Championship team of season

Marcus Trescothick

As imperious as ever, Trescothick scored 290 more runs than anyone else in either division, despite missing three games to a cruel injury. His dominance is such that it has become a cliché to describe him as batting on a different pitch from everyone else.

Mike Carberry

Though it wasn’t enough to keep Hampshire in division one, Carberry’s return, after fears his career was over, was astounding. Against Yorkshire, he hit 300*, displaying the range of shots and concentration that earned him an England Test cap only 18 months ago, while his last-day century against Warwickshire denied them the title.

Chris Rogers

Brought in to average over 50 and lead a side to promotion that finished eighth in division two in the previous two seasons, Rogers made the twin challenges seem positively easy.

Dale Benkenstein

There was no third championship in four years for Durham, but Benkenstein’s excellence remained unabated: only Trescothick exceeded his 1353 division one runs. Long established as his side’s crisis man, Benkenstein’s experience as skipper was a valuable aid for Phil Mustard.

Zander de Bruyn

In a Surrey top six that is as gung-ho as they come, de Bruyn provides stickability, and two hundreds and two fifties in the last three games allowed Surrey to claim a remarkable promotion. Somerset fans, not unreasonably, will feel they might just have won the championship had he not been lured to The Oval.

Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper)

In an otherwise bleak season for Yorkshire Bairstow’s excellence, culminating in a memorable England ODI debut, provided some solace. Attractive and calm in front of the stumps, he scored his runs at a strike-rate – 69 – that few top-order batsmen can match. With the gloves Bairstow improved but is not yet the equal of his late father.

Will Gidman

With one first-class appearance before the season began, bookmakers would have given any odds on Gidman becoming the first man for 15 years to score 1000 championship runs and take 50 wickets. But do that he did; and with a batting average (45) more than double his bowling one (21). A late developer at 26, Gidman deserves England Lions recognition.

Glen Chapple (captain)

It’s not only sentimentality that earns Chapple a place in this side, which his achievement in lifting the pennant without stars ensures he leads. At 37, his canny fast-medium bowling was effective enough to claim 55 wickets at under 20, despite often not being fully fit. Though he was uncharacteristically short of runs, Lancashire would not have won the championship without his 97 in their penultimate game.

Tim Murtagh

Unlucky to never represent England (though he may yet play for Ireland), Murtagh’s best season yet propelled Middlesex to promotion. A round 80 wickets in 15 matches highlight his potency, which is especially great with the new ball, as a three-wicket bust in 16 balls against Derbyshire illustrates.

David Masters

Lazy cricket writers have spent years describing Masters as a “nagging seamer” and “journeyman”, but he forced them to be rather more imaginative after claiming 93 wickets. Masters’ mastery of the Tiflex ball and constant ability to seam it was never more evident than when he claimed 8/10 against Leicestershire.

Gary Keedy

The mark of Keedy’s bowling is that his left-arm spin is almost as effective in April as August, while his parsimony (giving away just 2.5 an over) means Lancashire never lost control in the field. His 4-57 from 28 overs in the first innings of the victory at Taunton perfectly encapsulated his qualities.

Gloucestershire: 2011 Season Preview

2010 in a nutshell:

2010 was a somewhat disappointing year overall for the Gladiators. In the County Championship the club finished fifth in Division Two after a fairly disastrous end to the season. Once again it was generally the bowling which was the stronger suit for Gloucestershire, so much so in fact that two thirds of their 2010 County Championship wickets came from players who have been drawn away to supposedly bigger and better things. The biggest negative for Gloucestershire was undoubtedly the ease with which they were turned over on no less than nine occasions (matched only by Warwickshire). At home they won just two County Championship matches, not good enough. In the T20, Gloucestershire finished bottom of the Southern Group, enough said. It was a slightly better story in the 40 Over League, where the Gladiators narrowly missed out on the knockout stages, finishing third by just one point in Group B. Overall, it was a season to forget, although there were glimpses of the potential residing at this club of great history.

2011 prospects:

Departures galore across the disciplines will hurt the Gladiators, but not perhaps as much as people first may think. A promotion challenge is an outside possibility, but without a top quality spinner in the County Championship, and with a number of inexperienced players throughout the side, the consistency of performance will probably not match that required for a serious push. Much more likely is success in the T20, aided by the signing of the magical Murali, somewhat of a miracle for a club so strapped of cash. This alone would be a welcome change from last season, when the club faired so badly. A lot will depend on how quickly the new youngsters and new overseas signing, Kane Williamson, adapt to county cricket.

Batting:

The top order has undergone a bit of an overhaul, as in been replaced! Kadeer Ali was let go and William Porterfield is now plying his trade at Warwickshire. Allrounder Rob Woodman and very surprisingly, wicket keeper Steven Snell, were also released. Finally, James Franklin has been replaced by fellow Kiwi Williamson, a destructive player with bags of potential. Ian Cockbain, Richard Coughtrie and Chris Dent face a tough time in their first full seasons with the club and this is why I expect the batting to once again be the county’s downfall across the competitions. Will Gidman meanwhile will hope for more action than he had at Durham, now that he has been reunited with his brother once again. The burden will rest largely with Captain and talisman Alex Gidman and overseas player Williamson, who will bat at three. Hamish Marshall along with veterans Jonathan Batty and Chris Taylor will also be looked to for significant contributions across the three formats and a bit more consistency than they were able to muster last year.

Bowling:

The departures have been plentiful. Steve Kirby has moved on to Somerset in the hope of international honours as he approaches the twilight of his career. The great find of last season, Gemaal Hussain rather did the dirty on the club that gave him a chance and joins Kirby at Somerset for this season. Franklin hasn’t come back this year and even Anthony Ireland has moved on to Middlesex. However, what appears depressing to begin with could in fact become a major positive for the club. Young fast bowlers are coming through the ranks and there are high hopes for Liam Norwell (right arm fast-medium) especially, along with David Payne (left arm fast-medium) and Ian Saxelby (right arm medium, who can bat). Led by the evergreen Jon Lewis, who is fast becoming an allrounder it seems, there is real hope for the seam attack this year, so expect the bowling to remain pretty strong despite the departures. The problem then? Spin, or the lack thereof yet again. Gloucestershire will again be dependent on the inconsistent twosome of Vikram Banerjee and Richard Dawson (now also the spin bowling coach), apart from when Murali arrives for the T20 of course. If only he could play all year...

