kevshat Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 The new domestic cricket season is less than a week away now so it's time to start the 1st thread of the year, the County Championship. I'll start it with one thread but if it overflows I'll cut it into a thread for each division. I've done a preview for each division which I'll put up in the next two posts but just a quick overview of the rules and format for those new to domestic cricket and the wonderful betting opportunities it brings. We have two divisions of 9 counties. At the end of the season the top 2 from Division 2 replace the bottom 2 of Division 1. You now get 16pts for a win, 3 for a draw and nothing for losing. All matches in this competition are 4 days long and 2 innings per side. You also score bonus points in the 1st innings of each match and they are scored as follows: Batting: 200-249 runs = 1pt 250-299 runs = 2pts 300-349 runs = 3pts 350-399 runs = 4pts 400 runs and over = 5pts Bowling: 3-5 wickets = 1pt 6-8 wickets = 2pts 9 or 10 wickets = 3pts Note: You can only score bonus points in the 1st 110 overs of each 1st innings. Season runs from April to September and begins on Thursday. Let's hope it's a decent season with plenty of involvement like the recent cricket threads on PL. I know we've lots of county fans on PL so this should be another good thread. Previews to follow shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Division 1: Durham were edged out of the County Championship title in the last round of matches last season and it is hard to see a reason why they will go better this season. I fancied them strongly last season but this is largely an aging squad who while will be competitive, are likely to find one or two too good for them. The 2008 and 2009 winners know how to win the title but I’m still not convinced by Phil Mustard’s captaincy and a lack of overseas player could prove the difference. With no ins and only three fringe players leaving player movement has been minimal at the Riverside in the off season. The strengths in Durham’s side is in their batting I feel but being without Paul Collingwood for the first two months of the season isn’t helpful particularly were anything to happen to Michael di Venuto or Dale Benkenstein. Only Benkenstein scored over 1000 runs last season and others will need to emulate that if Durham are to be successful this term. Their season could boil down to how fit they can keep their seamers, in particular Stephen Harmison and Graham Onions. Ben Stokes set the circuit alight last season and if he can be as good as he was before his horrible injury that will be a bonus for the Dynamos. If success is going to come Durham’s way this season I feel it will be in the one day competitions. Last season: 3rd Overseas Player(s): Herschelle Gibbs & Mitchell Johnson (Both T20 only) Key Players: Dale Benkenstein & Graham Onions One to watch: Ben Stokes – tasted England honours last season and could be a special player in the future Best Odds: 9/2 (Totesport) Predicted Finishing Position: 4th Lancashire were county champions last season and were helped out by playing all their home matches at outgrounds with renovation work going on at Old Trafford. This season they are back at Old Trafford for half their matches but that may hurt them more than help them. One thing which is likely to help them is the recruitment of Ashwell Prince who if he doesn’t get back into the South Africa squad could be available for the whole season which could be valuable. They lost the services of Mark Chilton as he retired at the end of last season. Lancashire’s strength last year was their seam bowling attack and in Sajid Mahmood, captain Glen Chapple, Tom Smith and Kyle Hogg with the occasional visit from James Anderson bedded in, they have a good attack but it remains to be seen how the slower wicket at Old Trafford will suit that. Only four men scored more than 560 runs for Lancashire last season and they will need more runs if they are to challenge this season. It’s hard to defend this title though and I think Lancashire might struggle a bit this year with Old Trafford such an unknown since the wickets have been turned round. Last season: 1st Overseas Player(s): Ashwell Prince Key Players: Ashwell Prince & Glen Chapple One to watch: Simon Kerrigan – took 24 wickets in 4 matches last year and Old Trafford should suit his spin. Best Odds: 6/1 (Bodog) Predicted Finishing Position: 6th Middlesex won division 2 last season in fine style and have successfully recruited ahead of their first season back in the top flight. Joe Denly and Ollie Rayner have come into the side and they have retained the services of Chris Rogers too. Andrew Strauss could well be available more this season as could Eoin Morgan once he returns from the IPL. Steven Finn should be around to compliment a pretty strong bowling attack which is at Neil Dexter’s disposal. Big things are expected of Dawid Malan this season but Jamie Dalrymple was released. A lot of how Middlesex will do this season will come down to how the likes of Tim Murtagh and Corey Collymore cope with the change to the Duke ball which is used in Division 1. If that transition is successful then Middlesex should have more than enough to stay up. With the