The pre-season has been hampered by exactly the sort of weather you’d expect the week the County Championship starts, but there are no shortage of talking points as a new campaign gets underway.
In the wake of England’s woeful winter, many have blasted the county game’s lack of depth and the unsuitability of its conditions for educating its players to cope abroad.
Yet, perhaps that means an even closer eye will be kept on developments in Divisions One and Two.
Will the Championship’s deserters be missed?
There will be a couple of notable absentees, with contentious objectors Alex Hales and Adil Rashid having decided to focus on the white-ball game. That was not the death knell many predicted for red-ball cricket – though who knows how many will follow them in time – and indeed, there have been no shortage of tantalising overseas signings.
New arrivals
Surrey have reaped the rewards of Morne Morkel’s international retirement, though their biggest loss will be Kumar Sangakkara. Likewise, Nottinghamshire have had plenty of outgoings, including former captain Chris Read, but they will welcome New Zealand’s Ross Taylor.
One of the many outcomes of Australia’s controversial series with South Africa was that Somerset tore up the contract they had with ball-tamperer-in-chief Cameron Bancroft. On a more positive note, Aiden Markram, who shone for the Proteas, will join Durham, while the Baggy Green’s Shaun Marsh heads to Glamorgan.
Sussex have lured Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan to the coast and that will be a particularly good signing for one-days. The 19-year-old is joined by India’s Ishant Sharma, while Hampshire will bring in Hashim Amla for the first three months of the season.
Who is this a big season for?
Last season’s leading wicket-taker Jamie Porter would surely have been on England’s radar prior to his injuries, which can also be said of Lancashire’s Haseeb Hameed, who featured on the tour of India in 2016. There is also the feeling that Rory Burns form over the past couple of years has been building up to a call-up, though he will now have to balance that with the Surrey captaincy too.
Nick Compton has reportedly been warned by Middlesex that he is not going to feature regularly, if at all, so it remains to be seen if circumstances help the former England man back into contention.
An interesting aside in Division Two is the redemption of Ben Duckett. While he suffered a finger injury in February, he has been written off as a potential England top-order batsman far too early and played with increasing maturity last season. Few young batsmen can combine the panache he possesses in T20 with his steadiness - on a good day - in the four-day game but that is what Northamptonshire as a whole must do consistently.
Can Essex retain their title?
Essex’s trip to Yorkshire is undoubtedly the pick of the opening day fixtures and it could have a huge bearing on how their respective title challenges pan out. Gary Ballance’s side have suffered a huge blow with the IPL snatching away David Willey and Liam Plunkett with less, the former being announced by Chennai Super Kings just a matter of days before the new season.
With that in mind, Lancashire look like very strong candidates to win the whole thing. Their batting order was already irresistible with Liam Livingstone and Shivnarine Chanderpaul now also counting Keaton Jennings among their ranks; his old Durham team-mate Graham Onions has also joined.
Who will be promoted from Division Two?
Warwickshire will be among the counties looking to follow in Worcestershire’s footsteps and anything other than promotion isn’t really an option after their relegation last term. It’s no exaggeration to say this is an absolutely crucial moment for them as they start afresh under their new-look set-up.
They will have serious competition from Sussex, who will be confident that Jason Gillespie’s previous successes with Yorkshire will help steer them into the top division.
Friday’s fixtures
Division One: Hampshire v Worcestershire; Lancashire v Nottinghamshire; Yorkshire v Essex
Division Two: Middlesex v Northamptonshire; Kent v Gloucestershire; Warwickshire v Sussex