Probable side:

Cockbain
Batty (wk)
Williamson
Marshall
A. Gidman (c)
Taylor
W. Gidman
Saxelby
Lewis
Payne (Banerjee)
Norwell

An all pace attack is likely more often than not in the County Championship, given the relative weakness of the spin options available.

Key Man:

My pick is Alex Gidman, Captain, talisman and a supremely talented and dangerous player, who has been on the verge of England selection for the past few years. He can be a destructive player, whose allround contribution and leadership of those younger players will prove decisive on many occasions for Gloucestershire this year. He will have to massively improve on last years’ efforts though, when he averaged just 23.

Rising Star:

Liam Norwell is a young right arm English bowler capable of making the breakthrough this year and more than that, making a real contribution to the county’s success. If he performs as well for the Gladiators as he has for the youth team then the county will find themselves with a more than adequate replacement for the likes of Steve Kirby and Gemaal Hussain.

Captain and Coach:

Alex Gidman has already been mentioned a lot, indicating the county’s reliance on him. As a Captain he leads by example and hopefully the younger additions to the side will follow in his stride. As for the coach, John Bracewell, he has always been considered as a bit of a one day specialist, but he will be desperate to improve the clubs fortunes in the longest and shortest versions of the game. His nurturing of the young talent in this side will be key to Gloucestershire’s chances of success and he will need to get the blend of experience and youth right throughout the season.

Prediction:

Just outside the promotion places in the County Championship and progress to the knockout stages of the T20 Cup. Finals day is a possibility if the batting clicks for the Gladiators, but it rarely does. The 40 Over League will probably be used as a breeding ground for some more youngsters meanwhile.

A new county season - will Somerset actually win something?

So today marks the beginning of the new county season, less than a week after the World Cup final. Cricket really is a 365 day a year sport.

Somerset look like they might be able to improve on their treble of near misses last year. As well as powerful batting - Trescothick, Hildreth, Kieswetter - they have boosted their bowling attack. Steve Kirby is an astute signing, while overseas spin, in the form of Ajantha Mendis and then Murali Kartik, will get plenty of wickets, especially given that most English batsmen seem allergic to using their feet to spin. And George Dockrell could be an excellent signing too.

In the meantime, here are 10 county players to watch (click the links to read why)-
Simon Jones
Alviro Petersen
Owais Shah
Amjad Khan
Graham Onions
James Taylor
George Dockrell
Danny Briggs
Jonny Bairstow
Tom Maynard

What are your thoughts on the list? And, indeed predictions for the new season?

County men to watch - Danny Briggs

Briggs is a left-arm spinner whose action evokes that of Dan Vettori. He benefited from the England Lions tour more than anyone else, claiming 33 wickets at under 20 with guile and plenty of turn. Briggs out-bowled Adil Rashid on that tour – and it may not be too long until he overtakes Monty Panesar as England’s second choice Test spinner. Unusually for a slow bowler yet to turn 20, Briggs has also fared outstandingly in the hustle-and-bustle of Twenty20.

County men to watch - Jonny Bairstow

Like his father, Jonny is a Yorkshire wicket-keeper and he too could play for England. In both his seasons for Yorkshire, Bairstow (21) has averaged in excess of 40, as well as impressing on the recent England Lions tour to the Caribbean. A natural behind the stumps and a resolute batsman, Bairstow knows some long innings – he has 15 first-class 50s but is yet to score a hundred – will put him in contention for a winter touring spot.

County men to watch - Tom Maynard

Amidst the chaos that saw Alviro Petersen appointed new Glamorgan skipper, Tom Maynard left the club. Though his time at Glamorgan was characterised more by rich potential than performance, fans were sad that a man of his stroke-playing ability had left. A move to Surrey could provide the spur Maynard, 22, needs to achieve more consistency, especially in first-class cricket. If he can manage that, his clean-hitting is such that the next World Twenty20, to be held in the autumn of 2012, is a realistic aim.

County men to watch - George Dockrell

Dockrell starred for Ireland at the World Cup, most notably dismissing Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. Just 18, Dockrell is a left-arm spinner who gives the ball a pleasing flight, as well as getting probing turn and bounce. But his biggest attribute is his relentless accuracy. Aided by an admirable temperament, Dockrell picked up 2/23 from his ten overs against Bangladesh. Somerset recognised his potential, handing him a two-year contract last year, and he could be a huge asset towards the end of the season.

County men to watch - James Taylor

Taylor may be tiny – just 5ft 5in – but so have many of the finest ever batsmen. The 21-year-old has excited judges more than any prodigy since Ian Bell, and with very good reason. So far he averages in excess of 45 in both first-class and one-day cricket, and has already displayed a relish for long innings in hitting two double centuries. The responsibility of being Leicestershire’s best batsman seems to inspire him and, after averaging 58 for the England Lions, how far away is a first Test cap?

County men to watch - Graham Onions

Onions admits he watched the Ashes with no little frustration – the man who dismissed Shane Watson and Mike Hussey with the first two balls of the day at Edgbaston in 2009 could easily have been there. Having not played since January 2010, Durham will need to manage his workload sagaciously. If they do, he could soon add to his 28 Test wickets, which have come sat a very respectable 31 apiece. That he remains in England’s plans was made clear when he was named in the England Performance squad for this season.

County men to watch - Amjad Khan

A bowler capable of generating reverse swing at great pace, Khan was handed a Test cap in the West Indies in 2009 – only Darren Pattinson trumps him in the ranks of unlikely England Test players over the last decade. Thereafter, he has slipped into anonymity, and the Danish-born quick will hope a winter move from Kent to Sussex can reinvigorate a career that risks being ravaged by injury. Sussex will need him to be a success to remain in Division One.

