Derbyshire
Last Season: 2nd in North Group
Captain: Billy Godleman
Overseas Player(s): Billy Stanlake, Dustin Melton, Ben McDermott (White ball only)
Key Players: Wayne Madsen & Luis Reece
One to Watch: Nick Potts – said to be impressing a lot of judges at Derbyshire and already England under-19s have had their eye on the seamer.
Title Odds: 50/1 BetVictor
Derbyshire really improved in four-day cricket last season, helped by the fact that they took it extremely seriously and probably got to build up more of a camaraderie than other sides because their Derby home was out of use for so much of the season due to England women internationals. They used the Bob Willis Trophy wisely to blood a fair bit of youth and they’ll be hoping to reap the rewards of that this season.
Billy Stanlake has come in as an overseas player and he is scheduled to play the entirety of the County Championship. With him here to show the Australian selectors what he can do in red ball cricket the Aussie pace man could take plenty of scalps this year if he stays fit. If he can lead the attack in the way Tony Palladino used to, then in Billy Godleman, Luis Reece and Wayne Madsen, Derbyshire have a top three who can do some damage. File them in your sleeper drawer.
Durham
Last Season: 6th in North Group
Captain: Scott Borthwick
Overseas Player(s): Will Young (first three games), Cameron Bancroft (game four onwards), David Bedingham
Key Players: Scott Borthwick & Chris Rushworth
One to Watch: Bryson Carse – hardly an unknown but was on the fringes of the England setup last year. Who knows what his winter will entail if he impresses again.
Title Odds: 66/1 BetVictor
Durham have undergone something of a rebuild in the winter and after finishing bottom of their group last year that was probably expected. A lot of deadwood have gone and a streamline squad is in place now, but one with more quality with the secured returns of Scott Borthwick and Cameron Bancroft. With their academy continually churning out players they should be much more competitive this year unless Chris Rushworth suddenly finds wickets hard to come by. There are no signs of that though.
Durham have been let down by poor starts to a season, which with the temperatures up north at this time of year it isn’t a complete surprise, but if they can get among the pack early doors then with one of the best top orders they have had since their trophy winning days they could last the pace long enough to be interesting. Despite that, their best chance of success looks to be the 50 over competition.
Essex
Last Season: 1st in South Group – Bob Willis Trophy champions
Captain: Tom Westley
Overseas Player(s): Simon Harmer, Peter Siddle
Key Players: Sir Alastair Cook & Simon Harmer
One to Watch: Feroze Khushi – the unfortunate victim of the BWT celebrations last season but the batsman could make a bigger name for himself this year if Dan Lawrence and/or Nick Browne have England calling regularly.
Title Odds: 6/1 William Hill
If we take the Bob Willis Trophy as the 2020 County Championship then Essex have been champions in three of the last four seasons and look to tick all the boxes to go very close once again this season with a winter of very little turnover and a squad which has not only been broken up but also strengthened with the return of Peter Siddle alongside the relentlessly impressive Simon Harmer. Those two and Jamie Porter will make Essex very hard to play against.
The beauty of that title success last term for Essex was that a couple of big batsmen had very poor returns for the season and you would expect them to come good again this term with much less uncertainty doing the rounds. If the batting starts firing as one then it will be very difficult to see Essex anywhere but Division One come the second phase of the season and most likely competing for the Bob Willis Trophy once again.
Nottinghamshire
Last Season: 4th in North Group
Captain: Steven Mullaney
Overseas Player(s): Dane Paterson, Dan Christian (T20)
Key Players: Ben Duckett & Joe Clarke
One to Watch: Haseeb Hameed – certainly no youngster but if the New Zealand and India seamers rip through the England top order this summer an Ashes opening berth could yet present itself for the opener who showed immense promise before losing his way.
Title Odds: 9/1 BetVictor & Sky Bet
When the season begins we will be just over two months shy of THREE YEARS since Nottinghamshire last won a red ball match. That is every bit as ridiculous as it sounds, particularly when you consider their white ball success in that time as well as the amount of international players they have had on their books in that time. The simple truth is that they have had too many players and where they are concerned too many cooks haven’t just spoiled the broth but poisoned it!
Nottinghamshire will continue to be daunting in white ball cricket but if Peter Moores is going to keep his job then he needs to find a red ball season of note. One or two of the mainstays in the Nottinghamshire batting have either left or will be saved for one day cricket. Stuart Broad is likely to be around more as Covid bubbles reduce throughout the summer. The personnel is there for Nottinghamshire to go big but seeing is believing.
Warwickshire
Last Season: 3rd in North Group
Captain: Will Rhodes
Overseas Player(s): Pieter Malan
Key Players: Will Rhodes & Olly Stone
One to Watch: Jacob Bethell – there is a lot of talk coming out of Edgbaston about this batsmen who can bowl left-arm spin. Ian Bell is said to be a huge fan and that must be a compliment. He could force his way in if he’s as good as people say.
Title Odds: 16/1 Sky Bet & BetVictor
Warwickshire have been in the longest transition period I can imagine but the process will have been sped up in the winter with the retirements of long serving stalwarts Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose and Jeetan Patel. With Jonathan Trott and Jim Troughton having gone before then the glory era of Bears is well in the past. A good young side has been assembled as its replacement but in terms of red ball cricket this might be a summer too soon for them.
The one thing which will definitely help the Warwickshire side achieve is if England leave Olly Stone alone for a while, assuming he stays fit. He and Henry Brookes could be an exciting seam pairing but injuries seem to plague the Edgbaston staff. Overseas player Pieter Malan is said to have fallen foul of the curse before he’s even played a game as he is having visa issues which isn’t helpful. England women coach Mark Robinson turned Sussex into a title winning side so Warwickshire are going in the right direction but this season feels too soon.
Worcestershire
Last Season: 2nd in Central Group
Captain: Joe Leach
Overseas Player(s): Alzarri Joseph
Key Players: Daryl Mitchell & Ed Barnard
One to Watch: Adam Finch – showed excellent signs while with Surrey and it is now time to impact things at New Road.
Title Odds: 16/1 BetVictor
Worcestershire have shot to prominence for their white ball heroics in the last few years but they will be eager to show their worth with the red ball too having recently been a Division One side in the County Championship. The obvious issue they have is keeping everyone fit but when they are all fit this tight knit group can often surpass expectations. They bat deep with a lot of all-rounders in their side and if Alzarri Joseph can shoot a few top orders out while they wait for the pitches to flatten out later in the summer the Pears could be competitive.
You get the impression that a white ball focus will remain the aim at New Road with finances tight after the pandemic but with the likes of Gareth Roderick in from Gloucestershire to bolster the batting and them potentially seeing more of Moeen Ali once he returns from the IPL it wouldn’t be beyond Worcestershire to sneak into the top two above Nottinghamshire and take their chances in Division One from there. It won’t take much for Worcestershire to turn into dark horses.
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