bat the likes of Rogers, Strauss when around, Malan and Sam Robson should provide the runs needed to ensure safety is achieved in a season of consolidation back in the top flight for the London side. Last season: 1st in Division 2 Overseas Player(s): Chris Rogers Key Players: Chris Rogers & Steven Finn One to watch: Sam Robson – scored 885 runs in only 11 matches last season and looks to have improved over the winter. Best Odds: 12/1 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 7th Nottinghamshire were the county champions in 2010 but their defence of the title didn’t go as well as hoped last season when they could only finish 6th. Runs were the main issue with only Alex Hales going past the 1000 run mark and injuries to their bowlers didn’t help. However the Outlaws have gone out and bolstered their batting line up with the signings of James Taylor and Michael Lumb while Adam Voges will be a good overseas signing once the IPL finishes. Harry Gurney has arrived to strengthen the bowling attack. I expect Nottinghamshire to have a much better season this time around with their batting depth looking a lot better and more options in their bowling attack. It remains to be seen how much they will see of Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann but the likes of Darren Pattinson when he returns, Luke Fletcher, Harry Gurney and Andy Carter give them a seam attack which can see them challenging for the title once again, especially if Samit Patel loses his test place at any time as well as the two limited overs competitions too. Last season: 6th Overseas Player(s): Adam Voges (After IPL) Key Players: Samit Patel & Chris Read One to watch: James Taylor – touted as the next entrant to the England test line up but Notts will hope that’s not during this season. Best Odds: 6/1 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 2nd Somerset are the perennial bridesmaids of county cricket and last season was another season of near misses for the West-country side. Marcus Trescothick is desperate to win silverware for his county but it seems destined not to happen and it’s hard to put up a real case as to why it will happen this season instead. Vernon Philander could be a very useful early season overseas signing especially if he can have the impact he’s had to the South African test squad but the loss of Murali Kartik and Charl Willoughby look big. Somerset have a fine batting line up, one which would rival any in the country, although they do need to bat a lot better away from Taunton to be really successful. Trescothick was the leading runscorer in the country last season and they will need all his runs this season too especially with Kieswetter and Buttler missing parts of the season when on England duty. The big concern is when Philander goes off to play for South Africa who will take the wickets for Somerset and there is no immediate obvious candidate with Kartik and Willoughby gone. That looks to be the thing which could confine Somerset to mid table. Last season: 4th Overseas Player(s): Vernon Philander (first half of season), Chris Gayle (T20 only) & Albie Morkel (T20 only) Key Players: Marcus Trescothick & Vernon Philander One to watch: Lewis Gregory – the young all rounder made a positive breakthrough last season and could be a vital cog in the Somerset wheel this season. Best Odds: 11/2 (Stan James) Predicted Finishing Position: 5th Surrey were promoted last season on the final day of the season and they have recruited well enough to mount a serious title charge this year. Under the coaching of Chris Adams and Surrey stalwarts like Graham Thorpe, Alec Stewart and Martin Bicknell and a forward thinking Hamilton-Brown as captain the Lions have a young side who play a very good brand of cricket. Jacques Rudolph joins the side for the first two months of the season and then Murali Kartik takes over from him so Surrey are well covered in the overseas department and a host of good youngsters give them plenty of squad depth. Surrey’s batting line up is glued together by the evergreen Mark Ramprakash but with Zander de Bruyn there and Jacques Rudolph early in the season the pressure isn’t as big on the veteran scoring runs. Steven Davies and Tom Maynard are two of the best young players in the country. The signing of Jon Lewis to add experience to the bowling attack is a good one and with Chris Tremlett likely to be around more and the likes of Jade Dernbach, Stuart Meaker and Chris Jordan as well as Tim Linley all around too Surrey’s attack looks strong enough to win the title at their first attempt. Last season: 2nd in Division 2 Overseas Player(s): Jacques Rudolph (until end of IPL), Murali Kartik (After IPL), Dirk Nannes (T20 only) Key Players: Steven Davies & Chris Tremlett One to watch: Tim Linley – the quick could follow Stuart Meaker and Jade Dernbach to England honours before the season is over. Best Odds: 8/1 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 1st Sussex finished last season well to end up in a mid table position but for a lot of the season they were fighting relegation and I sense a repeat of that could play out this year without the great escape. With Monty Panesar back on the fringes of the England side, Matt Prior away for large periods