A long road back for Flintoff

Despite what the media would have you believe, there was more to the Surrey-Lancashire game than the state of Mr Flintoff.

The relentless talk of Andrew Flintoff's comeback is tedious in the extreme. It is a sad indictment of the media's lack of regard for county cricket that, even in a match in which he has been anonymous, taking one wicket and scoring 23, he has dominated the headlines. The story of the first day was not Lancashire twice missing Mark Ramprakash before he marched to his third consecutive championship hundred (all against Lancs). Of course it wasn't. Freddie bowled 10.3 overs on the opening day of his comeback. He took 1-26. Stop the press.

The man himself: Andrew Flintoff during his 28 overs.

The obsession with Flintoff can't be doing him or his side any good. With all the talk over this game as the first step on the road to an England return, a part of him can't help but regard it more about him than his county, no matter how wholehearted a cricketer he is. Lancs must also grow tired, much like the rest of us, that all questions lead to Fred. Neither he nor his team-mates will be enjoying the disproportionate attention he is receiving for what have been less-than-stellar deeds. Frankly, he needs at least six weeks of hard, competitive cricket for Lancashire before he can be considered seriously for England again; it would be a huge mistake to recall him on reputation alone. That doesn't mean surviving unscathed, it means making decisive contributions - scoring centuries and taking five-fors. There were tentative signs of encouragement, certainly, as he kept going admirably on a flat track, but nowhere near enough to justify the hype.

Inevitably he has totally overshadowed the noteworthy displays in the match: above all a trio of centuries from Surrey's powerful middle-order. Ramprakash was actually below his usual imperious best, but he has been so phenomenal over the past two years that, visibly, opponents are in awe of him. Bowlers often bowl worse to him than they do to other batsmen; fielders react over-eagerly to any opportunities, such is the value they put on his wicket. So, just as in the last game of last season, Lancs missed out on two chances - this time a catch and a run-out - before he had made even 20. Try telling them there is one - let alone six - batsmen in England who are better. Mark Butcher was also supremely attractive driving through the off-side in putting on a double century stand with Ramprakash.

Never mind the score...how's Freddie?

But the most noteworthy knock in the context of Surrey's season was surely Usman Afzaal's debut hundred. Butcher has spoken about providing an environment for this sometimes mercurial talent to flourish and, if this was any indicator, they have certainly done so. Pulling with authority and great power against Sajid Mahmood, Afzaal played Gary Keedy's left-arm spin exquisitely, using his feet and the aerial route. On the basis of this serene and aesthetically-pleasing knock, Afzaal will score many runs at The Oval this season. Thanks to Ali Brown's belligerent 74*, Surrey have already improved in one shocking statistic from last season, when they registered just a solitary score in excess of 70 from any player batting outside the top four, showing the extent of their reliance on Ramprakash.

Afzaal driving during his debut hundred

See, there was plenty to talk about: and that's before we even get started on Lancashire returning at the first opportunity to where they missed out on the championship at the end of last year's epic race. On this evidence they have much work to do if they are get that close again: their fielding was shoddy; their bowling lacked control, save for Flintoff, let alone any great threat; and their batting has been too loose, although the weather has been such that a draw was always the overwhelming favourite.

But the story was all about how Freddie was doing, with the score barely deemed relevant. Maybe those who are infuriated by a non-performance covering the first half of every match report are missing the point. Who needs runs or wickets for intrigue when we've got Freddie's ankle to worry about?

2008 Season Preview: Lancashire

Continuing our series of county previews, Ben Fyffe analyses Lancashire's chances in 2008.

2007 in a nutshell
Perhaps feel they should have won the Championship but the wait continues for the red rose county. 4th in Pro40 League One wasn’t a bad result but the FP Trophy performance was nothing short of poor. Reaching the semi-finals in the T20 was nothing to be ashamed of.

Best Performers
Championship
Batting: SG Law – 1277 runs @ 63.85.
Bowling: M Muralitharan – 51 wickets @ 18.66.

Limited Overs (not including T20)
Batting: BJ Hodge – 439 runs @ 87.80.
Bowling: SI Mahmood – 20 wickets @ 17.65.