County men to watch - Owais Shah

Controversially released by Middlesex last season – made all the more acrimonious because he found out through a journalist – Shah moved to Essex. With his desire to rebuild his reputation, expect Shah to score plenty of runs, mixing classical shots with his own idiosyncratic ones, though he will miss the start of the season due to IPL commitments. At 32, he says he retains ambitions of playing for England. Though he averaged over 50 in all three forms of the game as an overseas player in South Africa during the off season, Shah, seemingly blacklisted from the England set-up, will need to score monumentally to earn a recall.

County men to watch - Alviro Petersen

Our second man to watch is new Glamoragn skipper Alviro Petersen.
Glamorgan played a high price indeed for his signing. After his appointment, ex-skipper Jamie Dalrymple left the club, director of cricket Matt Maynard resigned and his son, promising young batsman Tom, followed out the door. Even without the winter upheaval, Petersen already faced a tough challenge – joining a new club as captain is notoriously difficult. The best way to stabilise matters will be to make runs. Petersen, who scored a century on his Test debut in India last year, should bring solidity to Glamorgan’s top-order, and will probably bat at three.

County men to watch - Simon Jones

I've picked ten county men to watch, which I'll be posting. I begin - perhaps more in hope than expectation - with Simon Jones.
Though he has had almost as many attempted comebacks as George Best, Jones is still only 32 and – until his next injury, at least – can still produce terrific spells. That much he proved with some outstanding bowling for Hampshire in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament. With yorkers, well disguised slower balls and more pace than one would expect considering his injury record, he took 12 wickets at ten apiece, prompting dreams he could again represent England – most likely as a strike bowler in the shorter formats.

2010 County Preview: Surrey

2009 in a nutshell

Surrey, seemingly drifting from one ignominious low to the next in recent seasons, managed to hit a new nadir. They won just one Championship game all season - and indeed over the last two campaigns. Mark Butcher’s sad mid-season retirement led to Stewart Walters, who had a first-class batting average of under 20, being awarded the captaincy, and he responded with two centuries. But the batting remained far too dependent upon Usman Afzaal and the imperious Mark Ramprakash, though Michael Brown and Chris Schofield averaged in the mid-30s in the Championship. The less said about the bowling, utterly toothless once Andre Nel was injured, the better. In limited-overs, Surrey were equally dire, winning just seven of their 26 games. As Chris Adams recognised, things had to change.

Standout stats

90.00 - Mark Ramprakash’s average in 2009

22.92 - The average cost of Chris Schofield’s 25 one-day wickets in 2009

1 - Number of times Surrey’s bowling attack has taken twenty wickets in a game in the last 31

Winter wonderland?

No county has been busier than Surrey as Chris Adams sought to rebuild his squad after the wreckage of the last campaign. Incredibly, he identified Rory Hamilton-Brown, 22 and with just experience of just eight first-class games, to be the new permanent skipper. Hamilton-Brown is a brilliantly clean striker of the ball and useful off-spinner who has spent the winter on tour with the England Lions, and impressed Adams sufficiently when both were at Sussex for him to label Hamilton-Brown a future England captain. He was joined from Sussex by Piyush Chawla, who will be the overseas player, providing the BCCI do not rescind their No Objection Certificate. Given the autocratic manner in which they are prone to behave, who knows?

Highly-regarded wicket-keeper Steven Davies replaced outgoing club stalwart Jon Batty, while namesake Gareth returned to Surrey, somewhat bafflingly. James Benning, after years of failing to live up to his biling as Ali Brown’s heir, departed to try and fulfill his promise at Leicestershire, one of nine players to depart in an overdue mass-clearout.

Perhaps the best signing was the most recent, Chris Tremlett, whose height and bounce are well-suited to The Oval. Like so many of his team-mates, he has a big point to prove.

Key man

Runs from Ramps are rather taken as a given, and the key to getting promoted will be to take twenty wickets. Much will therefore be expected of Indian all-rounder Piyush Chawla. Just 21, the leg-spinner has already taken 247 first-class wickets. When he was 17, he famously snared Sachin Tendulkar with his devilish googly - one which helped to account for 36 batsmen in just six games for Sussex last season. If Surrey get promoted, fans will have a lot to thank the Chawla googly for.

Rising star

The star may have been stalling more than rising last campaign, but Chris Jordan remains an immensely exciting prospect. Boasting a correct batting technique and hitting the high 80s with his bowling, the 21-year-old Jordan has all the attributes to play international cricket, if he can only find consistency.

Foreign legion

Chawla will occupy the overseas duties after he has finished playing for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, with Pakistan quick Rao Iftikhar Anjum looking to exploit the early-season pitches beforehand. As yet, no second overseas man has been signed for the Twenty20 Cup.

Captain and coach

Chris Adams’ official title is manager, rather than coach. His first season was disastrous, but he always said he needed time, so time he must be given. In local boy Hamilton-Brown, who returned to the county he left in 2007, Adams identified the man he believes will make Surrey the “team of the decade”. Hamilton-Brown faces extraordinary responsibility - not since the days of the amateur-player divide has a man with so little experience led the county. And he wasn’t even born when his best player, Ramprakash, made his first-class debut.

2010 prospects

Surrey undoubtedly begin this season in much better strength than they ended the last. In Ramprakash, Afzaal, Davies, Chawla, Tremlett and Nel, they have a series of proven performers who must feel they belong in the first division. A worry is the opening batting, where it is unclear who will partner Brown, but the real question marks concern the bowling attack.

If Chawla can reproduce the form he showed for Sussex and Nel and Tremlett remain fully fit, then promotion appears eminently attainable. With Davies a formidable limited-overs opener at county level, their performances in the short versions of the game should also see improvement, though real progress looks unlikely. Most fundamentally of all, Hamilton-Brown must justify the enormous faith shown in him by taking care of his own performances. If he does so, 2010 could mark the beginning of a Surrey resurgence.