and Luke Wright at the IPL a small squad is likely to be tested to the full, especially if Ed Joyce spends too much time away with Ireland and Michael Yardy suffers a relapse of his depression problems of last season. Ins and outs have been nonexistent generally over the winter. A lot is going to be depend on if Murray Goodwin can continue to churn out the runs we have become used to him doing. If he can then the likes of Joyce, Nash and last year’s breakthrough player Luke Wells could scrape enough runs to keep their heads above water. Another problem Sussex will have is taking 20 wickets and that fear becomes a real concern if anything happens to Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar is required by England. Steve Magoffin should give a bit of a spark to their bowling attack early in the season but I think the 3 time champions from the last decade could fall back to division 2 this year. Last season: 5th Overseas Player(s): Steve Magoffin (Until T20) Key Players: Murray Goodwin & Monty Panesar One to watch: Ben Brown – big hitting keeper-batsman who made a name for himself in one day cricket last season could do the same in four day cricket this year. Best Odds: 10/1 (Boylesports) Predicted Finishing Position: 9th Warwickshire could’ve been champions last season were it not for a last day rearguard effort by Hampshire denying them and I think they are set to be in the mix again this season, although once again I think they could fall just short when the table is completed. Securing the permanent signing of Chris Wright from Essex who was on loan for the end of last season looks a good move as it getting Jeetan Patel for the whole of the season. He will replace Ant Botha who has retired. Varun Chopra finally showed all his talent last season but Warwickshire’s batting line up in general failed a lot of the time so they will be secretly hoping Ian Bell stays out of the England limited overs squads so that they see more of him this season. Darren Maddy missed a lot of last season but he is fit however Warwickshire’s chances were dealt a bit of a blow with the news that Chris Woakes will miss the first two months of the season. Boyd Rankin and Chris Wright will need to lead the way with the ball if Warwickshire are to sneak the title. I think they’ll challenge but won’t quite have enough. Last season: 2nd Overseas Player(s): Jeetan Patel Key Players: Rikki Clarke & Chris Woakes One to watch: Keith Barker – the left arm seamer has been a permanent fixture in the one day formats but Woakes’ injury could open the door to a four day berth. Best Odds: 7/1 (Paddy Power/Bodog) Predicted Finishing Position: 3rd Worcestershire were completely written off before last season and I was guilty of being one of those who thought they would go down without a whimper. When they lost their first six matches of last season they looked doomed but a second half of the season comeback launched by Saeed Ajmal’s appearance not only got them going but kept them in the top flight. Unfortunately he isn’t available this season apart from the T20 so the pressure will be on the likes of Alan Richardson to perform. Phil Hughes has been signed as an overseas player with South Australia captain Michael Klinger covering the first part of the season. Survival this season looks very difficult but if Phil Hughes can bring the form which he had at Middlesex with him rather than the test form he’s shown recently then Worcestershire will have the runs to launch a survival bid especially with Vikram Solanki and Moeen Ali still two of the better players in the country. Gareth Andrew’s injury puts even more pressure on Alan Richardson with the ball but Worcestershire have plenty of heart and fight and will give staying up a good go. Ultimately I think they will just fall short but can secure enough draws to avoid the wooden spoon. Last season: 7th Overseas Player(s) Michael Klinger (until end of May), Phil Hughes (end of May onwards), Saeed Ajmal (T20 only) Key Players: Vikram Solanki & Moeen Ali One to watch: Jack Manuel – England u19 player broke through last season and could provide handy runs to the side this term. Best Odds: 50/1 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 8th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Division 2: Derbyshire surprised many last season with their mid-table finish but this year a similar finish perhaps wouldn’t be surprised. You never get a winter at Derby without something happening and captain Luke Sutton was the subject of this winter’s issue as he retired citing signs of depression. Wayne Madsen takes over the reins and he takes over a squad which hasn’t brought too many players in during the winter, just the one in David Wainwright from Yorkshire who I quite like. Martin Guptill and Usman Khawaja once again will share the overseas duties. Derbyshire have a lively bowling attack and if they can find some big runs throughout the course of the season then they might go ok again this year. I think promotion is a little beyond them as this looks a trappy division this year but a mid-table finish is well within their grasp unless injury hits the likes of Tim Groenewald, Tony Palladino or Jonathan Clare. Runs will be the issue and while Madsen and the overseas