Worst Performers
Championship
SJ Croft – this lad isn’t going anywhere quick, his 4 wickets came at 51.75 each while he scored 323 runs @ 21.53.

Limited Overs
DG Cork – a surprise choice but he is far too expensive to be considered a limited overs bowler anymore, 5 wickets at 51.20.

Strongest XI
Championship

PJ Horton
IJ Sutcliffe (MJ Chilton)

BJ Hodge

MB Loye (F du Plessis)

SG Law
A Flintoff (DG Cork)
LD Sutton+
G Chapple
SI Mahmood (TCP Smith)
G Keedy (SD Parry)
JM Anderson (OJ Newby)

Limited Overs
GD Cross+ (PJ Horton)
MB Loye
BJ Hodge
SG Law
A Flintoff (DG Cork)
F du Plessis
SJ Croft
G Chapple
SI Mahmood (TCP Smith)
G Keedy (SD Parry)
JM Anderson (KW Hogg).

The sides will not be especially settled, with Flintoff and Anderson likely to spend significant periods away with England (unless they are injured). Furthermore, Lancashire have a large squad and an element of rotation and 'horses for courses' is expected to give them the best possible chance of finally claiming their eighth outright Championship.

Openers: Paul Horton stepped up to the plate last season in place of Iain Sutcliffe at the top of the order. However, with Mark Chilton having resigned as skipper, expect Horton and Sutcliffe to be given the opportunity to develop their partnership.

Middle Order: Strong. Hodge and Loye are proven run-getters; and Stuart Law often looks in a class of his own against Championship attacks. Andrew Flintoff may play more often for Lancs this season in his bid to get match fit. Francois du Plessis, a highly rated Pretorian, is the only new signing at Old Trafford over the winter and will push for a place in this area. At full strength, there is perhaps no better middle-order quartet in county cricket.

Wicketkeeper: Luke Sutton will start as keeper but Paul Horton also keeps and Gareth Cross has done so as well. Sutton’s poor one day record should cost him his limited overs place.

Fast Bowlers: If he plays, Flintoff will hope to take wickets with his international pace. It seems to me that Dominic Cork is ready to be replaced in the team. Assuming England stop preferring James Anderson to Matthew Hoggard, he could spearhead the fast bowling attack this summer for Lancs. Sajid Mahmood has a point to prove, while Glen Chapple is one of the most highly respected bowlers in the league. Backup comes from Tom Smith, Oliver Newby and Kyle Hogg.

Spinners: Gary Keedy is the only recognised spinner at Old Trafford - a stern one day operator and often miserly in the Championship. Stephen Parry is a promising youngster, who may get a chance if Keedy is injured. There is no Murali though.

Key Man: Stuart Law, if he doesn’t get runs then the top order could be susceptible to collapse. He is in his 40th year, but is nonetheless still amongst the most-prized wickets in the county game. His hunger for runs continues to astound and the captaincy could yet bring even more out of him.

Rising Star: Francois du Plessis comes with praise from South Africa and if there are injuries in the middle order, he could realise his potential on English soil, with the South African selectors in town towards the back end of the season.

Captain and Coach: Mike Watkinson is a respected coach and a Lancashire man to the core, but he will be working alongside a new man. Veteran Stuart Law was a tremendously successful Queensland skipper and captained them to their first ever Sheffield Shield triumph, so he knows all about ending long waits for titles. Can these figureheads inspire the team to recover from the disappointment of last season's glorious failure?

2008 Prospects: They have a chance of winning the title of course, but this team isn’t getting any younger and there are other teams who could sneak up on the outside. Their one day prospects don’t look especially spectacular.

The Young Pretenders 2008

We continue our brief look at the top eleven up and coming talented youngsters who will be on display in county cricket over the English summer. The qualifiers are all under the age of 23 and are looking to establish themselves in their respective county sides this season.