Mystic Richard’s 2009 Predictions – Division 1

Having scuppered Kent’s chances with the Division 2 predictions, here’s my look at Division 1. Just to get my excuses in early the last two years have been incredibly close, and I did get the relegated teams right last year. To be honest, this year looks to be even harder to call and I can’t see a team being cast adrift as Surrey and Worcester have in the past two seasons.

9 Sussex
The loss of Mushtaq will hit the 2007 champions harder than the loss of Chris Adams, despite the emergence of Ollie Raynor. Last season’s hero with the bat, Matt Prior, will be spending the summer with England and the team will be reliant on the evergreen Murray Goodwin and new boy Ed Joyce, looking to get back into England reckoning. They were close to going down last season and while Yasir Arafat will help the aging pace attack, they will struggle.

8 Lancashire
Probably the county that will suffer most to England call ups, with Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson away for most of the year. Add to that the loss of Dominic Cork and Stuart Law, then this is a rebuilding season during which they will do well to retain their first division status. Paul Horton will be key to run scoring, while captain Glen Chapple will need to take a lot of wickets, particularly if Saj Mahmood joins Flintoff and Anderson with England. This year’s first division looks too strong for those that are left.

7 Worcestershire
Only one player missing from last season’s promotion, but it will be strange sight to see a Hick-less Worcestershire team. Nonetheless, the batting looks to be the strong suit, with Stephen Moore and Steve Davies looking to bolster their international credentials. Kabir Ali is another looking to restart his International career and if Simon Jones stays fit (and as I write, he’s been ruled out of the start of the season), they have a decent pace attack with Imran Arif. With Gareth Batty and Ian Fisher providing slow bowling options, they have a much better chance of staying up than last time they were in Division 1.

6 Warwickshire
A clear out of the fringe players shouldn’t impact too much on the Bears, who should score plenty of runs, particularly with Ian Bell and Tim Ambrose likely to be in the fold for much of the season. Jeetan Patel could be an astute signing if it is a hot summer. However, the pace bowling seems to lack the cutting edge needed to challenge this season. Chris Woakes is clearly promising, but is also barely 20, while Neil Carter and Darren Maddy won’t find wickets as easy to come by in Division 1. They won’t lose many, but won’t win many either.

5 Somerset
With an Ashes series during the summer, it will be hard to watch Marcus Trescothick piling on the runs for Somerset. However, with Trescothick, Hildredth and Langer, runs will come a plenty even with Ian Blackwell decamping to Durham. Andrew Caddick will be hoping for a better season on the injury front, but age does like it is catching up on him. Charl Willougby will be the main threat with the ball again, but twenty wickets might be a struggle. Like Warwickshire, they may go through the season unbeaten, but won’t win enough to challenge for the title.

4 Hampshire
A first half of 2008 in turmoil following the departure of Shane Warne made them midseason favourites for relegation. However, a blistering second half to the season almost saw them take the pennant. Astute captaincy from Dimitri Mascarhenas along with runs from throughout the team and the discovery that Imran Tahir was indeed a match-winning bowler were the key to success. Like Yorkshire, they will do best in a dry summer and before Tahir’s injury, I’d have taken them to edge the title, despite losing Michael Brown. They’ll still be close, though. The top four this season is a real toss up.

3 Nottinghamshire
Although Stuart Broad won’t feature much, Ryan Sidebottom is likely to be back and along with Darren Pattinson, Charlie Schrek and Mark Footit, they have a pace attack to match anyone in the Division. Graeme Swann will be on England duty, but in Samit Patel and Jason Brown, there is plenty of cover there too. The signing of Ali Brown shows that runs are the key for Notts and this may be the difference between the title and 3rd.

2 Durham
After the celebrations last season, this time round it may be more of a struggle for the champions. Steve Harmison is less likely to feature as he continues his international comeback, although with the likes of Mark Davies, Graham Onions and Liam Plunkett, there is still plenty in the pace department. The recruitment of Ian Blackwell will provide a spin option as well as providing valuable middle order runs. Another big season for Will Smith may see them close to retaining their title.

1 Yorkshire
I don’t like this. However, a batting line up including Michael Vaughan with something to prove, Jacques Rudolph and new skipper Antony McGrath is going to score plenty of runs. The pace attack of Matthew Hoggard, Rana Naved and Tim Bresnan is a match for Durham and Notts and the spin options of Adil Rashid and David Wainwright means that Yorkshire have on paper the most balanced team in the country. Unfortunately, I’ve just ruined their chances, but I think the pennant could be flying over Headingley again come September.

Mystic Richard’s 2009 Predictions – Division 2

Yes I know I said that Sussex would win Division 1, and Middlesex and Essex would go up last season, but I did predict the demise of Surrey and Kent as well as Gloucestershire finishing rock bottom. Therefore, I’m going to have another go this season. Division 1 will follow, with the predictions in reverse order.

9 Gloucestershire
Bottom last year and I can’t see any reason that they will improve on matters. James Franklin for Marcus North as the overseas player seems like a backwards step. Alex Gidman has taken over the captaincy and while Steve Kirby should be a threat with the ball, the county doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere.

8 Northamptonshire
The loss of Jason Brown will be compensated by Monty Panesar being around more this season. However, given his county form since he played for England, this may not be a huge advantage. Still too reliant on aging South Africans and David Sales, the season could be a struggle.

7 Glamorgan
More close season changes in Wales see Jamie Dalrymple take over the captaincy. The county has young local talent in abundance with James Harris, Tom Maynard, Huw Waters and Adam Shantry forming a nucleus that should serve the county well for the next decade. Seventh, but there doesn’t look a lot between 4th and 7th this year.

6 Derbyshire
The release of Nayan Doshi along with the loss of Rikki Clarke mid season shows that last winters plans have been ditched. Mark Lawson could be a good signing and he will benefit from regular cricket. Stuart Law may be more of a risk as he reaches his 41st birthday. Another season of rebuilding is likely, but with the promising Dan Redfern out of school and looking to play a full season, the future is looking brighter.

