County Championship 2022 pre-season preview

The 122^nd County Championship season will commence on Thursday 7^th April and will run through until 29^th September. This season the ECB decided that it will revert back to the format of two divisions, with ten teams in Division One and eight in Division Two.

Division One will consist of Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Surrey, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.

Division Two will line up with Derbyshire, Durham, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Sussex and Worcestershire.

Mickey Arthur takes charge of Derbyshire, who will be looking to improve on their performances from last season, finishing fifth in Championship Division Three, eighth in the Vitality Blast North Group and ninth in their Royal London Cup group represented a poor campaign.

They have recruited two experienced internationals to improve their chances of success this time around. Pakistan opener Shan Masood and Sri Lanka seamer Suranga Lakmal should strengthen the squad.

Ben Aitchison and Sam Conners picked up a combined total of 60 championship wickets and will develop further. The county have lost the services of experienced all-rounder Matt Critchley who struck 1,000 runs and also took 32 wickets in his final season with the club, leaving them with a big gap to fill.

Anything less than promotion this coming season ought to be considered a failure for Durham who have spent five seasons outside of the top division.

The North East side have recruited South Africa batsman Keegan Petersen. Alex Lees who has looked a resolute opening batsman for England should be available in the early stages of the season alongside Ben Stokes.

The evergreen Chris Rushworth, who turns 36 this summer, shows no sign of slowing down. Last season he became the county’s leading wicket-taker and along with the impressive Ben Raine and paceman Brydon Carse,  their attack should be capable of taking twenty wickets each match.

The all-conquering Essex will once again be a force to be reckoned with in Division One. Last season Anthony McGrath’s troops were crowned Division 2 champions and reached the semi-final of the Royal London Cup.

Essex will again be heavily reliant on their outstanding bowling unit led by Simon Harmer. Runs should come freely from the bat of Sir Alastair Cook who signed a contract with the club until 2023.

However, the county will be without the services of Ryan ten Doeschate who announced his departure at the end of last season.

Essex’s outstanding strength in depth and their ability to produce players who fit into a winning side should see them as the side that everybody will fear.

The good news for Glamorgan cricket fans is that Marnus Labuschagne is back. The Australian had a wonderful season in 2019 delivering 1,114 runs with five centuries.

While his second season last summer was more modest, he is still a phenomenal player to watch. His compatriot Michel Neser returns to the Welsh outfit too. Colin Ingram is also back and will combine his playing duties with a coaching role in the academy.

Sam Northeast chose the Welsh county over a number of other clubs and will bring runs at the top of the order.

James Harris has now decided to return to his roots from Middlesex and will provide useful wickets for the side. The club have also recruited well by bringing in Somerset batsman Eddie Byrom.

Gloucestershire are back in the big time and return to Division One after finishing runners up in Division 2 last season. Despite the success, Chris Dent stepped down as captain in September and in March Graeme van Buuren was appointed his successor in four day and Royal London Cup cricket.

The county will once again be looking to Ryan Higgins to continue his fine work for the club. Last season he took 51 wickets, adding to his 376 runs. Along with Australian opener Marcus Harris, the side should be competitive in the top flight of English cricket.

It has been 49 years since Hampshire held the County Championship title, but after last season’s near-miss, there is added belief at the Ageas Bowl that this could be their year.

The new ball partnership of Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott should pick up a bagful of wickets. Along with Keith Barker, and spin options from Mason Crane and Liam Dawson along with the highly effective Brad Wheal, the South Coast club look a serious threat.

The county have snapped up former Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Brown for the season’s campaign. Look out also for Tom Prest, a batting all-rounder who is highly thought of around the club.

At 45 years of age Darren Stevens will once again strap on his boots and get ready for another season of cricket. The Kent legend seems the type of player who will go on and on, even if, one day, he will have to admit the time to draw a curtain on an illustrious career is nigh.

The Spitfires will be hampered without the services of Captain Sam Billings who will miss the start of the season after securing an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders. Daniel Bell-Drummond will take on the role of stand-in skipper in white-ball cricket.

Jackson Bird, the experienced Australian seamer will be available for the opening six Championship matches. New Zealander Matt Henry will return in July with Matt Quinn making the move across the water from Essex.

Zak Crawley will be available for the first six rounds of the Championship, but will almost certainly miss most of the rest of the campaign.

Expect Lancashire to be challenging for the title of Division One county champions. James Anderson should be available to play early on in the season for the red rose county.

Lancashire will be without Liam Livingstone and Jos Buttler for the start of the campaign due to IPL commitments, but when upon return they will fit straight back into a very powerful squad.

The county, on paper, seem to have a squad capable of challenging for honours in all formats of the game and will be a tough nut to crack.

Despite only three red ball victories last season, Leicestershire are a side that are steadily improving. Head Coach Paul Nixon has always said that it will take time for a lot of promising youngsters to come through, but it is beginning to now happen.

Batsman Lewis Hill hit almost 1,500 runs in all competitions last season and is somebody to watch out for. Leicestershire’s oldest player Chris Wright picked up 46 victims and will once again lead their attack.

The county have signed South African Beuran Hendricks, a Test and ODI international who is a left-arm seamer that will relish English conditions.

Richard Johnson is the new Head Coach at Middlesex, who, surely, this season will be targeting a return back to Division One. Johnson, made the short-distance move from Surrey after the release of Stuart Law.

The club will have to cope with the key loss of three players, Paul Stirling, Steve Finn and Nick Gubbins. What remains though, is the potential of fine young players breaking through.

Last term, four successive championship wins enabled them to finish second in Division Three. The club, as always, will be reliant on Tim Murtagh, who once again will look to be top wicket-taker.

Youngster Ethan Bamber is progressing at a rapid pace and looks to have a very promising future.

They have snapped up former Surrey batsman Mark Stoneman to accompany Sam Robson at the top of the order, vital for a side that have struggled to put runs on the board in their first innings.

Australian Peter Handscomb is set for another stint with the county and will be hoping for better luck after a disappointing 2021 campaign.

Shaheen Shah Afridi will start the season and is likely to produce the goods early on.

Northamptonshire’s task this season will be to ensure that they survive a campaign in Division One for the first time in four attempts.

Experienced players Adam Rossington and Rob Keogh will have to lead by example. Much will rest on the shoulders of Ricardo Vasconcelos with the bat who proved a fine player for the county last term.

Nottinghamshire will start the 2022 season in Division Two despite seven wins from 14 matches last year. The county have paid the price for their abysmal record of no wins at all in the second half of 2018 and none in 2019.

The country’s most potent pace attack will be operating in the second tier of English cricket. Stuart Broad, Luke Fletcher, Jake Ball, James Pattinson and Dane Paterson should all thrive this season.

From a batting perspective, their top-four of Haseeb Hameed, Ben Slater, Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke is a powerful one. Along with their pace attack, expect Notts to be there or there abouts come September.

Somerset have announced a mainly settled side for the campaign ahead of them. Dubbed always the bridesmaid never the bride, the West Country side should be challenging at the top end of the Division One table.

The county have made two interesting signings in the shape of Matt Renshaw and Peter Siddle, both Australians will be available until the end of August.

The signing of Renshaw will certainly stiffen a batting order that struggled last season. Certainly, Somerset fans this season will not want to hear the dreaded words “runners up” quoted.

A new head coach and a new chief executive heralds in the new season at The Oval. A disappointing 2021 season by Surrey’s high standards was always going to be under scrutiny.

Alec Stewart has been named as Director Of Cricket with Gareth Batty an Interim Head Coach.

Liam Plunkett, Rikki Clarke and Jade Dernbach have all departed. Reece Topley- fitness permitting- will be looking to get a full season under his belt. The county will miss the services of Tom Curran, who is expected to be out for the first six weeks of the season after recovering from injury.

After a spell at Gloucestershire, Australian Dan Worrall has been snapped up by the Londoners. On paper, Surrey’s trump card should be that their batting looks strong. The crux of the issue will be if their bowling attack is good enough to take twenty wickets on a regular basis.

Sussex have an exceptional young squad, which has been enhanced by the signing of veteran Steve Finn. It is doubtful though that the county will see the likes of Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer much this season, so will have to rely on a very inexperienced team.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice has been recruited from Derbyshire, but this season in Division 2 may be one of consolidation.

Last years Division One winners Warwickshire will again be a tough side to beat. Under Will Rhodes, the Bears have developed a team that has progressed quickly into a very effective side.

Winter recruit Alex Davies decided to swap Old Trafford for Edgbaston and is set to contend with Dom Sibley and Rob Yates. Oliver Hannon-Dalby is expected to be fit for the start of the season after a heel operation. Olly Stone remains on course for full fitness by the end of April.

In Danny Briggs, Warwickshire possess a spinner who will take wickets on a regular basis. The county have also never been afraid to blood young players, Dan Mousley and Jacob Bethall are next off the production line.

It is a time of transition at Worcestershire. No Daryl Mitchell to open the batting. Ross Whiteley has joined Hampshire with Alex Milton released.

The county have engaged the services of Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali, who will be available for the bulk of the championship season.

Captain Brett D’Oliveira will lead the side with Head Coach Alex Gidman at the helm. On paper, it would appear the club will progress slowly in a tight division.

It has certainly been a tough time at Headingley in recent months. The club have made news off the field rather than on it, which will have consequences when they commence their campaign next week.

The club brought in former player Darren Gough to the role of Managing Director Of Cricket and have appointed West Indian Ottis Gibson as their new Head Coach. Two excellent appointments, both tough characters that will steady the ship at Yorkshire and could prove pivotal in the side’s chances of success this season.

As with last year, Joe Root will feature in a selected number of matches during the season, whilst Dawid Malan will be available from the start of the campaign after not being picked up in the IPL.

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