Can Nottinghamshire mount a challenge in the Championship and will Surrey’s new recruits bring success?
Andrew McGlashan and Sahil Dutta08-Apr-2010Much will be expected of Steven Finn after his England debut•Getty Images
Middlesex
Captain Shaun Udal Coach Richard Scott Overseas Iain O’Brien (NZ), Adam Gilchrist (Aus – T20), David Warner (Aus – T20)
Given the docile nature of the Lord’s pitch these days it’s lucky Middlesex possess a potent and varied seam attack. Steven Finn had the pace and bounce to leave optimistic England fans dreaming of Ashes success this winter but he needs to prove himself with plenty of wickets for Middlesex first. Iain O’Brien should offer the smart, whole-hearted support that makes his early retirement from international cricket a real loss for New Zealand. It’s the batting, however, that Middlesex desperately need to shore up and Owais Shah – ruthlessly discarded by England – and Eoin Morgan must fire. The MCC link has helped to attract Adam Glichrist for the Twenty20 Cup, giving the batting line-up an almost IPL glitz. SD
Key man Steven Finn – You only have to look at Steve Harmison to see how devastating height and bounce can be in county cricket and if Finn can stay fit and on the fringes of international duty, his wickets alone could win matches.
Keep an eye on Eoin Morgan – Is now the lynch pin of England’s limited-overs sides and could, alongside Shah and Glichrist produce riches in the shorter formats, but if wants to fulfil his ambitions for Test cricket, he needs Championship runs.
Winter surprise Their attempts to sign Sachin Tendulkar. It didn’t happen. Neither did Yuvraj Singh. Eventually they got David Warner.
Silverware? Promotion is a real chance and they are a decent bet for the Twenty20.Northamptonshire
Captain Nicky Boje Coach David Capel Overseas Elton Chigumbura (Zim)
The smaller clubs with no Test ground to prop-up the balance sheets have a difficult task attracting and keeping star players. Which makes the BCCI’s decision to prohibit Virender Sehwag joining for the Twenty20 all the more gut-wrenching. With Monty Panesar gone to Hove and Johan van der Wath unable to get a visa the bowling resources are looking sparse. Yet David Lucas had a vintage summer with the ball last year and David Sales and Mal Loye, who in another world could have been an England pairing, lend a solid feel to the batting.
Key man David Sales – Missed the whole of last season after knee reconstruction and will be desperate to make up for lost time. SD
Keep an eye on Jack Brooks – A lively and competitive pace bowler who rarely holds back.
Winter surprise Dipping into Zimbabwe to find their overseas player.
Silverware? Going to be very tough and it’s hard to see them challenging for honours.There is still plenty to prove for Samit Patel if he wants his England place back•Getty Images
Nottinghamshire
Captain Chris Read Coach Mick Newell Overseas David Hussey (Aus), Hashim Amla (SA), Dirk Nannes (Aus – T20)
They have been Durham’s closest rivals for the last two seasons – but last summer that was purely a statistic because the gap was too wide to be of significance. The core of the squad remains the same (barring Mark Ealham’s retirement) and this season they’ll want the young pacemen, Andy Carter and Luke Fletcher, to build on the positive impression they made last summer. Stuart Broad will be absent for most of the season – if not all – as will Graeme Swann, but they may seen more of Ryan Sidebottom. The overseas batsmen, David Hussey and Hashim Amla, should ensure decent totals while Dirk Nannes will add to their Twenty20 options. With the canny Chris Read and talented Samit Patel they should be a strong team in all formats. AM
Key man Samit Patel – Still shunned by the selectors he still to convince people that he can turn his career around. And it’s not all about runs and wickets, although plenty of both will go down well.
Keep an eye on Andy Carter and Luke Fletcher – Both were part of the England performance squad during the winter and can help take the burden off Charlie Shreck.
Winter surprise Better than expected financial results thanks to hosting the World Twenty20.