5 Surrey
Something radical is needed at the Oval. Mark Ramprakash could score more runs than the rest of the team combined although Michael Brown should provide good support. However even at this level, Surrey will struggle to take 20 wickets in a match. Chris Jordan needs to show more than promise, the returning Alex Tudor needs to stay fit and Kolpakker Andre Nel needs to stay focussed.

4 Leicestershire
Having turned round last season from Kolpakshire to a haven of young English cricketers, I’m not sure how much this prediction is based on hope rather than expectation. HD Ackerman will be a steadying influence on the youngsters like Josh Cobb and they could surprise a few teams this season. Not good enough to go up yet, but certainly moving in the right direction.


3 Middlesex
To be honest I’m fed up of tipping them for the title only to see them blow up spectacularly. The 20:Twenty excitement proves all too much last season and with Andrew Strauss with England for the summer and the loss of Ed Joyce, it may be a time to rebuild. The attack looks lightweight, even with the continued promise of Steve Finn.

2 Essex
Talking of teams that I’m continually tipping for great things. Matt Walker could prove to be a great signing, Alex Tudor won’t be a great loss. Ravi Bopara will want to keep up the pressure on the England selectors, as will James Foster as the selectors seem to have finally remembered who he is. Danish Kaneria is the best bowler in Division 2 by a country mile and this must be the year they go up, surely?

1 Kent
And so there goes the last ever present team in Division 1. Despite 3 players in the PCA MVP race top 10, including the winner – Martin van Jaarsveld, Kent’s proud record went last season. With Rob Key, Joe Denly and Amjad Khan looking to impress the England selectors, they are the worthy favourites to bounce straight back to Division 1 as Champions.

2009 County Preview: Hampshire

2008 in a nutshell:

Hampshire enjoyed a respectable season in 2008 with the final results quite promising for the future. It was a season of two halves for the Hawks with relegation and woe looking likely at the halfway point, as Paul Terry parted company with a disjointed side, which was initially deprived of it’s entire bowling attack from the previous season, as well as it’s overseas player. The turning points were the promotion of new coach Giles White and the arrival of overseas player Imran Tahir. Ultimately the Friends Provident Trophy campaign was a non-starter, whilst the Twenty20 campaign was disappointing, but less so than usual as the Hawks mustered fourth in by far the country’s toughest group. From relegation candidates as they entered the backend of the season, Hampshire hauled themselves up to an impressive third place in the LVCC Division One, whilst the end of season improvement was most evidently seen in the Pro40 Division One campaign, where the club finished second to a slick Worcestershire side.

2009 prospects:

Ultimately more of the same perhaps. The start to the season should be much improved compared to last year, but one cannot shake the feeling that Hampshire will be coming from behind again by the time the summer is in full swing. Marcus North will miss the first game of the season, but should boost the batting in all formats once he arrives, after his impressive showings for Gloucestershire last year. Early season one day prospects will benefit from his involvement, but the loss of Dimitri Mascarenhas to the IPL and England will more than negate that positive. He will be a massive loss to the side early doors. Much will be expected of the country’s leading wicket taker, James Tomlinson and he should continue to improve, especially in the traditional spring weather conditions. Chris Tremlett, if fit, will be looking towards England once again, but it is a lose lose situation for Hampshire. If he is fit, he will doubtless be lost to England at some stage. The more likely scenario is that he won’t be fit. Think of him as Hampshire’s Ledley King. The “big” signing of the close season was 37 year old former England all-rounder Dominic Cork from Lancashire. He has surely been signed to cover for Mascarenhas and educate the counties younger bowlers, such as the aforementioned Tomlinson and fellow youngsters, David Griffiths, Hamza Riazuddin and David Balcombe. All eyes will though be on the arrival of Imran Tahir at the midway point, to see just how far he can propel the Hawks up the table and whether he can this year inspire them to four day or even Pro40 success, in it’s final season. Ultimately a top three title challenge and success in the Pro40 best represent the hopes and expectations for Hampshire this year. The Twenty20 Cup campaign could though be fascinating if the Hawks manage to field their two spinners (Tahir and Dawson) and top quality all-rounders (Mascarenhas, Ervine and Cork) thoughout.

Batting:

As usual the main problem with Hampshire in 2008 was the batting, although initially the bowling had looked to be the more pressing concern. In the Championship only Nic Pothas (53.5) and Michael Brown (40.86) managed to finish with impressive averages and Brown has since departed for Surrey. Michaels’ Lumb (32.72) and Carberry (28.60) frustrated many as they failed to transfer their fine limited overs returns into the Championship. John Crawley meanwhile faces a last hurrah season as his 27.73 from only 9 matches last year suggests that he is well and truly on the decline. All three will need to improve in 2009, whilst it would of course be nice to see a bit more of Kevin Pietersen at the Rose Bowl, which may just happen under the new England management team. Having mustered just 33 batting points in 2008 (7th in the division), it seemed as though Hampshire were certain to strengthen the batting for the new campaign. However, with no Brown in 2009 and no new signings (Ed Joyce surely should have been targeted), Jimmy Adams, Sean Ervine and Chris Benham will have to demonstrate their ability once again and return to their form of late 2007, when each looked like they would become county stalwarts for years to come. Marcus North will be heavily relied upon to score consistently in the first part of the season when conditions are tougher. Also, expect Nic Pothas to carry on churning out the runs, with the likes of Liam Dawson, Dimi Mascarenhas and Dominic Cork repairing earlier damage.

