County Championship 2019 - the locals' view: Journalists from up and down the country preview the new season

The Cricketer asked the writers who regularly cover their counties for insight and predictions ahead of the new campaign. Here's what our assembled local journalists had to say...

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Derbyshire - Mark Eklid (Derby Telegraph)

New head of cricket Dave Houghton did his most important work at the end of last season, within weeks of beginning his third spell at the club. The England-qualified core of the squad were all signed to new deals to keep them at Derbyshire until the end of the 2020 season at least, effectively warning off the poachers and creating an atmosphere that has been too rare at the county for too long – stability.

In keeping with the theme, New Zealand quick Logan van Beek was signed for the full season as the overseas recruit. Van Beek comes with a ringing endorsement from John Wright but is, as yet, unproven.

Houghton will need to get the maximum from a small but unified group. Derbyshire’s best performers with bat and ball last season were their two oldest players – Wayne Madsen and Tony Palladino. They, as well as Billy Godleman and Ravi Rampaul, have to set the example again but several younger players who have promised better but have not quite yet delivered – Matt Critchley, Alex Hughes, Harvey Hosein – need to have career years if Derbyshire are to be more than middle of the pack again.

Div 1 champions: Surrey

Div 1 relegated: Hampshire

Div 2 champions: Lancashire

Div 2 promoted: Sussex, Middlesex

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The new county season begins on April 5

Durham - Stuart Rayner (NJC Media)

On paper Durham’s looks a stronger squad, but there are plenty of unknowns.

Ben Raine is a proven Division Two all-rounder and Cameron Bancroft should reinforce a top-order which saw Alex Lees added to Cameron Steel last season but Australia’s senior and A tours of England threaten his availability. Will the inevitable post-ball-tampering scrutiny affect his game and/or his captaincy?

Brydon Carse is a talented allrounder but can Durham do in 2019 what they could not in 2018 and get him on the park? Jack Burnham showed England promise before his 12-month drugs ban – can he get his life in order?

With a rookie coach in James Franklin and director of cricket in Marcus North, Paul Collingwood’s retirement will be keenly felt. He did not score many runs in 2018 but his leadership was huge and those groomed to replace him – Mark Stoneman, Keaton Jennings and Paul Coughlin – left before he did.

Experienced seamer Chris Rushworth made no secret of his desire to succeed Collingwood and despite being overlooked for Bancroft and vice-captain Lees, he will have a key role with his durability in stark contrast to the exciting but fragile Carse, James Weighell, Josh Coughlin and Matty Potts.

Div 1 champions: Surrey

Div 1 relegated: Kent

Div 2 champions: Lancashire

Div 2 promoted: Middlesex, Worcestershire

Gloucestershire - Mark Easterbrook (Bristol Live)

Gloucestershire finished fifth in Division Two last year and I suspect are on course for a similar mid-table standing this time around.

The loss of strike bowlers Craig Miles (56 first-class wickets in 2018) and Liam Norwell, both to Warwickshire, was a considerable blow, but at least Dan Worrall will be available for all of the 2019 season. The Australian made a good impression in four games last year before injury curtailed his time at the club.

With David Payne, Matt Taylor and Ryan Higgins in support, Gloucestershire still possess a decent pace attack. The lack of a prolific wicket-taking spin bowler remains a concern, while the specialist batsmen need to improve markedly on last season, when no one averaged above 35 nor breached the 1,000-run barrier.

Div 1 champions: Somerset

Div 1 relegated: Hampshire

Div 2 champions: Middlesex

Div 2 promoted: Lancashire

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Hampshire - Alex Smith (ECB Reporters Network)

Hampshire’s 2019 preparations can be summarised into six words: James Vince is now an opener.

The charming batsman has promoted himself up the order in pre-season to try and kill two birds – namely filling the voids of Jimmy Adams and Sir Alastair Cook. If Vince can pull, or a more on brand cover drive, it off it could enhance Hampshire’s fate, with an otherwise talented yet flimsy batting order again an Achilles heel for the club - especially after overseas Dimuth Karunaratne’s unexpected return to the Sri Lanka World Cup fold.

Positively, the bowling battalion is still among the most menacing in the Championship. Fidel Edwards and Kyle Abbott will again expect to take plenty of poles with the new ball and the addition of Keith Barker from Warwickshire means there is a tormenting depth to the attack. England’s forgotten leg spinner Mason Crane will be one to look out for. If he can keep his troublesome back in check then expect him to gobble up the headlines, and give Adil Rashid some food for thought.