Billy Godleman (19) – Middlesex – Left Hand Opening Batsman

Godleman was identified as a future England player when he was just 15 years of age. He is the second youngest player to have represented Middlesex, behind his team mate and fellow young pretender, Steven Finn. He scored an unbeaten 149 against Pakistan U19’s in 2007, which is the highest innings score by an England youth player. He has a little of Andrew Strauss about him, in that he likes to play square of the wicket, especially to leg. He is also a part time leg spinner.


Tom Smith (22) – Lancashire – Right Arm Medium-Fast Bowler

Smith promised much at youth level and hasn’t had a bad start to his Lancashire career. He is an economical and accurate bowler who excels at bringing the ball back into the batsman. He is also handy with the bat and will likely make a decent number eight in the future. Furthermore, to make him a fully multi-faceted cricketer, Smith is an able slip fielder. Smith has a lot of competition for a place though, in the form of Dominic Cork, Sajid Mahmood, James Anderson, Andrew Flintoff, Glenn Chapple, Kyle Hogg and Oliver Newby.

Mystic Richard’s 2008 Predictions – Division 1

Having put the mockers on Middlesex’s chances in Division 2, here are my predictions for Division 1. Before I start I would like to remind everyone that last season’s title race was the closest ever and the two teams promoted promise to be challenging from the off. I will therefore also predict that the top five won’t be separated by more than 10 points. Right, having got my excuses in early, here goes…

9 Kent
The only team to have been ever present in Division 1 since the introduction of the two tier system, their demise is predicted on a regular basis. However, this summer sees arguably the strongest top league in years at this may be a problem for the lack of depth at Canterbury. They will be reliant on Rob Key for runs, while the emerging Joe Denly has to battle against second season syndrome. However, the attack looks lightweight, with Ryan Mclaren and James Tredwell the main threats. They won’t be cast away at the bottom as Worcester were last season, but the great run looks like it is coming to an end.

8 Surrey
Or Ramprakashire as they ought to be called. It’s a measure of Surrey’s reliance on him, that if Ramps had “only” scored a thousand runs and averaged 50, Surrey would have been comfortably relegated. A third phenomenal season in a row is surely too much to ask, and while there are signs of some youth coming through the ranks, this is an aging team and 2008 could be one season too many for much of the team. The loss of Rory Hamilton-Brown to Sussex is a blow to the long term plans of the club, the loss of Rikki Clarke probably isn’t after two seasons as disappointing as Ramps have been spectacular. The return of Saqlain will help the bowling, although he has been comprehensively outbowled by Mushtaq at Sussex. Much will depend on the development of Chris Jordan. If he can take enough wickets, they may survive.

7 Nottinghamshire
They have the best opening bowlers in English cricket, which will be a real blow as they spend the summer with England rather than at Trent Bridge. In the absence of Broad and Sidebottom, Notts will be relying on Charlie Schreck and Graeme Swann (when he isn’t on international duty) and hoping that Mark Footitt can put his injury problems behind him. David Hussey (when he arrives) and Mark Wagh are proven run scorers, as is Matt Wood, who has arrived from Somerset. And of course, they have the best wicket-keeper in English cricket. A tight, but I believe successful battle against relegation

6 Hampshire
A couple of weeks ago, I’d have had them as contenders. However, the loss of Warne is a huge blow to the club and replacing him as captain with Mascarenhas is an odd move given Dimi will miss the start of the season and not necessarily guaranteed a place in the starting eleven. The emergence of Michael Carberry as an international contender is the main strength in the batting, while Shane Bond should find English conditions to his liking, if he stays fit long enough. However, if they are to be successful, more is needed from the likes of Michael Lumb and John Crawley, who had poor seasons in 2007.

5 Durham
Likely to have Steve Harmison for the whole season, which will be a huge bonus given that Ottis Gibson has finally retired (to the delight of Yorkshire fans everywhere). Harmison will form a very strong pace bowling line up with Liam Plunkett and Graham Onions. Blenkenstein, DiVenuto and Chanderpaul are an impressive batting line up with Phil Mustard able to add the fireworks. It will be very close at the top and Durham will be there or there abouts.

