Club by club County Championship Division Two
DERBYSHIRE
Last season CCD2 – 8th; RLC – 7th in North Group; T20 – quarter-finals.
Ins Duanne Olivier, Ravi Rampaul, James Kettleborough. Outs Imran Tahir, Matt Henry, Shiv Thakor, Ben Cotton, Tom Taylor, Greg Cork, Rob Hemmings, Tom Milnes. One to watch Duanne Olivier’s pace promises to provide Derbyshire with a menacing new ball attack. Prospects The pace attack should be formidable while Matt Critchley’s experience with the England Lions should help his development. A first four-day home win since September 2014 is a priority.
DURHAM
Last season CCD2 – 9th; RLC – 5th in North Group; T20 – 9th in North Group. Ins Aiden Markram, Tom Latham, Akshar Patel, Nathan Rimmington, Will Smith. Outs Paul Coughlin, Keaton Jennings, Graham Onions.
One to watch Matthew Potts. The 19-year-old played five matches last season, but took 14 wickets and had the knack of striking at crucial times. Prospects After entering last season with points deductions in all three formats, Durham have a clean slate but have once again lost key players. The Royal London One-day Cup provides the best chance of success.
GLAMORGAN Last season CCD2 – 7th; RLC – 4th in South Group; T20 – semi-finals.
Ins Shaun Marsh. Outs Jacques Rudolph, William Bragg.
One to watch Lukas Carey. Took seven wickets on his debut against Northants in 2016 and continued to improve last season. Has a good action and gets movement.
Prospects More positive thanks to the emergence of several young players, and the arrival of Shaun Marsh. Should be competitive in the Championship and one-day formats.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE Last season CCD2 – 6th; RLC – 7th in South Group; T20 – 9th in South Group.
Ins Dan Worrall, Andrew Tye, Ryan Higgins.
Outs Brandon Gilmour, Patrick Grieshaber, Phil Mustard.
One to watch Dan Worrall. He looks sure to strengthen a pace attack which relied too much on Liam Norwell in Championship cricket last season. Prospects Should have a seam attack to more than match most in the second division, although batting remains a concern. The county have one of the lowest budgets in the country but punch above their weight.
KENT Last season CCD2 – 5th; RLC –9th in South Group; T20 – 6th in South Group. Ins Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Marcus Stoinis, Heino Kuhn, Harry Podmore. Outs Adam Ball, Hugh Bernard, Charlie Hartley, Wayne Parnell, Jimmy Neesham, Yasir Shah, Sam Northeast, Matt Coles.
One to watch Sean Dickson. The opener already boasts a brace of first-class triple centuries.
Prospects Have lost some big players, but signings look strong. Backroom looks good too with Paul Downton the director of cricket and Allan Donald as assistant coach.
LEICESTERSHIRE
Last season CCD2 – 10th; RLC – 6th in North Group; T20 – quarter-finals.
Ins Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nabi, Cameron Delport, Varun Aaron, Tom Taylor, Ateeq Javid. Out Clint Mckay.
One to watch Callum Parkinson. One of the country’s brightest spinning talents, the smiling, sparky 21-year-old left-armer turns the ball on the most unpromising surfaces.
Prospects A new head coach, in Paul Nixon, and captain, in Michael Carberry, have plenty to prove. Have finished in last place in four of the last five years so surely must improve.
MIDDLESEX Last season CCD1 – 7th; RLC – 8th in South Group; T20 – 7th in South Group. Ins Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright.
Outs Ryan Higgins, Harry Podmore. One to watch Tom Barber. Left-arm pace bowlers are a rare sight on the county scene but Barber has genuine pace and was included in the ECB Pace Programme this winter. Prospects Smarting from their controversial relegation last season, Middlesex’s focus will be on promotion. They need their bowlers, including Tim Murtagh, Toby Roland-jones, Steven Finn and Tom Helm, to deliver.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Last season CCD2 – 3rd; RLC – 8th in North Group; T20 – 6th in North Group.
Ins Doug Bracewell, Rory Kleinveldt, Seekkuge Prasanna, Brett Hutton, Luke Procter, Ricardo Vasconcelos. Outs David Murphy, Mohammad Azharullah. One to watch Brett Hutton. Has arrived from Notts and his role as a bowling all-rounder looks a particularly valuable asset in four-day cricket.
Prospects A close squad who play a positive brand of cricket, Northants are admired around the country. But they are serious about success and should be competitive on all fronts.
SUSSEX
Last season CCD2 – 4th; RLC – 5th in South Group; T20 – 5th in South Group.
Ins Ishant Sharma, Rashid Khan, Tom Haines. Outs Steve Magoffin, Ed Joyce, Chris Nash.
One to watch Michael Burgess. Arrived at Hove a year ago as a trialist and ended the season with a maiden Championship hundred against Notts. Has showed enough to suggest he has serious claims as a specialist batsman.
Prospects Jason Gillespie has arrived as head coach, promising to give youth a chance and to play positive cricket. Promotion is the priority but progress in white ball cricket is likely, too.
WARWICKSHIRE Last season CCD1 – 8th; RLC – 9th in North Group; T20 – Runners-up. Ins Jeetan Patel, Colin de Grandhomme, Alex Thomson. Outs Ateeq Javid, William Porterfield, Mark Adair.
One to Watch Olly Stone. After undergoing knee surgery, he delivered some searing spells last season which suggests his pace is not impaired. Can cause damage if he stays fit.
Prospects Last year was a nightmare and coach Jim Troughton and sport director Ashley Giles will expect a big reaction. Should be up there in promotion and one-day mix.