DIVISION ONE
Essex
Captain Tom Westley (Championship and 50-over Cup) Coach: Anthony McGrath Last season: 4th
After winning the County Championship in 2017 and 2019, and the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020, Essex have had a couple of quieter years, combined with trouble off the field – the report on historic racist abuse is still awaiting publication. Run-scoring has been their biggest problem, with Alastair Cook the only man to get close to notching 1,000 last year. Sam Cook and Simon Harmer munch batsmen like peanuts, but after the soggiest of Marchs, Harmer is unlikely to find too many friendly wickets early season. New Zealand bowler Doug Bracewell gets a last-minute call up after a stress fracture ruled out Will Sutherland.
Prediction: 4th
Hampshire
Captain: James Vince (Championship and Blast) Coach: Adi Birrell Last season: 3rd
Fifty years since they last got their hands on the Championship trophy, hopes are high at the Rose Bowl that this is their summer. Hampshire won more games than any team last year, and drew only one, so the change in the points system could work in their favour. The formidable trio of Keith Barker, Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas all took 50 wickets in 2022 and much depends on their fitness, though talented young colts pace the training yard. James Vince will need some assistance in the runs engine-room and eyes are on the stylish and fully fit Aneurin Donald.
Prediction: Champions
Kent
Captain: Sam Billings (Championship and Blast) Coach: Matt Walker Last season: 5th
For the first time in a generation, teams arriving at Canterbury will not have to worry about Darren Stevens showing them an old dog’s new tricks, with Kent retiring the No 3 shirt in his honour. Michael Hogan has the dubious pleasure of running in on Canterbury’s batting paradises, where Zak Crawley needs early-season form and Ben Compton is on the hunt for another 1,000-run summer. Sam Billings and Jordan Cox stroll down the pavilion steps fresh from success with Lahore Qalandars in the PSL, with Billings turning down the IPL so he can show his petticoat to the England selectors.
Prediction: 6th
Lancashire
Captain: Keaton Jennings Coach: Glen Chapple Last season: 2nd
Lancashire feel they have played bridesmaid long enough. They have lost the talented Hassan Ali, who lit up their spring last year, to Warwickshire, but recruited wisely in New Zealanders Daryl Mitchell and Colin de Grandhomme. A buff-looking Saqib Mahmood, expected to be fit for the second game of the season, is eyeing up an Ashes place, Jimmy Anderson hopes to play three or four times in this first block and Matt Parkinson is said to be back to his best. A potent bowling lineup, promising young players and an impressive new captain with a point to prove to England.
Prediction: 3rd
The 2023 County Championship springs into action on 6 April, largely, though not entirely, unchanged by last autumn’s divisive Strauss report.
Two divisions remain, Division One consisting of 10 counties, Division Two of eight, each county playing 14 games, with two up, two down relegation/promotion. Two overseas players are permitted per game though counties are now allowed to sign four.
The first seven rounds will be played Thursday-Sunday in consecutive weeks. Five rounds follow in June and July, and the remaining four rounds in September.
The points structure has changed, with five points, not eight, awarded for a draw; and teams will now only accrue batting points once they pass 250 (rather than 200). It is hoped both changes will encourage more attacking cricket.
There will also be a two-match trial of the Kookaburra ball in late June and early July.
Middlesex
Captain: Toby Roland-Jones (Championship) Coach: Richard Johnson Last season: 2nd in Division Two
The club’s thrill at winning promotion has been somewhat tempered by the news of financial problems, after a loss of £952,000 was reported in the last set of accounts and reserves reduced to £179,000. That aside, a buoyant squad, including the seasoned openers Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman and young blades with a point to prove such as Max Holden, prepare to battle it out against Division One attacks. Toby Roland-Jones, whose success last season gave county watchers huge pleasure, is the new captain, one who has already received a major blow with injury ruling out marquee signing Keshav Maharaj.
Prediction: 9th
Northamptonshire
Captain: Luke Procter (Championship) Coach: John Sadler Last season: 6th
Against all the odds, Northants survived the drop last season and flourished in mid-table security, with tenacity repeatedly securing them a draw. The trick will be to do it again now the points system has been tweaked. David Willey returns from Yorkshire to join a team low on big names, but bubbling with promise, with Emilio Gay and Saif Zaib catching the eye last season, alongside more solid performers Rob Keogh and new captain Luke Procter. Shrewd signing Sheffield Shield-winner Sam Whiteman will bolster the batting and bring wisdom to the dressing room.
