Summer officially started today with the commencement of the County Championship. In the last two days, we’ve named our 12 players to watch in 2010 (see Part 1 and Part 2). Now we ask who can stop Durham from making it three titles in a row.
Durham (Prediction – Champions)
It’s hard to look past Durham when assessing who will end up as County Champions. Even without Graham Onions, the seam bowling stable is full of thoroughbreds with Mark Davies, Liam Plunkett and especially Steve Harmison. The latter has stated that he wants one final crack at the Australians down under and given he is unlikely to feature for England this is worrying news for Division 1 batsmen. The one chink in the armour could be the failure to secure the services of an overseas star to strengthen the batting, but with Michael Di Venuto, Dale Benkenstein, Ian Blackwell and captain Will Smith, Durham should score enough runs to give their formidable attack something to bowl at.
Essex (Prediction – 9th, relegated)
Newly promoted Essex will be looking for a season of consolidation in the top division. Captain Mark Pettini will be relieved that Alastair Cook will be present for the first few weeks of the season, but after that the batting will rely heavily on Ravi Bopara when he gets back from the World T20. Billy Godleman is a good acquisition from Middlesex but overall the batting looks a bit threadbare. The same could be said of the bowling, although Danish Kaneria will be available until the Pakistan tourists arrive. One can only see a season of struggle ahead for Essex and it is likely they will end up back in Division 2 next year.
Hampshire (Prediction – 2nd)
It’s been a winter of changes at the Rose Bowl with Kabir Ali and Simon Jones arriving and Chris Tremlett departing. Kabir will provide his usual stash of wickets and if Jones stays fit then Hampshire will have a formidable bowling attack with James Tomlinson, Dominic Cork and captain Dimitri Mascarenhas. When you add mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis to the mix, Hampshire look like the side that could run Durham closest. The batting also looks strong with Michael Carberry, Michael Lumb, Neil McKenzie and the exciting youngster James Vince.
Kent (Prediction – 4th)
The Garden of England county are back where they belong in the top flight and the squad looks strong enough to challenge. Robert Key is a canny skipper, all-round good bloke and a top batsman. Sam Northeast looks an extremely promising talent and Joe Denly will be hoping to show the England selectors that he deserves another chance. Martin van Jaarsveld and Darren Stevens can always be relied on for runs and Geraint Jones looked back to his best last season. James Tredwell will gain confidence from his time with England and with Azhar Mahmood, Simon Cook and Amjad Khan, Key has plenty of options with the ball. The selection of Malinga Bandara as the overseas player is an interesting one, but leg-spinners generally do well in England, so it could prove to be a shrewd choice.
Lancashire (Prediction – 5th)
Can Lancashire end 76 years of hurt and secure their first title since 1934? Well, their regal choice of overseas players in Ashwell Prince and King Kumar Sangakkara should guarantee runs. Also in the batting stakes, Stephen Moore has joined from Worcestershire and should also score heavily, and it’s time that Paul Horton fully justified his talent. The bowling will be led by Andrew Flintoff when fit and the decidedly wayward Sajid Mahmood. Captain Glen Chapple will probably perform to his usual consistency, but once again Lancashire are likely to miss out on the big prize.
Nottinghamshire (Prediction – 7th)
Robin Hood’s county looks extremely strong on paper until you consider that Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and maybe Ryan Sidebottom are unlikely to play much county championship matches this season. That leaves a bit of a hole in the bowling department and means that Charlie Shreck will need to have broad shoulders. The batting looks much better though with the stardust of Hashim Amla added to Mark Wagh, Samit Patel, David Hussey and the promising Alex Hales. Should have just enough quality to survive.
Somerset (Prediction – 8th, relegated)
Justin Langer will be missed for his runs and shrewd captaincy if not his dossier writing skills. But Marcus Trescothick is a steady pair of hands to take over and can be relied upon again for big runs. Arul Suppiah will be looking to repeat his success of last year and it’s time for James Hildreth to move up a gear. The bowling looks a bit weak though and much will be expected of Murali Kartik. A season of struggle awaits, with run-laden Taunton making it a difficult venue to secure wins especially with this attack.
Warwickshire (Prediction – 6th)
The boys from Edgbaston will benefit from having Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott around for the first six weeks of the season. Elsewhere Darren Maddy, captain Ian Westwood, Tim Ambrose and James Troughton should score steadily and Varun Chopra could prove a good addition. Unlike a number of other counties, Warwickshire seem well balanced with Chris Woakes, Boyd Rankin and Naqaash Tahir providing the seam and Imran Tahir providing the spin. If Bell and Trott can give them a good start, who knows how well they could do?
Yorkshire (Prediction – 3rd)
New captain Andrew Gale has an impressive blend of youth and experience to choose from. Joe Sayers and Jacques Rudolph are a good opening pair. Anthony McGrath will look to score heavily now that the captaincy burden has been removed and Gale himself will look to continue his good form of last season. Ryan Harris is a good choice as overseas player and with Adil Rashid, David Wainwright, Ajmal Shahzad and Tim Bresnan all likely to feature heavily then Yorkshire must have a chance of bettering their poor performance of last season.
Tomorrow, our attention moves to Division 2.
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