Bowling:

The bowling was ultimately once again the county’s strong suit in 2008, with the club acquiring 47 bowling points (1st in the division). James Tomlinson (67 at 24.76) was the top four day bowler in the country and Imran Tahir (44 at 16.68) was incredible following his arrival for the last part of the summer. Tahir will be key to the Hawks hopes of winning either the Championship or Pro40 Division One and along with Liam Dawson could form a competition defining partnership for the Twenty20 Cup campaign. Dimi Mascarenhas (41 at 23.82) looks likely to be away in the IPL or with England for much of the season, so Dominic Cork (20 at 27.6) will need to turn back the years and prove that he still has what it takes to contribute towards a Championship charge. Sean Ervine will also be relied upon to help fill the void left by Mascarenhas’ lengthy absences. Meanwhile, Chris Tremlett, who had a disappointing 2008 (27 at 37.0), due to both injury and knock backs from England, will be looking to prove his fitness and form as he bids to return to the Test team, in which he was so impressive in 2007. The major hurdle for Hampshire early season will be the absence of a proven premier spinner once again. Liam Dawson impressed towards the end of 2008 and will be relied upon, along with Marcus North, to limit the runs conceded in limited overs competitions and to offer the main spin threat in the Championship, until the arrival of Tahir in June. With youngsters Griffiths, Riazuddin and Balcombe showing promising signs in 2008 and Billy Taylor offering his dependably tight limited overs skills, the bowling at Hampshire is looking as strong as ever overall and quite youthful.

Probable Best Side:

Championship (1st Half)

Carberry
Adams
Lumb
North
Ervine
Pothas (wk) (c)
Dawson
Cork (Mascarenhas)
Tremlett
Tomlinson
Griffiths/Balcombe

Championship (2nd Half)

Carberry
Adams
Lumb
Benham/Crawley
Ervine
Pothas (wk)
Dawson
Mascarenhas (c) (Cork)
Tremlett
Tomlinson
Tahir

List A (1st half)

Carberry
Lumb
Ervine
North
Benham
Pothas (wk) (c)
Dawson
Cork (Mascarenhas)
Tremlett
Tomlinson
Taylor

List A (2nd Half)

Carberry
Lumb
Ervine
Benham
Dawson
Pothas (wk)
Mascarenhas
Cork/Adams
Tremlett
Tomlinson
Tahir

Twenty20

Carberry
Lumb
Ervine
Benham
Mascarenhas
Pothas (wk)
Adams
Dawson
Cork
Tremlett
Tahir

Hampshire look to be a batsman light in their squad with John Crawley unlikely to play any limited overs cricket and Jimmy Adams not particularly suited to it. The batting looks reasonable, with lots of stroke makers, who are perhaps better suited to the shorter formats though. Chris Benham will likely have to settle for limited overs appearances until Marcus North goes home, whilst one of the younger bowlers, or perhaps Billy Taylor, will likely benefit until the arrival of Imran Tahir later in the summer. The squad is packed with good allrounders as usual, with North, Ervine, Mascarenhas, Dawson and Cork all more than capable in both of the main disciplines. This should hopefully give the side a decent chance in the Twenty20 Cup this year, with limited overs success a good possibility. Ultimately the bowling will keep the side in the Championship hunt, but how many batting points the team can deliver may ultimately decide their fate. Expect the spin twins Tahir and Dawson to feature heavily in any success.

Key Man:

I believe that the overseas players performances will be key to Hampshire’s chances of success as will the U19’s Captain, Liam Dawson. Therefore it is hard to pinpoint just one player. However, my player of the year last season, Nic Pothas, gets my vote as he will need to lead the side early on in the season and keep up his stellar performances with the bat in the Championship to ensure that Hampshire post respectable totals and gain their fair share of batting points.

Rising Star:

Liam Dawson is the man I am going for once again. His slow left arm bowling has been effective at England U19 level and he showed at the end of last season that he was more than capable of transferring that form into county cricket, where he played consistently well following the departure of Greg Lamb from the side. His batting will be a major asset this season and he could be seen batting as high as five in limited overs cricket, in which he will be a major asset.

Captain and Coach:

Dimitri Mascarenhas will miss the start of the season once again because of commitments in the IPL and will undoubtedly go on to make more appearances for England over the summer. Mascarenhas tried to continue the Warne tradition of attacking and playing to win last year. He was however overly cautious until the end of the season, the game against Lancashire at Old Trafford a prime example of how a crisis of confidence and a mentality of safety first had set in at the club after the poor first half of the season. Hopefully this season he can go on the attack more often, with relegation hopefully not a concern for the club.

Giles White was promoted from Academy Director last year to succeed Paul Terry in the role of Team Manager. Until Terry’s departure Hampshire had looked to be a sinking ship, but White inspired the fans and players alike with his youthful enthusiasm and fresh approach. Now that he has had a whole pre-season to assess his charges, fans will be hopeful that the team can charge out of the blocks and land a trophy or perhaps even two this year with an exciting and attacking brand of cricket.

2008 Season Review: Hampshire

Final Placings:
County Championship Division One – 3rd;
FP Trophy - 4th, South-Eastern Conference;
Twenty20 Cup – 4th, South Division;
Pro40 Division One – 2nd.

Hampshire enjoyed a respectable season in 2008 and the final results look quite promising for the future. Indeed it was a season of two halves and it could have been a whole lot worse! In the initial few weeks of the season things looked grim. Dimitri Mascarenhas was away in India or with England more often than not and Chris Tremlett was enduring a frustrating time with injuries yet again, a trend which continued throughout the year. Greg Lamb looked woefully short of being a threatening four day spin bowler, much less a replacement for Shane Warne (8 wickets at 71.37), and he has in fact now been released by the county. The batting was experiencing it’s usual woes, with even the normally reliable John Crawley and Nic Pothas both out of form. Then, Shane Bond (19 at 19.21) got injured and Hampshire were without an overseas player and were missing their entire bowling attack from the previous season, James Bruce and Warne having of course retired, whilst Shaun Udal had switched allegiances.