players are reliable the pressure will be on the likes of Wes Durston, Dan Redfern and Ross Whiteley to produce. I expect a mid table finish for Derbyshire this year. Last season: 5th Overseas Player(s): Martin Guptill (Until T20), Usman Khawaja (T20 onwards) Rana Naved (T20 only) Key Players: Wayne Madsen & Tim Groenewald One to watch: Dan Redfern – still fairly young but had a promising season last year and could turn into a really big player for Derbyshire this season. Best Odds: 18/1 (Stan James) Predicted Finishing Position: 7th Essex had a weaker season than they would have expected last season having been relegated into division 2 and they will hope to be a lot stronger this season. They have signed well in the close season bringing in the likes of Greg Smith and Charl Willoughby while Alviro Petersen is a good early overseas signing. They needed to make those signings though with Ravi Bopara back in England’s plans along with Cook who isn’t going to be around as much as usual while Owais Shah and Ryan ten Doeschate begin the season in the IPL. Essex have signed a couple of good seam options which was important because David Masters won’t take 93 wickets in a season again. If Willoughby, Napier and Smith can keep the pressure on teams then they will bowl sides out. Scoring runs was an issue for the Eagles last season and would look the obvious issue again this term especially with Shah and ten Doeschate away for a while. If they don’t see much of Bopara then they could struggle for runs even with the talented youngsters they have around the place and a lack of runs could be the difference between going up and staying down. Last season: 7th Overseas Player(s): Alviro Petersen (until June), Peter Siddle (T20 only) Key Players: James Foster & David Masters One to watch: Adam Wheater – the keeper batsman is well thought of on the east coast and this could be the season he makes his mark with the bat. Best Odds: 11/2 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 4th After a season of consolidation last year Glamorgan will be hoping to improve this season to the extent that they can push for honours. They will be led by wicket-keeper Mark Wallace after Alviro Petersen went back on an agreement to come back to the club. Marcus North is a good replacement for him as overseas player while Moises Henriques is perfectly adequate until North arrives. Simon Jones and Michael Hogan are good additions to any bowling attack let alone Glamorgan’s and should ensure they are much more competitive this season. On the face of it runs will be a big issue for the Welsh county this season and Marcus North will really need to fill his boots. Gareth Rees and Ben Wright are talented players who really need to start delivering while Stewart Walters has had a good pre-season. James Harris adds a good compliment to Jones and Hogan with the ball and if spinners Croft and Cosker are successful this season then Glamorgan could well push themselves right into the promotion picture. The top end of this division looks very tough though so I fear the Dragons could fall a bit short but be safely in mid-table. Last season: 6th Overseas Player(s): Moises Henriques (first month of season), Marcus North (May onwards) Key Players: Marcus North & James Harris One to watch: Gareth Rees – formed a good partnership with Alviro Petersen last season and needs to produce the good even more for his county this term. Best Odds: 9/1 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 6th Gloucestershire’s close season has been dogged by financial concerns and those concerns have meant Chris Taylor’s contract has had to be terminated and they only kept Hamish Marshall via a much reduced salary. Gloucestershire punched above their weight last season but with such a young squad I think this will be a season of struggle this year. At the time of writing they have no overseas player other than for the T20 and Jon Lewis’ move to Surrey leaves a big hole to be filled in their bowling attack. They have managed to bring in Dan Howgego from Middlesex to give them an extra batting option. I don’t see Gloucestershire being in the promotion mix this season. In fact I think they could be receiving the wooden spoon. They have lost their top runscorer last year and their top wicket taker. Apart from Taylor the only man to make over 1000 runs was Will Gidman and it’s hard to see him scoring that many again and 65 wickets which Lewis took will be a lot of find particularly when no replacements have been found. Bowling sides will be a problem for the Gladiators and I’m far from convinced they’ll score runs and I think they will struggle greatly this season. Last season: 4th Overseas Player(s) Muttiah Muralitharan (T20 only) Key Players: Alex Gidman & Will Gidman One to watch: David Payne – he has been on the fringes for the last couple of years but the young left arm seamer will get his chance in all competitions with no Jon Lewis anymore. Best Odds: 12/1 (Stan James/Ladbrokes) Predicted Finishing Position: 9th Hampshire were disappointingly relegated last season as they suffered some important injuries and off field issues. They come into the new season with everyone fit and well with the exception of Kabir Ali and under a new captain in