4 Somerset
No Cameron White this year, due to the cull on overseas players, but Trescothick, Langer, Hildredth and Trego means that Somerset probably have the best batting line up in the division. Andy Caddick and Charl Willoughby will find life much harder in Division 1 though and Somerset may struggle to win enough matches by taking 20 wickets. The form of Ian Blackwell with the ball could well be key for their title challenge.

3 Yorkshire
If England persist with James Anderson over Matthew Hoggard for the summer, then the title is a real possibility. Even in Hoggard’s absence, the bowling line up contains threats throughout, with Gough and Bresnan being joined by Rana Naved who should be a much more potent threat than the steady Jason Gillespie. There is also the spin threat of Adil Rashid. The batting is steady rather than spectacular with Jacques Rudolph and Anthony McGrath likely to score big again and with Bresnan coming in at 8, the line up goes a long way down. If the summer is a dry one, then Rashid could really come of age.

2 Lancashire
Close but no cigar again last year. They haven’t won the Championship outright since 1934. The strength of the bowling attack will largely depend on whether England persist with Anderson or want to rush Andrew Flintoff back into action. Otherwise, the evergreen Dominic Cork and Glen Chapple will carry the attack, with Gary Keedy supplying the spin option. Stuart Law, this season as captain, will again be the main source of runs. However, more is needed from the rest of the line up and I suspect they will again pull up just short.

1 Sussex
It’s a simple technique.
1. Take a world class spinner (Mushtaq) and prepare pitches that suit his bowling.
2. Don’t rely on one batsmen, but make sure that you have plenty who can make big runs throughout the season (Adams, Goodwin, Prior, Yardy)
3. If you lose a player to England, have an even better replacement in line (Hodd for Prior)
4. Fill team with other players, not quite good enough for England, but able to support the main men (Martin Jenkins, Lewry, Kirtley)
5. Pull the odd rabbit out of the hat (Wright)
The loss of Naved weakens their pace attack, but that’s not really what Sussex are about. Champions again I’m afraid.

2007 County Awards

As an epic Championship race comes to an end, it's time to review the 2007 county season with Third Umpire's end-of-season awards.

Best player: His side didn't even come close to the honours, but it simply has to be Mark Ramprakash. Averaging 100 in consecutive seasons simply defies belief; an unprecedented achievement for the consummate professional and master technician. And finally, the first man to hit 10 first-class hundreds in a season since, well, himself.

Best batsman: Same again.

Best bowler:A toss up between two 38-year-olds (Andy Caddick and Otis Gibson) and the irrepressible Mushtaq Ahmed. Gibson's superhuman deeds in Divison One, and match-winning Friends Provident display, shade it.

Best performance: Otis Gibson's 10-47 against Hampshire was simply extraordinary.

Best hat-trick: Ryan McLaren's memorable effort in Kent's Twenty20Cup Final win.

Best match: Though ultimately it proved not to be close, for sheer quality and intensity Sussex's crucial victory over Lancashire at Liverpool.

Most valiant run chase: Lancashire's 464 on the final day against Surrey, just beating Surrey's very own 467 against Hampshire which, not coincidentally, were both at the Oval. Now, if only Lancs had showed similar application in the aforementioned Sussex clash.

Most ridiculous rant: Bob Willis, take a bow. His claim that former internationals like Hick, Crawley and Ramprakash were "clogging up" the system was totally nonsensical. On the contrary, they raise the standard - and are invaluable for youngsters to learn from.

Best decision (1): Chris Adams' 11th-hour u-turn when Yorkshire came calling. He was vindicated as, under his astute captaincy, Sussex won the Championship once more.

Best decision (2): Surrey effectively sacking Azhar Mahmood, seldom a first-class match-winner, and signing Harbhajan Singh in his place. Singh, with much to prove after being dropped by India, was the catalyst for their spectacular mid-season change of fortunes, claiming 37 wickets in just six games and providing the penetration his side had so lacked previously.

Worst decision (1): The ECB re-jigging the recruitment rules and banning the second overseas player from next season. They have helped immeasurably in improving the quality of cricket. Better, surely, to introduce serious preventive measures to ensure counties always field at least eight players eligible for England at that time.