Silverware? Should be safe from relegation (if it matters this season) but may end up short of the top again. However, a one-day trophy is a real prospect.SomersetCaptain Marcus Trescothick Coach Andy Hurry Overseas Murali Kartik (Ind), Cameron White (Aus – T20), Kieron Pollard (WI – T20)
Probably the most consistent team across all formats last season, but couldn’t quite hold on to secure a trophy and had to settle for a trip to the Champions League. It’s something of a new era at Taunton this season with Justin Langer having retired and handed the reigns to Marcus Trescothick, while Andy Caddick has finally called time on his career. They will also have to adjust their one-day plans after Craig Kieswetter’s rapid elevation to England colours, but the appearance of Cameron White and Kieron Pollard will mean no shortage of sixes come Twenty20 time. As ever in four-day cricket the question mark is their ability to take 20 wickets often enough and there will be a heavy burden on Charl Willoughby. But he needs some support; they’ll be crossing their fingers it’s a dry summer for Murali Kartik (if the BCCI allow him here). AM
Key man Marcus Trescothick – This year will have to balance captaincy with his run-scoring duties. Needs a huge season to give his weak attack enough to play with.
Keep an eye on Peter Trego – Enjoyed a decent tour with the Lions and wasn’t far away from a T20 call-up. Another good season and higher hours could still be on the offing.
Winter surprise The departure of Phil Frost, the long-serving groundsman, who was made redundant.
Silverware? Hard to see them dismissing teams twice in the Championship, but if Trescothick, White and Pollard fire they will be hard to beat in Twenty20.Rory Hamilton-Brown has been handed the Surrey captaincy despite just seven Championship matches•PA Photos
Surrey
Captain Rory Hamilton-Brown Coach Chris Adams Overseas Piyush Chawla (Ind), Rao Iftikhar Anjum (Pak), Andrew Symonds (Aus – T20)
It’s been a very busy winter for Surrey as they try to reconstruct the talent and aura that once made them the Manchester United of cricket. With the retirement of Mark Butcher, coach Chris Adams poached 22-year-old Rory Hamilton-Brown from Sussex and installed him as captain. How he handles the big egos in the changing room will be intriguing. The batting has been reinforced with Steven Davies’ arrival, while Piyush Chawla (should he arrive) and Garth Batty give balance to the attack. It’s a long road back for Surrey and Adams needs to see some returns on his vast investments. Can money buy success? SD
Key man Mark Ramprakash – Will always make runs but if he finds support and the rest of the team find inspiration from Rory Hamilton-Brown, Surrey’s revival could be quicker than expected.
Keep an eye on Chris Tremlett – One of the many winter recruitments and after his career stuttered to a halt at Hampshire he arrives with a point to prove.
Winter surprise It was less a surprise and more an elongated public courting, but Hamilton-Brown’s move from Sussex to The Oval as captain filled up the winter’s planning.
Silverware? Perhaps a season too early but there is a chance in the Clydesdale Bank 40.Sussex
Captain Michael Yardy Coach Mark Robinson OverseasYasir Arafat (Pak), Dwayne Smith (WI – T20), Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL – T20)
The twin signings of Dwayne Smith and Tillakaratne Dilshan make Sussex strong contenders for defending their Twenty20 crown but for all their limited-overs success last season, they will be hoping to bounce back in the Championship. Having built their last three successful Championship campaigns (2003, 2006, 2007) on Mushtaq Ahmed’s legspin, they will be looking to new-boy Monty Panesar and young spinners Ollie Rayner and Will Beer to lead them straight back out of Division Two. If Murray Goodwin can improve on a disappointing year last season, where he averaged just 33.33, the batting still has a resilient edge. SD
Key man Murray Goodwin – Carried the batting at Hove for a number of years and it’s no surprise that his downturn in form coincided with a fall in Sussex’s fortunes in the Championship last year.
Keep an eye on Monty Panesar – His star faded last summer almost as quickly as it ascended in the years before. He starts afresh this summer at a county sympathetic to the craft of spin bowling and he should be pushing for a seat on the plane to the Ashes.