Aneurin Donald and James Fuller are the other newcomers to the Ageas Bowl. Both may well be bit part with the red ball but will be more integral to the one-day plans.

Div 1 champions: Essex

Div 1 relegated: Warwickshire

Div 2 champions: Lancashire

Div 2 promoted: Sussex, Middlesex

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Will Surrey defend their title?

Middlesex - Layth Yousif (Islington Gazette)

A gunmetal grey January day at Lord’s might not signal renewal but the unveiling of new Middlesex head coach Stuart Law was certainly a step in the right direction for the Seaxes.

Australian Law - a prolific batsman in his heyday who rightly earned a reputation as a teak-tough cricketer - wasted no time in issuing a rallying cry to his charges.

The 50-year-old has been tasked with bringing mental toughness and a steely edge to a talented if inconsistent squad.

Law is determined to restore the 2016 champions to their rightful place at the top table of English domestic cricket.

With Toby Roland-Jones fit and firing again in competitive cricket - if his performance against Oxford MCCU at Merchant Taylors this week is anything to go by - Middlesex can look forward to once again savouring Ro-Jo’s talent for taking wickets when the season starts in earnest early next month.

Fixtures at Northampton in the first week of April and the first match in NW8 in 2019 against Lancashire a week later will provide the Middlesex attack, fortified by Steven Finn, with a chance to make inroads.

Yet the failing last term was the lack of big first-innings totals.

While it may have led to dramatic finishes, it also meant a points tally well below par for such a talented bunch of batsmen.

Which is why Steven Eskinazi’s first-day hundred for the club this week will hopefully be a pointer to a bigger contribution from the batsmen including the gifted Sam Robson and Nick Gubbins.

“I want steel to go with our skill,” Law told me back in January. If he and his assistant Nick Pothas can instil that then 2019 could be a good season for ‘The Middle’ and their long-suffering supporters.

Div 1 champions: Surrey (hard for a Middlesex man to admit)

Div 1 relegated: Hampshire or Kent

Div 2 champions: Middlesex

Div 2 promoted: Sussex/Lancashire

Northamptonshire - Tom Vickers (Northampton Chronicle)

Northants have lost many of the men who helped them build success in recent years, with Ben Duckett, Richard Gleeson, Steven Crook and Rory Kleinveldt no longer around, but there should still be high hopes this season.

They have made some strong overseas signings, with Jason Holder and Temba Bavuma among them, and they still have the talent to compete at the top end of Division Two. As ever, their season will hinge on staying largely injury free as they still have a small squad, but if they can avoid losing too many men to the treatment room, you should expect them to mount a promotion bid.

They have a good record in the shorter formats of the game and can beat anyone on their day, but they may be more likely to compete on a consistent basis in the Championship this time round as the players they have lost will leave big holes in what had become a feared white-ball team.

Div 1 champions: Nottinghamshire

Div 1 relegated: Kent

Div 2 champions: Lancashire

Div 2 promoted: Northants, Middlesex

Nottinghamshire - Matt Davies (Nottingham Post)

After a highly promising start to last summer Notts collapsed and only stayed in Division One by the skin of their teeth.

It became clear in the middle of the campaign that some serious strengthening was needed of a squad that had lost the batting of James Taylor, Greg Smith, Michael Lumb, Brendan Taylor and Chris Read at various points since the start of the 2016 season.

Only Chris Nash had come in to add to the batting and he got off to a sluggish start before a serious shoulder injury ended his campaign.

Notts will want more from Nash in his second season at Trent Bridge. He will likely want more from himself.

However, they can more than manage if the former Sussex man does not find his form, having added Ben Duckett, Ben Slater and Joe Clarke to the ranks. Add in raw but extremely talented pace bowler and this is a much better Notts squad.

Head coach Peter Moores will also benefit from having Stuart Broad around for about seven games at the start of the season ahead of the Ashes, while Jake Ball has fallen so far down the England pecking order he should be around all season.

The biggest weapon in the arsenal though will be James Pattinson, if he stays fit. The Australia international charmed teammates and terrified opponents two years ago in the first half of the season.

He's back for the opening months and motivated to win a place in the Ashes. If Pattinson stays fit, Notts could win enough games to win the title for the first time since 2010.

Div 1 champions: Surrey but Notts will run them close

Div 1 relegated: Kent

Div 2 champions: Sussex

Div 2 promoted: Worcestershire, Lancashire

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Somerset - Paul Martin (Somerset Gazette)

The Taunton skyline has been transformed over the winter with the addition of new floodlights at the County Ground – on the pitch, ambitions are equally lofty.