Worst decision (2): The London-based dentist who paid for Jimmy Maher to be Glamorgan's overseas player. Maher suffered a sad crisis-in-confidence, averaging a paltry 17 in eight first-class games in a Glamorgan season that went from one nadir to the next. Meanwhile his early season stand-in, Matthew Elliot, was excellent.

Saddest tale: Staying with Glamorgan, Simon Jones' depressing transformation from reverse-swing king to a stuttering run-up - and one first-class wicket for 290. A move may just reinvigorate him but, though he is just 28, you would get long odds on him playing for England again.

Best emerging player: A rare bright spot for Glammy, 17-year-old James Harris took 12 wickets against Gloucestershire, and continued to impress therafter, finishing with 33 wickets at just 23. And, as shown by an 88*, he can bat too.

Biggest red-herring: Sussex suffering innings defeats in games two and three, only to bounce back to record consecutive Championship titles.

Most predictable match-winner: The irrepressible Mushtaq Ahmed was at it again, claiming 90 first-class wickets including 13 in their final Championship win. Whether he is Sussex's finest ever player is certainly up for debate; but he is, surely, their biggest ever match-winner.

Most hyped-up player: Adil Rashid was always in the spotlight after his heroics last season. His batting develop tremendously (average 46) but his leg-spin still lacks control, and he found things mighty tough towards the end. Still, well worth an A tour and near-certain to play for England one day.

Biggest proof of the quality of the county game: The plethora of superb spinners on the circuit, although this was fall next season. Shane Warne, Mushtaq, Muralitharan, Harbhajan, Danish Kaneria, Murali Kartik and Monty Panesar bring immense spinning quality to the game. Hopefully Adil Rashid, whose bowling stuttered somewhat after a fine start, and Mike Munday, who recorded match figures of 10-60 in the season's final game, can learn a thing or two.

Best captain: For a pair of promotions and stamping his authority over a talented but hitherto underachieving side, it has to be Justin Langer, who scored copious runs to boot. Elsewhere, Rob key was excellent in leading Kent's Twenty20 triumph, while Adams was as combative as ever.

Most heart-warming story: Worcestershire overcoming floods and Championship thrashings to win the Pro40 league was a tremendous show of character.

Easiest scapegoat: The Pro40. Derided primarily for being 40 overs (how much difference does the loss of 10 middle overs really make?) it provided some enthralling action during the summer holidays. As Worcestershire illustrated, a competition starting in mid-season can reinvigorate a county. With only eight games, it is short and sweet; and, above all, it proved a lot of fun.

Dream Championship XI (both divisions, based on first-class form only):
Justin Langer (captain)
Michael Di Venuto
Mark Ramprakash
Stuart Law
David Hussey
Cameron White
Tim Ambrose (wicket-keeper)
Andy Bichel
Otis Gibson
Mushtaq Ahmed
Andy Caddick

(With Murali replacing Bichel on turning tracks)

What are your thoughts on this campaign? Share your views by leaving a comment below.

If you're interested in writing a season review for your county, please email it cricketingworld@hotmail.com. If possible please follow the template of last season's Surrey review.

Mystic Richard’s Half Term review – part 3

It’s time to look at the challengers for the title and with just 12 points covering the top 5, this could be one of the closest championship races for many years. Seven teams (covered by 28 points) are still realistically in the hunt.

Kent
I predicted 8th and relegation but big wins over Sussex and Surrey leave them comfortably above the bottom two. The emergence of Joe Denly and return to form of Rob Key have been the major factors in their batting, although 8 of their team have made hundreds so far this season. Yasir Arafat has been the major wicket taker with 26 (at 30) with contributions from Ryan McLaren and Simon Cook with 19 and 15 respectively. They still have to play Worcester twice, which should see them move further away from the bottom two, but could see them drawn into the relegation battle.

Hampshire
I predicted top and currently 6th, Hants have been the big disappointment of the season to date. It could have been even worse as they have hung on to draw a couple of games (against Yorkshire and Kent) that they really should have lost. The weakness has been with the batting. All-rounders Nic Pothas and Dimitri Mascarenhas top the averages, but no-one has reached 500 runs yet. Only Pothas and Mike Brown have scored hundreds to date. The bowling has been hugely reliant on Aussie duo Shane Warne (33 wickets at 27) and Stuart Clark (24 at 25) although Chris Tremlett has shown a return to form in the last couple of matches. A collective kick up the backside could still see them challenging for honours. However, injury to one or both of their Aussies could see a very uncomfortable second half of the season.

Lancashire
I predicted 2nd and currently 5th, but closing the gap to the top quickly. It’s a measure of how close the league is that if Lancs had beaten Durham two matches ago, Paul Wiseman facing 92 ball for 7 runs to secure the draw for Durham, they would currently be top. Their batting hasn’t been great this season with only Stuart Law reaching 500 runs so far, although 6 players have centuries to their names. It is with slow bowling that Lancs have made their mark, with Muttiah Muralitheran taking 31 wickets at less than 15, ably supported by Gary Keedy (17 at 21). Two Roses encounters in the second half of the season could have a huge bearing on the outcome of the Championship.

Warwickshire
I predicted 7th and a possible struggle. They are currently 4th, just 9 points off the top, although they have slipped somewhat after a flying start. They have also played three matches against the bottom two, so may find the second half of the season more challenging. No-one has reached 500 runs yet, despite Alex Loudon and Jim Troughton both having three centuries to their names. Topping the batting averages is wicket-keeper Tim Ambrose, with Kumar Sangakkara just behind. The bowling has been less potent, with Dale Steyn being the only bowler with more than 20 wickets (23 at 25). The Bears second half of the season last time round nearly saw them drawn into the relegation battle. They are much better placed to challenge at the top end of the table this time round, but need more potency in their bowling attack.

Durham
I predicted 6th and they are 3rd, despite losing more players to England than anyone else. Their batting is heavily reliant on Mike DiVenuto, with 822 runs at 75, and Dale Benkenstein with 537 at 60. No-one else has more than 350 runs for the season or hit a century. Steve Harmison’s self imposed exile from the World Cup helped get them off to a flyer and he has 24 wickets at 14. Graham Onions has 26 wickets (at 31) and there have also been useful contributions from Ottis Gibson (19 at 33) and Mark Davies (15 at 21) while Harmison and Liam Plunkett have been on England duty. If they are to continue their challenge, they need a greater contribution from the rest of the batsmen in the team.

Sussex
I predicted 3rd and they are currently 2nd, although they have played a game more than everyone else. An appalling start to the season saw them beaten twice in the first three matches by an innings and then concede a huge score to Surrey in a game that they held on to draw. Murray Goodwin, Chris Adams and Richard Montgomerie have been the main sources of runs and the only three century makers to date. Like Hants, their bowling is reliant on their overseas players with Pakistani duo Rana Naved and Mushtaq Ahmed taking 70 wickets between them. Second mainly on the contribution of just five players, this could go either way, If the rest of the team fire, then they will run away with the title again. However, if injury strikes, then they could find the second half of the season a struggle.

Yorkshire
I predicted 4th, and currently top after a flying start to the season from the momentum of the turbulent winter. Three wins in their first four games (a winning draw in the other), the challenge has slowed somewhat since although they have been on top in most games (the loss to Durham being the obvious exception). Joe Sayers and Jacques Rudolph are both well over 500 runs and 8 players have centuries to their names, including Jason Gillespie and Tim Bresnan who have 19 and 20 wickets (at 25) respectively. With Matthew Hoggard getting 17 wickets in his four games and Darren Gough and Adil Rashid taking 23 and 21 respectively, they have a balanced attack and strength in depth. An indication of this is that Gough is 15th in the batting averages, but his batting average (20) is still higher than his bowling average (18). This time last year they were winless and bottom. In the year from 20:20 to 20:20 they have been the pick of the championship. They need to keep the momentum going though to see off the closing pack.

