The
counties have been busy securing signatures of existing and incoming players from home and abroad, and in the
Championship Division One sides will be desperate not to be the one which is
relegated come September. With the ECB keen to redress the balance, no fewer
than three teams will be promoted to the top tier, presumably to boost the
chances of Lancashire and Middlesex, although in 2018 the latter were very disappointing.
Even
with Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Ben Foakes, Olly Pope and the Curran brothers
likely to be on England duty from time to time, last season’s runaway champions
Surrey will take some beating. Liam Plunkett has been drafted in to join Morne
Morkel and the evergreen Rikki Clarke with the ball, and in a few weeks will
meet potential contenders Essex, who will benefit from Alastair Cook’s availability
throughout the summer to lead a formidable batting line-up. Porter and Harmer
have been prolific wicket-takers in recent years but do they have the support?
Somerset
gave me a very pleasant surprise in 2018, not merely avoiding relegation but
finishing a creditable second. If the Overton twins remain fit, Lewis Gregory
continues his resurgence and spinners Leach and Bess are allowed a good run in
the county game, we have an impressive attack. However, the batting relies
heavily on James Hildreth. Popular Peter Trego will be a white ball-only squad
member. If they get off to a rare winning start against Kent my confidence will
flood back!
Nottinghamshire
have brought in batsmen Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke and the potentially
excellent Aussie quick James Pattinson to stave off the drop while regular
drop-flirters Hampshire will have Keith Barker as support for Kolpaker seamers
Kyle Abbott and Fidel Edwards. Aiden Markram will provide runs in the One-Day
Cup campaign. Yorkshire have replaced Jack Brooks (off to Taunton) with Duanne
Olivier and offloaded the struggling Alex Lees to neighbours Durham.
Of
the two promoted sides, I reckon Kent have more chance than Warwickshire of
remaining in the top flight. Despite last year’s all-format superstar Joe Denly
being absent warming benches in the IPL and Matt Henry departed, the Midlanders
will surely struggle to replace the runs provided by the retired Jonathan Trott
and injured Iain Bell.
In
Division Two, Middlesex’s poor performances last season shocked me but, with three
up, one down, 2019 must be the ideal opportunity for the Lord’s outfit to
escape the basement crew. The batting is too good to lose many matches but can
they bowl other sides out twice to win them? Lancashire are also too strong not
to bounce back immediately under the captaincy of Dane Vilas. Tom Bailey was
one of their brightest lights last summer and stands to take wickets galore in
Division Two. Aussies Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell will look to fill their boots
and earn places in the Ashes squad.
Yo-yo
club Worcestershire will miss Joe Clarke, but have added Callum Ferguson and
Hamish Rutherford albeit for a limited period. Sussex’s challenge fell away in
2018 and, if newly-qualified Jofra Archer is called up by England alongside
Chris Jordan for the World Cup, a sustained push may again be beyond them.
Glamorgan
endured a six-month nightmare last year with nothing going right. Possibly
their most promising Welshman Aneurin Donald has moved on and I suspect they
will again lean heavily on foreigners Shaun Marsh and Chris Cooke. Welcoming a
Root into the batting line-up will cause hearts to beat faster until we realise
it’s Billy not brother Joe.
Northamptonshire
have substantial Duckett- and Gleeson-shaped holes to fill, Gloucestershire have
suffered the departure to Edgbaston of their best bowlers Miles and Norwell and
Leicestershire look a one-man team in Mohammad Abbas. If Pakistan want him for
the World Cup I fear for his county’s prospects. Derbyshire retain the services
of Godleman, Reece and Madsen and Logan Van Beek, an unknown quantity for me, will
be a crucial addition to the attack after Olivier’s switch to Yorkshire. Paul
Collingwood’s retirement may not be too disastrous for Durham, who have
parachuted in Cameron Bancroft to skipper the side, along with Lees, Raine and
Eckersley who faltered last season with their previous clubs. I worry that too
much bowling reliance is placed upon Rushworth’s shoulders.
So to this
year’s County Championship predictions. Last year’s picks gave me a 50% success
rate, a huge improvement, but I wonder how the following will fare:-
Champions: Surrey
(runners-up Essex)
Relegated: Warwickshire
or Somerset
Promoted: Middlesex,
Lancashire and Sussex/Durham