Second place may now be frustratingly familiar but it represented a surpassing of expectations last season and has led to a growing, if cautious, belief that 2019 could finally be Somerset’s year.

Jack Brooks adds Championship-winning experience to a talented bowling attack hailed as the best in the country by head coach Jason Kerr while, with the bat, the engine room of Azhar Ali, James Hildreth and Tom Abell guarantees runs.

The very top of the order is less secure. The long-term heir to Marcus Trescothick - entering his 27th professional season - is still to be identified, with Eddie Byrom, Tom Banton and Ben Green battling to make the spot their own.

How much longer the club can keep both their England spinners happy is also cause for concern, though Dom Bess may benefit from more opportunities should Jack Leach build on a promising winter with the Test side.

Lewis Gregory, Abell and both Overton twins could also feature on Ed Smith’s radar this summer as the West Country conveyor belt continues to produce the goods.

Div 1 champions: Surrey

Div 1 relegated: Warwickshire

Div 2 champions: Middlesex

Div 2 promoted: Lancashire, Worcestershire

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Surrey - Marcus Hook (South London Press)

Even with international calls, Surrey appear the team best equipped to win the title this year. The defending champions should be capable of batting even deeper, following the arrival of all-rounders Jordan Clark (from Lancashire) and Liam Plunkett (from Yorkshire). With the Ashes not until August, two key players for the Oval outfit, namely skipper and opening bat Rory Burns and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, are inked in for the first 10 of 14 Championship matches. Clark and Plunkett will also supplement a seam roster - led, dauntingly, by Morne Morkel - that's as deep as Barry White's voice.

In the last two seasons, we've seen the title go to the team that made the shrewdest Kolpak acquisition. Fast bowler Duanne Olivier promises to fit that billing, so expect Yorkshire to be there or thereabouts. But my tip for nearest challengers are Essex, for whom Simon Harmer (the Kolpak signing of 2017), Jamie Porter and, now, Sam Cook make for an impressive bowling line-up. But their chances could hinge on having too many Cooks - Sir Alastair being the other. If the former England captain plays a full part this summer, Essex might just have the batting too.

Div 1 champions: Surrey

Div 1 relegated: Kent

Div 2 champions: Worcestershire

Div 2 promoted: Lancashire, Middlesex

Yorkshire - Chris Waters (Yorkshire Evening Post)

Yorkshire strike me as being in a good place. No one expects too much from them this year, so they are not overburdened by the weight of expectation, yet they have the look of potential dark horses.

The signing of Duanne Olivier is a significant boost, the South African having joined the club on a Kolpak deal. Leaving aside the ethical nature of his controversial decision to quit international cricket (at least for South Africa), Olivier is a world-class performer who will lead an already strong pace attack.

For me, the question is this: can Yorkshire’s batting finally deliver after several seasons of underachievement? If it can, then I see no reason why they cannot challenge for - and even win - the title.

Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance have proven quality, while Harry Brook and Tom Kohler-Cadmore are two of the most exciting young players around. If that quartet can fire, supported by the likes of Jack Leaning and wicketkeeper Jonny Tattersall, then the pace men will have runs to work with. I’ll be interested to see how much Yorkshire see of Adil Rashid in four-day cricket, with fellow leg-spinner Josh Poysden having an excellent chance to advance his claims.

Div 1 champions: Yorkshire

Div 1 relegated: Kent

Div 2 champions: Sussex

Div 2 promoted: Middlesex, Worcestershire

Worcestershire - John Curtis (ECB Reporters Network)

There were great scenes of joy at Edgbaston last autumn as Worcestershire demonstrated they have become one of, if not the outstanding white ball side in the country by winning the Vitality Blast.

They also reached the semi-finals of the One-Day Cup after topping the North Group for the second year running and have a side young in age but rapidly maturing after gaining much experience during the past four or five seasons.

Despite the loss of Joe Clarke (Nottinghamshire) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire) during the last two years, the recruitment of Riki Wessels, Martin Guptill and Callum Ferguson for 2019 suggests they can again be fore-runners in both competitions.

Pat Brown will be looking to build on last summer’s outstanding success with the ball in the Blast – 31 wickets – and is now recovered from the stress fracture of the back which denied him the chance to link up with various franchises this winter.

New first-teach Coach Alex Gidman is determined to try and halt the County’s yo-yo form in the County Championship with Worcestershire relegated again last summer after one year in the top flight.

With Wayne Parnell added to an up and coming battery of young fast bowlers, including Josh Tongue, Dillon Pennington and Adam Finch, they should be strong contenders for one of the three promotion places.

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