Mystic Richard’s Division 1 Predictions

As the fat lady limbers up on England’s World Cup “campaign”, the serious business of the Championship is about to start. We already know from my Division 2 predictions that Essex and Notts are going to win promotion. Who will they pass on the way down and who will lift the trophy? Teams, as before, are in reverse order.

9 Worcestershire
Promoted last season but about to find out how much tougher it is in Division 1 than Division 2. Phil Jacques is a proven run scorer, but surely the sands of time must catch up with Graeme Hick soon, leaving Vikram Solanki as the other source of runs. The main source of wickets last year, Zaheer Khan, is not coming back though, so Matt Mason and Kabir Ali need to fill the gap. Gareth Batty still harbours England hopes and at 30 should be approaching his prime as a spinner. Also with England hopes is highly regarded wicketkeeper Steven Davies. However, this year will be a struggle and survival has to be the aim.

8 Kent
Only Matt Walker and Martin van Jaarsveld got a thousand runs last year. Amjad Khan was the leading wicket taker with 34, yet Kent finished fifth, showing the importance of a good all round team effort, and the paucity of the four teams at the bottom of Division 1 last season. The teams that have come up are an improvement and Yorks and Durham look much stronger, so Kent need to improve to keep up their unbroken run in Division 1. This won’t be helped by the injury to Amjad which will rule him out for the season or the delay to Andrew Hall joining the team. In particular, Rob Key had a dreadful season with the bat, but it’s going to take more than his resurgence for Kent not to struggle this year.

7 Warwickshire
Runs were the main problem for Warwickshire, with only Jim Trott and the now retired Nick Knight getting over 600. Kumar Sangakkara should help on this front, bit Darren Maddy looks like a short term solution with one dayers in mind. Warwickshire won’t see much of Ian Bell this year, and it needs to be a big season for Alex Loudon with bat and ball if he wants to get back in to the England reckoning. Heath Streak and Dale Steyn will be a real force with the new ball and the wickets they take should win enough games to see them survive.

6 Durham
Paul Collingwood will be missing, but it is likely that Durham will see more of Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett than they did last season. Add Graham Onions to the list and that is a pretty formidable pace attack. Dale Blenkenstein weighed in with over 1400 runs and if Michael Di Venuto brings his Derbyshire form from last year, then young talent such as Gordon Muchall and Phil Mustard should flourish. They survived by half a point last season. They should be a bit more comfortable this season.

5 Surrey
The great imponderables. If Mark Ramprakash keeps up his form from last season then the rest can go home now. However, Division 1 is tougher than Division 2. Their middle order of Mark Butcher, Ramps and Ali Brown behind an opening pair of Scott Newman and Jon Batty is as good a batting line up as any in the league on paper but youth isn’t on their side and if they do struggle, there isn’t a lot as back-up. However, if Rikki Clarke starts to justify the early promise week in week out with bat and ball, then this team could be challenging for the prize money. The bowling looks much weaker than the batting, with Mo Akram and Azhar Mahmood having little in support. The spin twins of Salisbury and Doshi, backed up by a returning Chris Schofield, will need to match their success of last year or Surrey could end up with a lot of drawn games.

4 Yorkshire
At the start of the year they were certainties for relegation and ninth place. Chris Adams had come and gone. Darren Lehmann had retired, Michael Lumb had gone to Hampshire and Anthony McGrath never wanted to play for Yorkshire again. Then Jacques Rudolph was signed as a Kolpak, Younus Khan was signed as the overseas player, Darren Gough and Martyn Moxon returned as captain and coach respectively and McGrath decided to stay. With Craig White and the promising Joe Sayers, this gives a strong, if untried, batting line-up. And who knows, we may even see Michael Vaughan turning out. Gough, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hoggard and Tim Bresnan form an experienced, pace attack, backed up by Deon Kruis and a raft of youngsters. The main cause for promise, though is the spin attack with Adil Rashid and Mark Lawson hoping to continue where they left off last season. The lows and highs of the winter have brought a momentum of its own. If that continues, then anything is possible.