James Adams. The Ageus Bowl side will be expecting nothing less than promotion and the signing of Simon Katich as overseas player went a long way to emphasising that ambition. Neil McKenzie not being available until the second half of the season is a blow especially with Nic Pothas released too. Hampshire struggled to bowl sides out last season but their bowling attack looks more than good enough to have them competing for promotion if the Tiiflex ball continues to do all sorts. If it doesn’t then there is the potential to too many draws at home. One other thing which could hold them back from winning the title is a possible lack of runs. However if Jimmy Adams, Michael Carberry and Simon Katich go well this season then the Royals have a good axis and platform with which to win matches on. If they avoid the draws promotion should be theirs if not the title. Last season: 9th in Division 1 Overseas Player(s): Simon Katich, Shahid Afridi (T20 only) Key Players: Michael Carberry & Danny Briggs One to watch: Michael Bates – the former Eng u19 wicket keeper is a little magician with the gloves and he can flourish with the bat in Nic Pothas’ absence this season too. Best Odds: 3/1 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 2nd Kent have had a turbulent close season with their coach heading off to Yorkshire and a couple of big players in Joe Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld leaving the club but once they brought Jimmy Adams in to coach the side they have recruited very steadily and look like they have a squad which could really push for promotion this season. Adams knows Caribbean cricket well and has done his homework to bring Brendan Nash in for the season as overseas player while the likes of Ben Harmison and Mark Davies from Durham could be very canny signings. Mike Powell and Scott Newman are also solid signings. Rob Key’s captaincy is often worth a little bit extra for the Spitfires and if Charlie Shreck stays fit he could take the wickets to lead Kent towards Division 1. The younger bowlers at Kent can chip in around Shreck while the experienced all rounders Darren Stevens, Ben Harmison and Azhar Mahmood will also take wickets. Kent look to have enough runs in them to go well and if the likes of James Tredwell can come in and take wickets in the second half of the season it could be that which pushes Kent over the line back into Division 1. I think they will fall just short but a top 3 finish awaits them. Last season: 8th Overseas Player(s): Brendan Nash Key Players: Robert Key & Charlie Shreck One to watch: Daniel Bell-Drummond – begins the season away with England u19’s but he is a talented batsman who is already fit for first class cricket. Best Odds: 12/1 (William Hill) Predicted Finishing Position: 3rd Leicestershire had an awful County Championship season last year but that was negated by them winning the T20 competition which saved their season. I expect that to be their target again this season too but they will also hope for an improvement in the Championship where they managed just one win last season, although admittedly they gave up on it halfway through when they knew how competitive they were in the T20. This looks a much worse squad than last year too with Andrew McDonald, James Taylor, Paul Nixon and Harry Gurney no longer at the club. The overseas signing of Ramnaresh Sarwan was much needed. Leicestershire are lucky in some extents that Gloucestershire have had their issues and that should ensure they don’t finish bottom. The Foxes still have a few wicket takers in their midst in Nathan Buck, Matthew Hoggard and Claude Henderson but if Sarwan doesn’t deliver the batting looks incredibly light without Taylor which would be a real concern. They do have some talented young batsmen though so any of them could improve and deliver the sort of runs Leicestershire need for an acceptable season. For me though they will have a lot more sides above them than below them come the end of the season. Last season: 9th Overseas Player(s): Ramnaresh Sarwan, Abdul Razzaq (T20 only) Key Players: Ramnaresh Sarwan & Matthew Hoggard One to watch: Josh Cobb – the tall batsman has shown his credentials in the one day formats but he has the talent to succeed in the four day game too if given the chance. Best Odds: 25/1 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 8th Northants are steadily improving year on year and were only denied promotion on the last day of last season having been in the top two for a lot of the season. David Capel’s men always look like they are punching above their weight but they actually have some very underrated players mixed in with some very talented youngsters and the fact they haven’t signed loads of players in the close season suggests they are confident with their squad. Kyle Coetzer was on loan from Durham at the end of last season and he is now there permanently. Chaminda Vaas has been a very clever overseas signing for the Steelbacks and his new ball partnership with Jack Brooks has been very proficient. If Brooks can stay fit all season, which is an issue because he has a back concern, then Northants almost have to be in the promotion mix. David Sales has had a good pre-season and if he returns to the form of old his