The second division of the Specsavers County Championship is set to be a real bunfight this season as the nine sides are competing for just one promotion spot ahead of the new structure coming into place for the 2017 campaign.
That scenario puts a real emphasis on getting off to a fast start and maintaining that throughout the season but that only brings pressure along so it will be fascinating to see who can cope with that and handle it the best.
Outright
The outright betting suggests this division is between three teams – Sussex, Essex and Worcestershire. I really like Essex this season but more of them shortly. First of all I should point out that I think actually think Glamorgan will play a pretty significant role this season although when the push comes to the shove I do believe they will falter.
Worcestershire look the weakest of the three sides expected to go well on paper. Saeed Ajmal has formed the base of much of their success and he isn’t around this season which is more than a slight concern. Their batting will have a couple of holes in it too. One when Moeen Ali is on England duty and the other while Tom Fell undergoes treatment for cancer for which everyone at kevshatsportsbets wishes him a full recovery from.
With Worcestershire out of the way and far too many question marks and weakness over the other five teams in the league this one comes down to a match between Essex and Sussex in my mind. Sussex will be playing with the burden of expectancy and that is never easy.
I’d probably place my faith in the Hove side were Mark Robinson still at the helm but he’s left and their fortunes immediately dipped. They’ve had a lot of personnel changes in recent times with Michael Yardy retiring and Matt Prior suffering far too many injuries. Then they’ve had to cope with the tragic loss of Matt Hobden too.
While all of that was going on Luke Wright took on the captaincy and he isn’t experienced as a captain to be certain that Sussex will be able to sustain a promotion charge under him.
That leads us to Essex where there is a really nice blend of experience and youth and crucially they don’t lose anyone important to the Indian Premier League this season like they have in seasons gone by.
Alastair Cook’s lack of action in the second half of the winter means he is available for a good chunk of the start of the season and with him not playing one day cricket he should be around at the end too. Ryan ten Doeschate, Ravi Bopara and Jesse Ryder all carry excellent all-round options too.
Tom Westley, Nick Browne and Dan Lawrence are exciting youngsters with the bat with Westley and Lawrence capable of upping the scoring rate and putting time into the game for a very solid looking Essex attack to bowl sides out in.
Essex have threatened promotion for a while without ever really looking like going through with it but I sense they are ready to deliver their strongest bid yet and at 5/1 they are decent value to get back to the top flight.
To Finish Bottom
Leicestershire have had this honour all to themselves in recent times but I’m not so sure they are going to keep the wooden spoon this year. They have recruited nicely over the winter and are very much a club on the up.
On the flip side Derbyshire and Northamptonshire look like clubs on the downturn. Finances are crippling Northants although they never lack for spirit so I think they might have just about enough to stay clear of the bottom. Derbyshire I’m not so sure about though.
Derbyshire’s woes show no signs of ending. After relegation from the Championship a while ago they’ve never really been a factor since their return to the basement division and now that Mark Footitt, holder of 158 wickets in the last two seasons, has moved onto Surrey all of a sudden there is a gaping hole in their bowling attack.
That is a hole which would have taken some filling at the best of times but there appears to have been no attempt to plug the gap which leaves a very young, very inexperienced and potentially outclassed bowling attack to take to the field.
We’ve seen the problems Leicestershire have had when they’ve had young bowling attacks out in this league and I suspect Derbyshire are in for much the same here. At 5/1 they look a solid punt to pick up the wooden spoon this season.
Tips
WON – Back Essex to win County Championship Division 2 for a 2/10 stake at 6.00 with Betfred
Back them here:
WON – Back Derbyshire to finish bottom for a 3/10 stake at 6.00 with Bet365
Back them here:
