CAN SURREY DERAIL THE YORKSHIRE EXPRESS?

As the county season begins...

THe grand old lady of domestic cricket is back after last year’s magnificent climax, when Middlesex beat Yorkshire to the title with a toby Roland- Jones hat-trick.

Has that inspired a surge of interest in four-day Championship cricket?

It doesn’t seem to have done, at HQ at least. the ECB have reduced the first division to an eight-team 14-game competition, while 10 second division counties face a lop- sided itinerary of 14 matches, playing some teams twice and others only once.

Anyone would think the ECB would rather focus on the shorter form. Are they planning a new Twenty20 tournament?

Apparently so! And their current county t20 is seeing excellent ticket sales again for this summer but you might not hear too much about that because the eCb would rather concentrate on the future and games between ‘regional’ teams.

At least the Championship is in the spotlight and, with fewer games, is it fair to say each one should mean so much more?

that’s true, and with two teams being relegated from eight we are facing the most brutal Championship race for a decade, with the possibility of even the best counties being sucked into trouble.

So who is going to emerge at the top of the tree?

It’s hard to look beyond Yorkshire despite last season’s near miss. they are brimming with quality and their Australian overseas batsman Peter Handscomb should be around for the bulk of the season. their only problem is they have a batch of early-season injuries to their fast bowlers and they will initially be without their big two england batsmen, Joe Root and Jonny bairstow.

How about a dark horse?

Somerset came so close last year and hopefully will again prepare turning pitches to encourage spin, while Middlesex should be there or thereabouts. but if you fancy a punt have a look at Surrey. they have added significant quality in Durham duo Mark Stoneman and Scott borthwick and have an array of young talent like the Curran brothers and a keeper of rich promise in ben Foakes.

Why did two of Durham’s best players choose to head to The Oval?

Well, would you stay with a team who were relegated because of financial problems and will start the second division on minus 48 points after the ECB threw the kitchen sink at them? there is a lot of sympathy for Durham and they will attract a lot of neutral support in their attempt to overcome the odds this year.

Hampshire must be counting their blessings having stayed up in Durham’s place rather than second-placed Division Two side Kent?

they are certainly counting their Kolpak players, having added two in Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw amid the flurry of non- overseas ‘overseas’ players who have arrived this year. It hasn’t escaped the attention of many that Durham by contrast have provided more homegrown players for england than most.

Let’s finish on a more positive note. Everybody likes to look out for a good young ’un. Who should we keep our eye on?

I offer two. Hampshire have legspinner Mason Crane, 20, one of the most promising in the country. last winter he became the first overseas player to play Sheffield Shield cricket for new South Wales since Imran Khan and has the ability to put pressure on Adil Rashid.

lancashire have quite a prospect in liam livingstone, a Cumbrian with a swagger just like ben Stokes and, according to Andy Flower, the hardest hitter of a cricket ball he has ever seen! but perhaps the nicest story of the early part of the season is the return of an old ’un in 36-year-old Michael Carberry after treatment for cancer. He returned with a hundred for Hampshire against Cardiff university, too.