Prediction: 10th
Nottinghamshire
Captain: Steven Mullaney (Championship and Blast) Coach: Peter Moores Last season: 1st in Division Two
After a few years where the team managed to be less than the sum of its parts, Nottinghamshire cantered to promotion in 2022. The big question is how they will find the more challenging waters of the top division, though they will be helped by Stuart Broad due to warm up for the Ashes with four early games and a fully fit Olly Stone raring to go after his move from Warwickshire. Haseeb Hameed, who quietly had an excellent 2022, is the peg that the rest of the batting unit can dance around, including Ben Duckett, who Notts will lose to England mid-summer.
Prediction: 5th
Somerset
Captain: Tom Abell (Championship and Blast) Coach: Jason Kerr Last season: 7th
Last season felt a constant struggle for Somerset, as the familiar formula of fragile batting rescued by brilliant bowling and last-gasp victories fell flat. This season the club hope Tom Abell will not be left alone to tape up the cracks, with the experienced Sean Dickson arriving from Durham, Tom Kohler-Cadmore from Yorkshire and Cameron Bancroft for the first five matches, to join the talented but occasionally profligate young Somerset batters. Peter Siddle and Matt Henry provide the overseas seam-bowling backup to Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory. Readers will be pleased to hear that Vic Marks has joined the Somerset live stream commentary team.
Prediction: 8th
Surrey
Captain: Rory Burns (Championship and 50-over Cup) Coach: Gareth Batty Last season: 1st
When questioned about the Bazball effect, director of cricket Alec Stewart said: “When does positivity turn to recklessness?” Expect Surrey to find the right path. Kemar Roach returns for the early part of the season to provide the usual fire and Tom Latham is joining for five matches in June and July when Surrey are likely to be missing their England batters. Dom Sibley comes home to the Oval, where he and Rory Burns will combine for one of the more idiosyncratic opening partnerships. Worthy champions last summer: Surrey are a club that knows how to market and play its cricket.
Prediction: 2nd
Warwickshire
Captain: Will Rhodes Coach: Mark Robinson Last season: 8th
Saved their Division One bacon in one of the most thrilling ends to the season for many years, when Liam Norwell’s nine for 62 hauled them over the line against Hampshire. Norwell won’t have to do it all this season with the bowling ranks bolstered by Hassan Ali’s arrival from Manchester, Chris Rushworth from Durham and Ed Barnard from Worcester. The batting, though, looks fragile, especially now Sibley has taken the return train to Surrey. Robinson will be hoping Rob Yates, who was a long-shot for the Ashes tour in 2021, rediscovers his golden touch.
Prediction: 7th
***
DIVISION TWO
Derbyshire
Captain: Leus du Plooy Head of Cricket: Mickey Arthur Last season: 5th
Derbyshire were hard to beat in 2022; this year, says Mickey Arthur, they’ve got to work out how to win. Last year’s surprise package have lost their run-machine and all-round good guy Shan Masood to Yorkshire, but have tempted over the talented Haider Ali, who wants to learn how to bat long. Suranga Lakmal returns and Zak Chappell’s arrival from Nottinghamshire should give Sam Conners, who was awarded his county cap and won England Lions recognition over the winter, some much needed backup. Wayne Madsen will need another season to remember. Expect a team steeped in Arthur acumen.
Prediction: 1st
Durham
Captain: Scott Borthwick (Championship) Coach: Ryan Campbell Last season: 6th
If Durham play according to Matt Potts’s pre-season musings, they’re going to be very entertaining, if hazardous for their supporters’ blood pressure. “[A draw] is worse than a loss,” he said. “You’d rather lose every game this year and know you’re doing it with the right intent to try to win the game.” Potts is key to Durham’s fortunes after his breakthrough year and will be gunning to be one of Ben Stokes’s pack of eight fast bowlers for the Ashes. Wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson made a surprise move north from Kent, but Durham lost Mr Riverside, Chris Rushworth. Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann, who took nine wickets on his Test debut for Australia against India, replaces Todd Murphy.
Prediction: 6th
Glamorgan
Captain: David Lloyd (Championship and Blast) Coach: (Championship): Matthew Maynard Last season: 3rd
Glamorgan were pressing for promotion almost until the end last season after a Championship run full of brio. Their batting flourished and an inspired Sam Northeast found his mojo in Wales – remember his 410 against Leicestershire? Michael Neser and Marnus Labuschagne will bring stardust when they arrive in time for the second game, but their availability will be curtailed by the World Test Championship final and the Ashes. Michael Hogan’s long service has come to an end with a swansong switch to Kent and Harry Podmore has made the reverse journey.
