The Cricketer picks the team of the season from LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two
Alex Lees (Durham)
(14 matches, 1,347 runs, batting average 70.89, five centuries, five fifties)
The best player in the division, in the summer after he was dispensed with by England at the top of the order. He could scarcely have done more to keep his name in the hat, rattling off five hundreds and a further five fifties in 21 innings. Durham racked up 54 batting points, averaging almost four per innings. The tone was set by the left-hander at the top of the order, who averaged 70.89 with a strike rate of 73.76 and will see next summer as an opportunity to re-stake his international claim. "He is too good a player not to be playing Test cricket," said Ryan Campbell, his head coach.
Rishi Patel (Leicestershire)
(14 matches, 1,075 runs, batting average 44.79, four centuries, three fifties)
One of the summer's breakthrough players, Patel came into 2023 in the final year of his Leicestershire contract with just a single previous professional hundred. But he reeled off centuries in all three formats this season, including four in the County Championship, as a makeshift opener who made the position his own. No one hit more sixes than the Essex academy product, who was ever-present in Leicestershire's victorious One-Day Cup campaign too. His haul of 1,075 runs was unsurprisingly a career-best, even if he tailed off at the end.
Jake Libby (Worcestershire)
(12 matches, 1,153 runs, batting average 57.65, four centuries, five fifties)
Wooden-spoon winners Gloucestershire ended up with more bonus points than promoted Worcestershire, which spoke to the importance of match-winners in your ranks. New Road isn't always the easiest place to bat, but Libby averages 44.5 at his home ground and scored 1,153 runs at 57.65 as his county put together a remarkable promotion in the face of off-field distractions. He hit four hundreds and five half centuries, his 67 against Leicestershire on a shootout pitch at Oakham might just have been the difference between the two promotion-chasers.
Alex Lees had a remarkable season for Durham (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
David Bedingham (Durham)
(14 matches, 1,019 runs, batting average 56.61, five centuries, one fifty)
An outstanding overseas player for some time now, Bedingham only passed fifty six times in 2023 but turned five of those efforts into centuries. As part of a middle order that could feed off the top-order runs of Lees, Michael Jones and Scott Borthwick, Bedingham feasted on that freedom, scoring freely at a strike rate of 77.08 and still averaging 56.61 along the way. He ended the season appropriately, with 156 against Leicestershire in a final-week rout that confirmed Durham's status as the best team by a mile in the division.
Leus du Plooy (Derbyshire)
(14 matches, 1,236 runs, batting average 82.40, four centuries, four fifties)
During a year in which some players whose next moves had been announced midseason were deemed surplus to requirements, the Derbyshire captain couldn't be accused of that. He insisted that he would see out the season with the club that gave him his opportunity in English cricket before moving onto Middlesex for next season. He averaged 82.4 as an ever-present in a turbulent season at Derbyshire, with four hundreds and four fifties, with an unbeaten, marathon double century against Worcestershire the highlight in a winless campaign.
Kiran Carlson (Glamorgan)
(14 matches, 1,068 runs, batting average 46.43, four centuries, five fifties)
Everyone knew that Carlson had this kind of season in him, so it was little surprise to those who have watched the Welshman grow up that he has been able to reach the landmark of 1,000 first-class runs in a season for the first time. He was one of five players in Division Two to make four centuries, while his off-spin also picked up 14 wickets. Glamorgan once again missed out on promotion, but the 25-year-old could not have given much more to the cause.
Leus du Plooy is joining Middlesex next year (Warren Little/Getty Images)
Ollie Robinson (Durham)
(14 matches, 931 runs, batting average 58.18, three centuries, five fifties, 47 dismissals)
It looked like one of the signings of the season even before a ball had been bowled, and it proved to be that way. The former Kent wicketkeeper scored 931 runs at an average of 58.18. More importantly perhaps, his strike rate – 88.66 – showed the freedom with which he was able to play in Campbell's side, counterattacking at times and simply putting his foot on the accelerator at others. He hit three centuries, added five fifties and embodied the approach that made Durham worthy champions. Another Lions trip beckons this winter.
Ben Raine (Durham)
(14 matches, 60 wickets, bowling average 24.95, 1 five-fer)
Six clear as the leading wicket-taker in Division Two with 60 to his name, Raine might not be in England contention like some of his teammates, but every successful county side needs a bowling allrounder like him. He took four wickets in six different innings and chucked in a five-fer for good measure. Ever-present in the division's best team, no one in the league bowled more overs than Raine, one of the unsung heroes of the season.
Joe Leach (Worcestershire)
(14 matches, 48 wickets, bowling average 29.45, 2 five-fers)
Two short of 50 County Championship wickets for the season but fittingly reached the milestone of 450 first-class scalps in Worcestershire's last game of a successful season. The club stalwart was central to that success, bustling in for 48 wickets and involved in all 14 matches, sitting as next man in when Josh Baker hit the run that secured the county's promotion back to Division One. Only Raine and Matt Potts took more wickets.
Jake Libby was a pivotal part of Worcestershire's promotion (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Matt Potts (Durham)
(11 matches, 54 wickets, bowling average 22.22, 1 five-fer)
Only available for 11 matches but proved his international quality by averaging virtually five wickets per match and a wicket every seven overs. He took 54 wickets at 22.22 apiece and perhaps played more for Durham than some might have expected at the start of the summer. A point-of-difference bowler in county cricket; only a third of his wickets weren't recognised, top-six batters.
Chris Wright (Leicestershire)
(14 matches, 48 wickets, bowling average 27.43, 2 five-fers)
Huge for Leicestershire if – as Paul Farbrace suggested on Friday – Wright is now set to stay at Grace Road after his deal to join Sussex fell through earlier in the week. The 38-year-old remains a high-quality operator, picking up 48 wickets at 27.43 apiece as the attack leader for Lewis Hill's side. He was pivotal to a promotion push that ultimately fell short. He added the 18th and 19th five-wicket hauls of his first-class career in the process.
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