The Friends Provident Trophy campaign never really got going and Hampshire soon found themselves bottom of the County Championship. Paul Terry parted company with the county and the search for a replacement is ongoing, with Chris Adams high on the list of wanted candidates. The Twenty20 Cup campaign, the finals day of which was held at the Rose Bowl, was less disappointing than usual, with the county only one victory from making the knockout stage. Shane Watson’s failure to show up was a blow, although Ian Harvey did a good job in his absence, with both Michael Lumb and Michael Carberry continuing to show that they are excellent limited overs performers. Nante Hayward was briefly impressive before succumbing to injury and it will be interesting to see if Hawks fans see any more of the South African Kolpak signing next season. In a competition as strong as the South Division though, it was always going to be hard to emerge from the group which contained three of the four semi-finalists and furthermore, the two finalists.

Into the backend of the season and Hampshire were occupying one of the two relegation places in the Championship and it was questionable as to how they could turn it around. Imran Tahir’s arrival as overseas player marked the beginning of the recovery, as did the emergence of spinning allrounder Liam Dawson, who scored his maiden century in the final day victory over Nottinghamshire. The two spinners dominated opposition batting line-ups in the Pro40 competition, sweeping Hampshire to second, Dawson finishing with 11 at 13.72 and Tahir with 12 at 20.33, whilst Billy Taylor also chipped in with an impressive 13 at 15.38. In fact, were it not for the rain, Hampshire would in all likelihood have won the competition, with Sean Ervine finding some late form. Meanwhile, in the four day game, Tahir especially was proving to be a real trump card, as opposition batsmen the land over were bamboozled by his vast array of mysterious deliveries. The Pakistani A leg spinner was definitely key to the revival in Hampshire’s fortunes. Meanwhile, sides continued to struggle with the impressive James Tomlinson, the young left arm seamer, who was consistent throughout the entire season and ended as the divisions top wicket taker, most impressive.

As per usual the main problem with Hampshire was the batting, although at the start of the season the bowling had looked to be the more pressing concern. In the Championship only Nic Pothas (53.5) and Michael Brown (40.86) managed to finish with respectable averages, whilst Michaels’ Lumb (32.72) and Carberry (28.60) continue to fail to transfer their fine limited overs returns into the Championship. John Crawley meanwhile appears to have seen his best days (27.73 from only 9 matches). Only Pothas (3) scored more than one hundred and he also registered the best score (137). Hampshire’s deep batting was once again their saving grace and it is clear where the Hawks need to improve in the future, especially as they mustered only 33 batting points (7th in the division), yet managed 47 bowling points (1st in the division).

The bowling figures do look a lot better for Hampshire, with Tahir (44 at 16.68), Tomlinson (67 at 24.76) and Mascarenhas (41 at 23.82) the stand out performers, though it is worth noting that Tremlett had a disappointing year (27 at 37.0), due to both injury and knock backs from Team England. Between them, Tahir (44) and Bond (19), compensated well for the absence of former captain Shane Warne, whilst Mascarenhas tried to continue the Warne tradition of attacking and playing to win. He was however overly cautious until the end of the season, the game against Lancashire at Old Trafford a prime example of how a crisis of confidence and a mentality of safety first had set in at the club after the poor first half of the season.

Player of the season:
It would be easy to point to Imran Tahir, as his arrival had such a massive impact, but without the ever dependable Nic Pothas, the county’s highest run scorer, and the consistent wicket taking ability of James Tomlinson, Hampshire would probably have been sunk before his arrival. Those two rightly share the award from this commentator.

Most disappointing player:
Greg Lamb. 8 wickets at 71.37 is awful for a spinner, a batting average of 20.92 is a poor average for an allrounder and it is no surprise that the club finally released him early, after he managed just 1 wicket at 102, from 17 overs, in the Pro40 and a 0 from his one innings. He was never going to be a replacement for Warne or Udal as a specialist bowler, but he can not even be called an allrounder unfortunately after this season.

Highlight: The dramatic low scoring victory over Durham which proved to be a key moment in the season following the victory over Yorkshire, with Sean Ervine crucially hitting 94 not out, as Hampshire recovered from being bowled out for 96 in the first innings and from having slumped to 77 for 5 in their second, to score a winning total of 240-8, beating eventual Championship winners Durham in the process by two wickets. Nail biting stuff.

Lowlight: Having to wait until mid-June for the first County Championship win, interestingly enough, it was also against Durham. It was probably the result of a loss of leadership, with Warne throwing in the towel just weeks before the start of the season and Mascarenhas gallivanting off to India to join him for a few weeks.

IX of the Season:

Carberry
Brown
Lumb
Benham
Ervine
Pothas (wk)
Dawson
Mascarenhas (c)
Tremlett
Tahir
Tomlinson

Welcoming the EPL and "Friday night cricket"!

The ECB have taken their time to respond to the IPL, a wise move, which suggests that the planned changes to the domestic competitions are more measured rather than knee-jerk. It was back in May when I last touched upon this subject and suggested that a two tier league structure was the best way forward. As such I am pleased that the new EPL will begin in this form and qualifying will be based on sides’ performances in the 2009 Twenty20 Cup. The major feature of the new EPL is that it will coexist with the current Twenty20 Cup, which will be played later on in the summer, regularly on Friday nights, which may not do much for the alcoholic consumption of your average Twenty20 punter, especially with 19:30 start times, which tends to attract those who are just beginning their weekend. Still, a regular time and place is good for attracting regular supporters and it may free up more weekends for some four day cricket, a revolutionary idea. The fact that the Twenty20 Cup will now be spread out over a couple of months is also good for gate revenues, as it means that people will probably be more likely to attend more matches. At present there is no way that a fan can reasonably be expected to attend all of their sides home fixtures within the three week period. Making way for the newly timetabled Twenty20 Cup will of course be the Pro40, which used to be the big money earner in county cricket, but is now so far outdated and quite frankly unnecessary that it is a surprise that it has lasted as long as it has. I think that these moves are sensible ones by the ECB and will give Twenty20 fans what they want. If you go away for holiday in June you can still watch some Twenty20 cricket now at a different point in the year!