Prediction: 5th
Gloucestershire
Captain: Graeme van Buuren (Championship and 50-over Cup) Coach: Dale Benkenstein Last season: 10th Division One
Gloucestershire didn’t find their feet until it was too late last season, finishing the year with just a couple of wins and a one-way ticket to Division Two. But the mood at Bristol is surprisingly buoyant, a young side bubbling with enthusiasm scaffolded with the return of their quality overseas signings in Zafar Gohar and Marcus Harris. Marchant de Lange’s arrival from Somerset adds 90mph zip and he hopes to mentor Gloucestershire’s hand of promising young bowlers including Tom Price and Ajeet Singh Dale. The club continues to embrace the community with its Walking and Talking sessions and sustainability efforts.
Prediction: 3rd
Yorkshire are seeking funding from Middle East investors for a refinancing, audit and advisory firm Grant Thornton said on Wednesday.
“A large proportion of the target investor pool are based in the United Arab Emirates and India, with additional names from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” Grant Thornton in the UAE, which is working with Yorkshire, told Reuters.
Grant Thornton said sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private equity investors were being looked at “as part of a wider refinancing exercise” at Yorkshire, without giving further details.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire have signed the West Indies batter Shai Hope for the opening three games of the County Championship season. Hope goes straight into the squad to face Leicestershire in the season opener on Thursday.
And Surrey’s Jason Roy is heading to the Indian Premier League after Kolkata Knight Riders announced the signing of the England white-ball opener for around £275,000. Staff and agencies
Leicestershire
Captain: Lewis Hill (Championship and 50-over Cup) Coach: Paul Nixon Last season: 8th
Lost more games than anyone else, didn’t win a single match, wooden spoonists for the eighth time in the past 14 years, the only way is up at Grace Road. There is one huge plus in Rehan Ahmed, who made his England debut during the winter in the cool, assured way everyone at the club expected. He should see plenty of action under a new captain, Lewis Hill, after Callum Parkinson rejected a contract extension and was relieved of his duties. Peter Handscomb flies in for the first six rounds of the season before Ajinkya Rahane arrives in midsummer.
Prediction: 8th
Sussex
Captain: Tom Haines (Championship and 50-over Cup) Coach: Paul Farbrace Last season: 7th
The Sussex faithful are hopeful Paul Farbrace’s arrival and the maturing of their team of baby-faced but intoxicating talents is a potent mix. Throw in the arrival of Steve Smith for three games in May, the returning Cheteshwar Pujara, and fast-bowling all-rounder Nathan McAndrew and suddenly they look a side to be reckoned with. Ali Orr and Tom Haines spent the winter with the Lions, as did promising spinner Jack Carson, whose 2022 was largely curtailed by injury. Ollie Robinson, who finds himself being coached by his stepdad, has talked about needing to get overs into his body before the Ashes, music to Hove’s ears.
Prediction: 4th
Worcestershire
Captain: Brett D’Oliveira Coach: Alan Richardson Last season: 4th
The end-of-season departures of Moeen Ali and Ed Barnard to Warwickshire were a blow to a club whose 2022 season was a bit of a damp squib and Barnard’s all-round talents will be particularly missed in Championship cricket. Much depends on the run-scoring of Azhar Ali, who returns for a second season at New Road, Brett D’Oliveira, who flourished with the responsibility of captaincy last season, and bright young thing Jack Haynes, who toured with England Lions. A new coaching duo of Alan Richardson and Kadeer Ali hopes to add a bit of sparkle to a team that looks a bit low on resources.
Prediction: 7th
Yorkshire
Captain: Shan Masood Coach: Ottis Gibson Last season: 9th Division One
The arrival of their new captain, Shan Masood, has been delayed by his selection in Pakistan’s white-ball side so it falls to Jonny Tattersall to shepherd a side pummelled by the continued fallout from Azeem Rafiq’s revelations and who were relegated on the last day of the 2022 season. The threat of an ECB points deduction also hangs over the financially wobbly club. Overseas enforcer Neil Wagner has been ruled out for six weeks with injury and visa issues mean Saud Shakeel is yet to sign on the dotted line, but Shai Hope is a last-minute signing for the first three games. Even without Harry Brook, the batting lineup is full of young talents in George Hill and Finlay Bean. Promotion favourites.
Prediction: 2nd
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