New County Championship Season

The new County Championship season is now under away, and although the weather is a lot colder than most sane cricketers would rather, the show must go on.

Last year, Derbyshire and Yorkshire were promoted from division two, whereas Worcestershire and Lancashire were the two teams who will be spending this year trying to get back into Division one after being relegated last year.

But who is going to prosper in this years County Championship?

And who is going to struggle?

Well - I'll start off with Division two.

As a Leicestershire fan I don't take much joy from admitting this, but it's looking quite likely that we will struggle again. We've lost a cuple of players, and the players that we've brought in are no better than the ones we've lost, with the exception of Niall O'Brien, who I rate. Sarwan will have a big role to play in his debut season as skipper, although he will miss the second half of the season because of international commitments, he will surely be greatly missed in the batting order. We also have young Shiv Thakor at our disposal, who has great potential, he could be key. If he has his breakthrough season, we could do well, if he does not, it could be the wooden spoon for Leicestershire...

Glamorgan have got to be chosen as one of the teams that will struggle, for the simple reason that they just don't have good enough players to have a good chance of posing any real threat in the division. They have Marcus North as an overseas player, he is a solid batsman, but doesn't really stand out compared to the overseas players at other counties. To conclude - I think we could be seeing Glamorgan lingering around at the bottom of the pile for another year.

Elsewhere in Division Two, I expect Lancashire to bounce straight back into Division One, led by Glen Chapple, a seasoned County Championsip player, they have quite a good squad. One star of the team is Ashwell Prince, a quality batsman who, in Division Two, has the ability to score game changing runs against any opponent. Lancashire have good players and will be hungary to put the misery of relegation last year behind them, and for these two reasons they are my favorites to go up.

The club I think will join Lancashire in Division One next year is Essex. A slightly controversial decision I know, but they are a good team who have been trying to get out of Division Two for a few years now. Led by James Foster, a very good wicket-keeper, they have a good chance of promotion in my opinion. They will have Ravi Bopara for the season, assuming he isn't picked for England. (which I hope is the case as he has never performed for England!) Although I really don't rate him as an international player, I do think he can clock up a lot of runs for his county. They also have a decent bowling attack, David Masters is a high quality bowler, and Tymal Mills has got potential, could it be his breakthrough year? They have also Saj Mahmood, who they have obtained over the winter, he, as an ex England international, has got quality, and if he shows it, Essex could be on their way to Division One.

Moving onto Div 1 now...

Nottinghamshire were my favourites for the title last year, and this year my opinion has not changed. The strength of their batting lineup is extremely impressive. They have Alex Hales and Michael Lumb opening the batting, two players who have done the same for England (albeit in T20 games) and they now have Ed Cowan for the first half of the season. The top three alone could rack up a big score, but it doesn't stop there. James Taylor, depending on international selection, will play games. Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann will also put in a performance or two here and there, when they are free from the England squad. Sheer strength in depth is my reason for choosing them, sorry Warwickshire, I don't think you'll retain the title.

Will Warwickshire Retain Their Title?

I would like to be exciting and throw a real curveball for who I think will be relegated, but I just can't see Derbyshire having the quality to survive. However, they have obtained Shivnarine Chanderpaul as their overseas player, and if Derbyshire do have any chance of staying up, the WI international needs to score big runs frequently. But one thing they will have is team spirit, a nucleus of young players will surely be putting in 110% into training and matches to try and ensure safety for the county. They need a good start to the season so heads don't drop if they have any chance of staying up.

The other club I think might see the drop is... *drum roll* Durham. Durham have a good squad on paper, you can't deny that, Graham Onions is a player a greatly admire, and personally I would like to see him get a crack at an England spot when we play New Zealand in a number of weeks time instead of Steve Finn. On their day, Durham have the players to outplay nearly everyone in the Division, but they don't seem to have their day often enough.

Only time will tell if my predictions are correct - any opinions you have on any of my predictions or your own predictions are always greatly received at TheSillyPoint. You can leave a comment at the bottom of this post, or you can contact us on Twitter @TheSillyPoint_

Cheers