CIARAN MCCARTHY looks at some of the young players to look out for in the second tier of the LV=Insurance County Championship
Aitchison has established himself as one of Derbyshire’s most prized young assets thanks to his exploits with ball in hand last season.
The 22-year-old made his first-class debut in 2020 but became a key feature of the first team last season.
Aitchison took his maiden professional five-wicket haul against Durham in May 2021, finishing with figures of 6 for 28.
The young seamer was able to count Alex Lees, Scott Borthwick and David Bedingham - who had made a double ton against Derbyshire the month prior – among his scalps.
That haul gave Aitchison the best figures for a Derbyshire bowler against Durham and invigorated him for the rest of the campaign.
He quickly became one of his counties’ most important assets with the ball, his strong action doing him a lot of favours in county cricket, finishing top of the pile as Derbyshire’s premier County Championship wicket-taker on 34, two more than premier spin-bowler Matt Critchley.
A capable opening batter, Jonathan Bushnell is doing his all to fight his way into the first team at Durham.
The 20-year-old has not yet played a senior game for Durham, with the likes of Lees, Borthwick and Bedingham presenting a stumbling block in Bushnell’s aspirations of being a first-team regular, given their quality with the bat at the top.
Bushnell hit consecutive scores of 50-plus in Second XI T20s in June last year; he hit an unbeaten 55, and followed that up with 70, both against Derbyshire’s Second XI.
He faced Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Alex Thomson in both of those games, producing performances that show he is more than capable of making the step up.
Moreover, his nature of scoring quick runs at the top of the order will be a valuable asset when he is promoted to the first team.
The coming season could well be the time Bushnell gets his first-team berth and is surely an opportunity he will grab with both hands.
Josh de Caires (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Horton is yet to play a senior game for Glamorgan, but he was impressive in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup with England.
The 18-year-old wicket-keeper rarely put a foot wrong with the gloves, and was a big help in England’s bowling performances, creating a tricky atmosphere for the batters with his vocal nature behind the stumps.
His best performance with the bat in the tournament came at a crucial time, in the semi-final, walking to the crease with England in a tough spot at 136 for 6, smashing 53 in 36 balls, in a 95-run partnership with George Bell, lifting England to 231.
With the gloves, he took six catches in the group game against Afghanistan - the joint-second most dismissals in an Under-19 international match, notably alongside Brad Haddin, among others.
Ahmed gained notoriety for his ability to spin the ball both ways during the Under-19 World Cup, with his googly causing havoc for batters.
The 17-year-old took 12 wickets during the tournament, averaging 12.58, and took four wickets in an innings on three occasions.
Having bowled to England’s Test players in the nets at Lord’s when he was just 11 years old, it is a little surprise just a few years later he is continuing to cause issues.
"I bowled Ben Stokes a couple of leg spinners and a googly and he nicked off; he wasn’t the happiest so I didn’t celebrate," he said.
"But when I snicked off Alistair Cook, that was a bit more like it. He wasn’t as bothered."
Furthermore, Ahmed averages 44.50 with the bat in one-day cricket, albeit from a small sample size of just six innings – top-scoring with 40 last season in the Royal London Cup.
Ali Orr is among Sussex's young breed (Steven Bardens/Getty Images)
Son of former England captain Michael Atherton, De Caires was given his mother’s maiden name, but it has done little to dampen the attention.
But De Caires is a quality cricketer in his own right. The 19-year-old hit an unbeaten century against Yorkshire for a Leeds-Bradford MCCU in a warm-up game before the 2021 season to serve notice of his talent.
The top-order batter retired on 118, in an innings that included 16 fours, against the likes of Ben Coad and Steven Patterson, England Test player Matt Fisher and long-term international David Willey.
He impressed ahead of the 2022 season, too, notching a half-century against the same opponents.
The youngster has had a taste of each format in a Middlesex shirt - he dealt only in boundaries in his senior T20 debut, smashing a six and two fours before succumbing to Gloucestershire’s Benny Howell in July.
Budinger enjoyed his first season of professional cricket in 2021, playing every game of the One Day Cup season.
The 22-year-old made strides in the Nottinghamshire academy in seasons prior, with the highlights being an 86-ball century and a neat 75 in a second-string side which included first-team stars including Dan Christian.
Budinger deputised at the top of the order for the first team in the 2021 season, while the likes of Alex Hales, Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett were off playing in The Hundred.
Budinger has been influenced a lot by the trio, and why wouldn’t he? "I’ve looked up to them, and I want to be where they are," he told The Cricketer last year.
Budinger made 29 from 22 balls against Warwickshire on debut and enjoyed a solid campaign with the bat, hitting 165 runs at an average of 20.62 which included a maiden first-team half-century.
With the one-day competition coinciding with The Hundred again this season, Budinger will once again have the chance to impress.
Sol Budinger will hope to be on target in 2022 (Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Sussex were forced to blood several youngsters in their side last season; the likes of Archie Lenham and James Coles showed their genuine quality in the side, and the same can absolutely be said for Orr, who made himself a fixture of the top order with a number of high-calibre innings.
Opening the batting in county cricket could well be a daunting task for many youngsters trying to establish themselves but that was not necessarily the case for Orr, who was thrust out into senior cricket in the LV=Insurance County Championship and One Day Cup.
He quickly found himself in the runs, hitting a half-century in just his second first-class match. He followed that knock by notching another three half-centuries in the Championship, as well as a ton in the format in July.
The 20-year-old finished the season with a Championship average of 39.14.
Orr cannot be pigeonholed as purely a red-ball cricketer, though. The opener scored his maiden List A century against Worcestershire in August, having never passed 50 in the format before that innings.
Though Banton has only played three professional games for Worcestershire, he has already shown himself to be a quality option in the first team.
He hit 33 runs and took 3 for 15 in his second-ever senior game, showcasing his style of attacking cricket, with both bat and ball.
"I like to express myself, I won’t shy away from playing a reverse sweep or playing a scoop or whatever," he said.
"The more energy you can bring it sends a message not only to yourself but to your teammates, the crowd, everyone."
The 20-year-old is the brother of Somerset and England batter Tom and has taken a lot from his older sibling. "He’s a massive help, and he’s a big inspiration for me," he accepts.
Banton opted to move from Warwickshire to Worcestershire thanks to his relationship with academy director Elliott Wilson, formed during Super 4 competition.
He feels settled at New Road, and feels the atmosphere around the whole club will help him grow into a quality player: "All the lads have been fantastic, put an arm around me, and yeah they’ve been really helpful, so I feel I’m part of a family."
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