The weather might be telling us something different, but summer is here! Well, okay, perhaps not summer, but certainly spring and most certainly high-class domestic cricket. There will be far more eyes on the ongoing IPL season, which got underway on the 28th of March and runs until the end of May. But for English cricketing purists, the commencement of the new County Championship is of far more interest.
All 18 teams will get their campaigns underway on Friday, the 3rd of April, with five games in Division One and four in the second tier. There will be a lot of cricket played – at least if the weather permits – before the two champions are decided, with the season set to come to a climax at the end of September. That seems a very long way away right now, but let’s look ahead to the first batch of fixtures and the season as a whole.
Who’s New to Each Division?
Last season, Leicestershire romped to success in Division Two, running away with the title and finishing top by 48 points in the end. They lost just once all season and earned promotion to the top flight, where they will play for the first time in over two decades. Glamorgan finished as runners-up and will join them in Division One.
Moving the other way are Durham and Worcestershire. The latter were dreadful and won just one game all season, losing eight of their 14 matches. They were rock bottom, 41 points adrift of Durham, who were involved in a real scrap with Hampshire and, to a lesser extent, Yorkshire, eventually finishing just a point behind the former.
Opening Fixtures
As said, all 18 counties over both divisions start their campaigns at the same time, as below.
Division 1
- Warwickshire v Surrey
- Hampshire v Essex
- Glamorgan v Yorkshire
- Leicestershire v Sussex
- Somerset v Nottinghamshire
Last season, Nottinghamshire ended Surrey’s dominance in domestic cricket by claiming their seventh County Championship title. They last won in 2010 but were superb last term to end Surrey’s run of three straight wins. The champions begin their defence away at Somerset, who are another strong county and finished third last term.
That game is the pick of the opening round of matches, while Surrey will hope to reclaim the trophy when they get underway against Warwickshire. Essex finished sixth last season, though there were just four points between Yorkshire in seventh and Sussex in fourth. Essex are among the genuine title contenders this season, though, and their clash with Hampshire should tell us a lot about their chances.
Division 2
- Derbyshire v Worcestershire
- Middlesex v Gloucestershire
- Northamptonshire v Lancashire
- Durham v Kent
Division Two is more open than the top tier, as we shall see, and both Derbyshire and Worcestershire will fancy their chances of earning promotion. That make that the most fascinating game to our eyes.
Who do the Bookies Fancy?
Surrey have been so strong in recent times and boast such wealth compared to their rivals that they will take some stopping. They have a classy squad, excellent facilities and some promising youngsters, and some bookies are even offering a “winner without Surrey” market.
That said, while they are favourites, odds of 13/8 do not suggest the bookmakers believe it is a foregone conclusion that they will prevail. Somerset are next at odds of 9/2, with Notts at 6/1 and Essex at 13/2. The rest are 10/1 bar, though Leicestershire and Glamorgan are the real outsiders priced at 16/1 and 25/1.
The second tier, as said, is more open. Gloucestershire are 20/1, but the other seven counties are 12/1 or shorter, with six available at single-digit odds. Durham are 3/1 favourites, but many bookies price Lancashire at the same odds, though you can get 10/3 on the Red Rose county. It promises to be a hugely fascinating battle in Division Two and possibly more interesting than the top tier if Surrey end up brushing the rest aside.
Will England be Watching?
After the dismal winter tour to Australia and then a T20 World Cup where they eventually got their act together, but ultimately lost in the semis, many feel that Rob Key, Brendon McCullum, and to a lesser extent Ben Stokes have done well to keep their jobs with England.
Whether that show of faith and patience will be rewarded may well depend on whether or not the Test hierarchy is flexible and can move on from some ideas they have been highly attached to. A move away from, or certainly a softening of, the so-called Bazball approach is likely, while many are demanding that the England set-up pay more heed to what happens in the County game.
England selections across all formats have tended to ignore domestic form, especially in the County Championship, in recent years. A player being fast or tall, hugely aggressive with the bat, or having a certain release angle with the ball, has been prioritised ahead of taking wickets and scoring runs. Many hope that this will change, and we will soon find out.