Winter surprise Shortly before the season started, Ed Joyce said he was interested in playing for Ireland again.
Silverware? They should be too good for Division Two and know how to win one-day matches. One of the favourites in the CB40 and Twenty20.Warwickshire
Captain Ian Westwood Coach Ashley Giles Overseas Imran Tahir (SA)
A middling team from the Midlands in recent seasons. Solid but unspectacular – much in the mould of their coach Ashley Giles. They look a little short on class to make a tilt at the Championship especially if Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott are both needed by England in Tests. However, if pitches turn Imran Tahir will be a handful – he just needs enough runs to work with. Jim Troughton and Tim Ambrose must average more than mid-30s for that to happen. Darren Maddy’s pre-season face injury was hugely unlucky for a player who missed most of 2009, but he should be back for Twenty20 which rejuvenated his career three years ago. AM
Key man Imran Tahir – Will have a huge bowling burden and county batsmen have had trouble playing him in the past.
Keep an eye on Chris Woakes – Along with Steven Finn he is the most exciting young paceman around.
Winter surprise That they didn’t strengthen the pace-bowling department.
Silverware? Unlikely to be Championship contenders which leaves them another team better suited to the one-day game.How will Shakib Al Hasan take to county cricket?•Getty Images
Worcestershire
Captain Vikram Solanki Coach Steve Rhodes Overseas Phil Jaques (Aus), Shakib Al Hasan (Bang), Steve Smith (Aus – T20)
They only just avoided the wooden spoon last season and things didn’t improve at New Road during the winter. A glut of senior players jumped ship – Kabir Ali and Simon Jones heading to Hampshire, Steven Davies and Gareth Batty leaving for Surrey and Steven Moore disappearing to Lancashire. Add regular flooding and financial strife and the picture is not pretty at New Road. However in Vikram Solanki and new-man Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, Worcestershire have some hope of reviving their fortunes. They will need ageing seamers Matt Mason and Alan Richardson to stay fit. SD
Key man Vikram Solanki – Captain and the side’s best batsman, he needs a vintage year to give his side anything to bowl at.
Keep an eye onShakib Al Hasan – Impressed everyone with his unnervingly accurate left-arm spin and enterprising batting for Bangladesh against England over the winter.
Winter surprise Worcestershire spent most of the winter watching their players head off to other clubs. They did their best to prevent Kabir Ali from moving, but the paceman promptly boycotted pre-season training, leaving the Worcestershire management no option but to let another man go.
Silverware? The best they can hope for is some decent weather keeping hopes for a flirt with promotion in the Championship alive.YorkshireCaptain Andrew Gale Coach Martyn Moxon Overseas Tino Best (WI, TBC), Ryan Harris (Aus), Herschelle Gibbs (SA – T20)
Andrew Gale is Yorkshire’s sixth captain in 10 years as they continue a rebuilding phase that has gone on for a number of seasons. For the last two summers they have found themselves in the lower part of Division One and a similar fate could await this time. There’s no Matthew Hoggard to pound in with the new ball so much will be expected of Ajmal Shahzad when he returns from the World Twenty20, but the spin department is well stocked with Adil Rashid, David Wainwright and Azeem Rafiq. They have had a rough time of trying to secure an overseas player with Ryan Harris’s successful time with Australia and Daryl Tuffey’s injury meaning plans remain up in the air. AM
Key man Jacques Rudolph – Will be the fulcrum of the batting and his experience will be important to Gale as he learns the ropes.
Keep an eye on David Wainwright – Andy Flower wants a left-arm spinner who can bat. Wainwright ticks both those boxes although remains inexperienced.
Winter surprise Plucking Tino Best out of the Caribbean during their pre-season tour. A rematch with Andrew Flintoff would be fun at some point.
Silverware? Will do well to finish in the top of half of the Championship, but could be an outside bet in the one-day campaigns.