The EPL will be held around the time of the current Twenty20 Cup and will last about three weeks, shorter than the IPL, which has been widely acknowledged to have lasted too long. This will allow England Internationals to feature, in between series, which will give them much needed experience of the format. It will hopefully attract the best overseas players, who will see the three weeks as a nice little earner. The presence of players of such high calibre and class will be hugely attractive to audiences around the globe, which means revenue for the ECB, counties and players. The particulars of the EPL are of course yet to be finalised, but the general understanding is that each county will be allowed three overseas players in addition to the one player they are currently allowed throughout the entire season. The kolpak problem will of course still exist, but this needs to be addressed separately and with more haste by the ECB anyway. The current idea is that overseas players wishing to partake will be contracted to the ECB for the competition and then clubs will bid for players with funds which will be supplied from the ECB after funding initiatives have been put into place. So that needs a little more work, but there is time! Most interestingly of all, the new EPL will feature two overseas teams, one in each division, how that will be decided goodness knows. The two teams are likely to be a Stanford IX and the IPL winners, although that is yet to be confirmed.

Overall, the proposals put forward and accepted by the ECB are good ones and are likely to be successful in this country. It was important to keep the county structure and not go down the alien road of franchises. We need to stick to what we know and what works in England. Whether two competitions is a good idea or not, well, only time will tell. However, the brevity of the EPL will add to it’s success I believe, whilst the sparsely scheduled nature of “Friday night cricket” will still lead to strong gates for the later half of the season, provided the prices are moderated though. Cricket needs to remain accessible and not go down the route of the FA Premier League. These are exciting times for county cricket and in leaving the FP Trophy and County Championship untouched the ECB has done a wise thing. The Pro40 was due to be culled and although some will point to the dangers of Twenty20 overkill I am firmly of the opinion that the ECB are heading down the correct route for the future of the counties and of the England national team.

FP Trophy Weekly Round-up

It pure simple knockout from now on in the Friends Provident Trophy as the race to be this year’s winner hots up.

Essex opted to bat at Grace Road against Leicestershire and were in a spot of bother at 37-3. Ravi Bopara arrived at the crease and played the innings of his life in front of England selector Geoff Miller. He plundered his way to 201 not out, in the process hitting an incredible 18 fours and 10 sixes, as he joined a select group of players who have achieved the feat in fifty over cricket. The prominent support came from another England player who was keen to impress, James Foster, who hit a rapid 61. The Eagles finished up on 350-5, a formidable total indeed. Garnett Kruger (2-70) and Dillon du Preez (2-60) each took two wickets for a rather South African looking Foxes side. In fact there were only four England players on view for the home side, which according to Essex Captain Mark Pettini, made the victory all the sweeter, much to the disgust of the Leicestershire board. In reply, it was two of those Englishmen, Matthew Boyce (57) and the evergreen Paul Nixon (62), who impressed most, each hitting fifty, but it was Bopara (2-34) who again stole the show, taking two wickets, as the Foxes were all out for 232. Alex Tudor (2-38), Graham Napier (2-48) and Ryan ten Doeschate (2-32) were the other major wicket takers.

Play was delayed by a day at Beckenham where Kent eventually took to the field against Somerset, opting to bat first in a match I fancied the winners of to go all the way. They made 259-6, with Captain Rob Key (73) and Neil Dexter (101*) (only in the side because of the absence of Martin van Jaarsveld) scoring the major runs. Ben Philips (2-55) and a miserly Charl Willoughby (10 overs for 24) were the pick of the bowlers. Chasing, Craig Kieswetter hit a well paced 90, but he received precious little support as Yasir Arafat impressed once again with 3-23, Somerset all out for just 222. Kent appear to have the whole package when it comes to limited overs cricket and they remain my pick for the title. They bat deep, with plenty of explosive hitters towards the lower order, have plenty of experienced bowling options, have an excellent captain in Key and they field with energy.

At Bristol Yorkshire opted to field first against Gloucestershire and it proved to be a wise decision as the Gladiators were restricted to 201 all out, Matthew Hoggard (3-26) and Tim Bresnan (4-31) impressive up front in swinging conditions. Gloucestershire were indebted to Chris Taylor (54) and Steve Adshead (71), who managed to forge a total which they had a chance of defending. Yorkshire failed to struggle in reply however, as minus Steve Kirby, Gloucestershire seemed to lack penetration, despite the valiant efforts of Captain Jon Lewis (2-21) and Mark Hardinges (2-36). Craig White’s patient 55, coupled with Jacques Rudolph’s solid 53 not out, was enough to see them home as they made 205-4, Adam Lyth hitting a rapid unbeaten 38 at the end.

The final quarter final saw Nottinghamshire opt to bat first in a thriller at The Riverside against holders Durham. Samit Patel played a blinding innings of 114 from 113 balls, as nobody else on his team managed to make it beyond the teens. Resultantly, the Outlaws could only total 188 all out, with Steve Harmison (2-40), brother Ben Harmison (2-33), Callum Thorp (2-20) and Gareth Breese (2-50) all taking two wickets apiece. Although Phil Mustard (14) fell early once again in reply, Michael Di Venuto (70) and Will Smith (41) then shared 107, as Durham reached 127-1. A collapse followed though and they found themselves 177-9, with Gareth Breese and Mark Davies at the crease. Breese hit 34 from 37 balls to win the match for the Dynamos with an over to spare to ensure that Durham remain on course to defend their title. Patel completed an impressive allround performance with 3-27, while evergreen Mark Ealham (2-29) and Darren Pattinson (2-46) each took two wickets.

Player of the Week: It can only be on player despite the valiant efforts of Neil Dexter, Yasir Arafat, Samit Patel, Matthew Hoggard and Tim Bresnan. Ravi Bopara is this week's star player for his awesome unbeaten double century and two wickets against Leicestershire for Essex. Let us hope that he can take that form into England's upcoming One Day Series against New Zealand.


The Semi Final Draw:

Durham v Kent, The Riverside

Essex v Yorkshire, Chelmsford