Here's all you need to know ahead of the 2017 season...
Wednesday 5 April 2017 00:29, UK
The cricket season is nearly here! Friday sees the start of the Specsavers County Championship and it promises to be another fascinating summer of action.
We have looked at how things could unfold in Division Two and now it is the turn of the top flight and the fight for the County Championship title.
Can Middlesex make it two in a row? Or will Yorkshire bounce back and regain their crown? And who will spend their season fighting the drop? Here's how we see it…
2016: Third
2017 prediction: Champions
Sky Bet odds: 9/4
Chances in a tweet: A third straight title alluded them but they still boast the most complete squad in the division and look well-placed to regain their crown.
What's new? The coach and the captain for a start. Jason Gillespie has returned to Australia after a hugely successful stint at Headingley with former captain Andrew Gale replacing him as coach. Gary Ballance, his England career now seemingly behind him, takes over as captain and Australian Peter Handscomb bolsters a batting line-up already the envy of many in the top flight.
Wicket-taker: After taking 60 Championship wickets last summer and 74 in 2015, the news that Jack Brooks is likely to miss the first three Division One games of the season was a blow for Yorkshire. However, once fit and firing, the seamer again looks like being the man to spearhead the attack.
Century-maker: With the emergence of Keaton Jennings and Haseeb Hameed, Adam Lyth's England days also look to be over. On the county scene, though, there are few better, as the left-hander showed with four centuries and more than 1,100 runs in four-day cricket last season.
Young player to watch: Matt Fisher (right-arm seamer). After bursting onto the scene in 2015, the 19-year-old missed the entirety of the 2016 season with a succession of hamstring injuries. But having made his comeback for England Under-19s over the winter, he will be looking to make up for lost time this summer.
2016: Champions
2017 prediction: Second
Sky Bet odds: 7/2
Chances in a tweet: Ended a 23-year wait for the title last year and, after minimal changes, will be in the mix again this time around.
What's new? Not much, really - unless you count their shiny, new logo! Perhaps unsurprisingly given their title win last season, Middlesex have stuck with what worked for them. Adam Voges returns as overseas and will be joined by Brendon McCullum in the Natwest T20 Blast, but, in the red-ball stuff, it is very much as you were.
Wicket-taker: After taking a hat-trick to win the County Championship, Toby Roland-Jones has his work cut out to improve on last year. A first Test call-up didn't result in a first cap but after 54 wickets at 28.22, a good start to 2017 could put him back in the England frame.
Century-maker: Nick Gubbins' 1,409 runs at the top of the order were crucial in helping Middlesex end their long wait for a County Championship title. Perhaps unfortunate to be overlooked by England over the winter, a repeat this season would be hard to ignore.
Young player to watch: Harry Podmore (right-arm seamer). Having made his first-class debut last summer while on loan at Glamorgan, Podmore returned to play a part in Middlesex's title success and looks set for further opportunities after taking five wickets in the recent Champion County match against the MCC.
2016: Fifth
2017 prediction: Third
Sky Bet odds: 5/1
Chances in a tweet: Now established back in the top flight, a squad brimming with talent will be looking to kick on again and push for honours in 2017.
What's new? The top order will certainly have a fresh feel to it (and added northern grit) after the arrivals of Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick from Durham, while Steven Davies has departed for Taunton. A certain Kevin Pietersen is back for the T20 Blast and will be joined by Aaron Finch, returning for his second season at the Oval.
Wicket-taker: Tom Curran's 33 wickets at 45.27 last summer are hardly standout figures but at 22, having shone for England Lions over the winter and earned an ODI call-up, his confidence will be high and he is only going to get better.
Century-maker: He turns 40 last this year but Kumar Sangakkara remains Surrey's most reliable run-scorer. He topped 1,000 runs and averaged just shy of 50 in the Championship last year but will be keen to better the single first-class century he mustered in his 22 innings.
Young player to watch: Dominic Sibley (right-handed batsman). While Sam Curran's star continues to rise, Sibley - the youngest player to hit a double hundred in the County Championship - is also progressing well. Unbeaten scores of 104 and 60 against Oxford MCCU recently suggest he is in good nick ahead of the big kick off, too.
2016: Sixth
2017 prediction: Fourth
Sky Bet odds: 11/2
Chances in a tweet: An ageing squad, albeit with undoubted quality, should have more than enough to survive but a title tilt seems unlikely. Top half.
What's new? Ashley Giles has returned to Edgbaston as director of cricket, replacing Dougie Brown, and Jim Troughton has been appointed head coach. Seamer Olly Stone is the only major addition on the playing side and will be keen to make up for lost time after missing much of last season due to a ligament injury. Varun Chopra and Laurie Evans have moved on but New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme is on board for the T20 Blast.
Wicket-taker: Jeetan Patel led the way with 69 wickets at 24.02 in Division One last season, including four five-wicket hauls. He may be 36 but the Kiwi off-spinner shows no sign of slowing down and remains a potent weapon for Warwickshire in red and white-ball cricket.
Century-maker: Having spoken of his desire to force his way back into the England side, Warwickshire fans will be expecting big things from Ian Bell. Much like the team as a whole, he struggled for his best form last season but there should be no doubting his class.
Young player to watch: Sam Hain (right-handed batsman). A revelation in one-day cricket last season, making a similar impact in the four-day game is the 21-year-old's next challenge.