3 Sussex
Ironically, the Chris Adams affair may have a greater effect on Sussex than Yorkshire. The Sussex triumph of last season was based largely upon a great team spirit. If times get tough over the season, the effect of the captain trying to leave during the winter may be crucial. Murray Goodwin’s runs will again be crucial in giving Mushtaq Ahmed enough runs to bowl at, and they will also be looking for more runs from their openers, with Chris Nash looking like he’s got the nod over Richard Montgomerie. The loss of Michael Yardy for the start of the season will be a blow and if Matt Prior does get an England call up, his runs will also be difficult to replace. The strength is the bowling attack. James Kirtley and Jason Lewry are still a force at this level and Mushtaq was comfortably the bowler of the English season last year. They will challenge for the title, but will just come up short this year.

2 Lancashire
Like Sussex, the bowling is stronger than the batting, and has been strengthened further by the signing of Muttiah Muralitheran. While James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff likely to be away with England, it would be a surprise if Sajid Mahmood wasn’t available for most of the season to form a pace attack with Dominic Cork, Glen Chapple and the promising Tom Smith. Gary Keedy was tipped by many to be England’s second spinner over the winter and will team up with Murali. The batting doesn’t have the same strength in depth, although with Stuart Law, Brad Hodge and Mal Loye, there should be enough runs scored to make a challenge. However, even if the weather holds off for them, they’re not quite good enough again.

1 Hampshire
Like Sussex the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. But for the feats of Mark Ramprakash, we’d have been talking up the John Crawley revival and with James Adams, Nik Pothas and Michael Carberry, there should be plenty of runs for Shane Warne to play with. In addition to this, Michael Lumb will be looking to recapture the form that got him an A team tour three years ago, moving from Yorkshire. The bowling isn’t just about Warne, with Dimitri Mascarenhas, Chris Tremlett and the newly signed Stuart Clark all likely to contribute in a balanced and potent attack. Third last year, this is likely to be Warne’s last season and no-one in the game (including one IT Botham) has had a better scriptwriter.

Sweeping to success

Jamie Tabord profiles Mal Loye, and asks whether he can still harbour hopes of international recognition

Mal Loye has been one of the mainstays of the Lancashire batting line-up since his arrival from Northamptonshire in 2003. His consistency has led him to become one of the most reliable cricketers on the county circuit in all forms of the game. His aggressive, if slightly unorthodox style, has recently been recognised with a call up for England’s provisional 30-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy. Many felt he should have been included in the final party.

Loye started his career at Northamptonshire and represented firstly England under 19s, and then England A team in successive years in 1995 and 1996. A devastating top order batsman, particularly in the one-day game where he averages an impressive 35 in over 250 games, he seemed destined for England honours from early in his career.

Loye had an impressive year in 1998, scoring almost 1200 first class runs, including a triple century against Glamorgan. His 322 not out remains the county’s scoring record and Loye was told he was to be picked for the final test of the summer against South Africa. However, only three hours later, the selectors decided to pick Steve James instead and, although he made the A team tour to South Africa that winter, he slipped down the pecking order after that.

The England selection fiasco affected his batting and his career dipped over the next two seasons when he failed to score a first class century. In 2001 he was back, averaging 55 and scoring three tons.

Loye joined Lancashire at the start of the 2003 campaign and helped them to second in the County Championship with an average of over 50 and five more hundreds.

Since then Loye has gone from strength to strength. He averaged 49 in 2004 and 2005, and opened the batting in one day and 20/20 games.

Loye has developed a unique slog sweep, which he uses against the quicker bowlers, and has earnt him a lot of runs in shorter versions of the game. He is the only batsman brave enough to sweep Shoaib Akhtar for six!

He has over 600 runs in 20/20 cricket and has been singled out by David Graveney as a possible specialist for the international form of the game. Perhaps Graveney should take note of Loye’s form in the County Championship. His six centuries in 2006 helped Lancashire come so close to recording their first Championship outright in over 70 years.

Many people thought Loye had missed the boat for international honours but if he keeps piling on the runs he will increase the pressure on the selectors to consider him, not just for the one day side, but perhaps even the test team.