2016: Second
2017 prediction: Fifth
Sky Bet odds: 8/1
Chances in a tweet: Exceeded expectations to come within a whisker of a maiden title but a repeat will be tough, especially as Leach battles with a new action.
What's new? Jack Leach played a key role in Somerset's title challenge last season but having had to remodel his action it remains to be seen whether he can replicate that form this summer. Chris Rogers' retirement sees Tom Abell assume the four-day captaincy with Steven Davies and South African opener Dean Elgar given the task of replacing the runs previously provided by the Australian.
Wicket-taker: Despite an altered action, left-arm spinner Leach will be expected to deliver again this summer after shooting to prominence with 65 wickets at 21.87, especially if the Taunton wicket proves a turner again.
Century-maker: James Hildreth. An ever-reliable presence in the middle-order, not only did he make four Championship hundreds and score 1,012 runs in 2016, Hildreth batted Somerset out of a number of tricky situations.
Young player to watch: Dominic Bess (off-spinner). 13 wickets in two Championship games, with best figures of 6-28, last season as Somerset pushed for the title showed both the skill and temperament of Bess. That he is a useful with the bat too is an added bonus.
2016: Seventh
2017 prediction: Sixth
Sky Bet odds: 12/1
Chances in a tweet: Much-needed experience has been added to the top order but it is time for the youngsters to come of age in order for progress to be made.
What's new? Club stalwart Glen Chapple has taken the reins and, following the retirement of Tom Smith, and Alviro Petersen's unavailability, the Red Rose county have recruited West Indian legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul and South African wicketkeeper Dane Vilas to bolster an otherwise youthful batting line-up. All-rounder Ryan McLaren looks a solid overseas signing while Pakistani left-armer Junaid Khan is welcomed back for the T20 Blast.
Wicket-taker: Kyle Jarvis topped Lancashire's red-ball wicket-taking charts with 51 Championship scalps last summer and got through more overs (545.2) than any other seamer in Division One. James Anderson should take some of the burden off him early in the season but others will need to step up to help Jarvis from July onwards.
Century-maker: With Hameed set to miss much of the season on England duty, the run-scoring baton passes to another academy product. Liam Livingstone averaged 50.93 in 2016, his breakthrough season, and impressed again over the winter, hitting two hundreds for the England Lions in Sri Lanka.
Young player to watch: Saqib Mahmood (right-arm seamer). Another home-grown talent hoping to make an impact, Mahmood is a former England Under-19 international and was named England Development Programme cricketer of the year in 2015. He made his only first-class appearance to date last summer having shown promise in white-ball cricket and will aim to kick on again in 2017.
2016: Eighth
2017 prediction: Seventh, relegated
Sky Bet odds: 10/1
Chances in a tweet: Having been handed a reprieve last season, the south coast side face another fight to beat the drop despite encouraging Kolpak additions.
What's new? The signings of South African Kyle Abbott and Rilee Roussow on Kolpak deals caused quite a stir during the off-season but the Proteas loss is very much Hampshire's gain as they look make the most of their Division One reprieve. George Bailey has rejoined on a two-year deal and will captain the side in four-day cricket, replacing James Vince, who will lead the 50-over and T20 sides.
Wicket-taker: There is a real buzz around leg-spinner Mason Crane after he made his Sheffield Shield debut over the winter and he looks a fine talent. However, it remains to be seen how much playing time he will get, particularly early in the season. Abbott and the fit-again Reece Topley should have no such worries.
Century-maker: After a difficult seven-Test stint with England last summer, Vince is back with Hampshire and, without the strains of captaincy in four-day cricket, will be determined to rediscover the form that saw him thrust into the international arena in the first place.
Young player to watch: Tom Alsop (left-handed batsman). The opener enjoyed a superb 2016 in one-day cricket and showed plenty of positives signs against the red ball too, adding five fifties to his maiden first class ton.
2016: Division Two champions
2017 prediction: Eighth, relegated
Sky Bet odds: 16/1
Chances in a tweet: Impressive in promotion but the loss of so many important and experienced players could see a swift return to the second tier.
What's new? Essex romped to the Division Two title last season but establishing themselves in the top flight will not be easy, especially having lost a number of senior players who helped them to promotion. David Masters and Graham Napier have retired, Jesse Ryder has returned to New Zealand and Jaik Mickleburgh has departed for pastures new. However, the overseas signings of left-armers Neil Wagner, for the first half of the season, and Mohammad Amir, for the second, and the early season availability of Alastair Cook should go some way to filling those gaps.
Wicket-taker: Without Napier and Masters, Essex are 103 wickets down on last season, heading into 2016 meaning the pressure is on 23-year-old Jamie Porter to overcome the step up in quality and make it three 50-plus wicket seasons on the bounce.
Century-maker: Tom Westley notched three hundreds and racked up 1,217 runs last term and was touted for an England call-up at various points during the season. That was not to be, but the No 3 has the chance to impress the selectors by proving himself capable of a similar haul in the top division.
Young player to watch: Aaron Beard (right-arm seamer). The England Under-19s prospect is another who will be asked to step up and help fill the void left by Napier and Masters and he showed on his first-class debut, picking up a wicket in each of his first two overs against Sri Lanka last summer, he is not one to be overawed by the big occasion.
Sky customers can now upgrade to Sky Sports and get 12 months for just £18 per month. Upgrade now!