runs alone will have Northants in the mix without the runs Stephen Peters and Niall O’Brien will provide. Ultimately this is a strong division this year and I fear they may be edged out again. Last season: 3rd Overseas Player(s): Chaminda Vaas, Cameron White (T20 only) Key Players: David Sales & Chaminda Vaas One to watch: Alex Wakely – he has produced glimpses of what he can deliver in past seasons but his game is ready to come together in a big way this year. Best Odds: 8/1 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 5th Yorkshire were relegated from Division 1 last season and immediately set about making sure they return to the top flight at the earliest opportunity. Having gone close to the title itself the season before complacency seemed to set in and that coupled with a few key injuries meant the White Rose lost its leaves in 2011. Jason Gillespie has come in as coach and can provide a winning mentality for the club. He knows what it takes to win things. Signing Phil Jaques on a UK passport route leaving the door open for an overseas player could reap rewards. The fact Jaques is the only real addition to this Yorkshire side suggests they are happy with their squad but not how it performed last season. Key players like Anthony McGrath and Andrew Gale are fit again and they can be big assets in a young batting line up. With the ball Ryan Sidebottom should be as good as there is in this division while Ajmal Shahzad and Adil Rashid both have plenty to prove to the England selectors this season. Yorkshire look to have the best batting line up in the division and with Bresnan maybe seeing more action than usual they have the best bowling attack in it too and I think they will return to Division 1 as champions of Division 2. Last season: 8th in Division 1 Overseas Player(s): TBA Key Players: Anthony McGrath & Ryan Sidebottom One to watch: Joe Root – has been in the England Lions set up and will be the next one off the Yorkshire conveyor belt to taste full England honours. Possibly this season. Best Odds: 7/2 (General) Predicted Finishing Position: 1st Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 :clap Super previews mate. Glad to see the domestic season back at last, albeit hampered by the IPL for the first month or so. Hopefully the county threads will be profitable for all this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 3, 2012 Author Share Posted April 3, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Cheers mate :ok. First few outrights for me. 2.5pts ew Surrey to win Division 1 8/1 Boylesports (1/5 1,2,3) I'm not going to elaborate too much on my previews other than to say I really like the make up of Surrey's side this season. They have a winning mentality now having won the CB40 last season and they have the bowling attack to really get stuck in this season. In the past draws were a huge concern for Surrey but that's not so much the case anymore as they have batsmen who score so quickly they put a lot of time back into the game. Surrey's bowling attack stacks up well against everyone else in the division and I think that unit can lead them to their first title since 2002. 6pts Yorkshire to win Division 2 7/2 Bet365 Yorkshire should never have been relegated this season. Some of their results last year were amazing. I remember the time where they were chasing 140 odd to beat Notts and were gubbed for 80 odd and when you look back at it that cost them dearly, as did a couple of crucial injuries. Everyone is fit at the start of this season and with the exception of Bairstow and Bresnan they look like they will avoid England call up's which could be the crucial thing. Even then Bresnan might return for much of the season if Finn overtakes him in the test side. We saw last year that you need a seam attack to win this division and Yorkshire certainly have that and with Dizzy Gillespie as coach they will get good advice too. Sidebottom, Shahzad, Patterson and Wardlaw are a good bowling attack and when you put the likes of Bresnan, Pyrah and a couple of good youngsters in the mix they have the attack to go well. Like Surrey they have the batting line up that can put time into the game so draws shouldn't be too much of a hinderance and at 7/2 I think the White Rose have everything they need to win the title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerryPFC Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 As always an excellent, excellent write up. A pleasure to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Fantastic write-ups! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Was always going to back Surrey and Yorkshire in their respective leagues this season even before kev's previews and there's nothing to put me off either county. Taken a few outrights myself as well. May have a closer look at the top batsman/bowler markets a little later on, but just these for now. Surrey to win Division 1- 8/1 Coral- (2/10)- (1/5 1,2,3) I can't add too much to what Kev's said as he has pretty much covered all the bases. Their batting quality looks up there now with the likes of Somerset and Notts, with the young talents of Maynard, Hamilton-Brown and Davies backed up by the evergreen Mark Ramprakash. Zander de Bruyn and Rudolph are quality cricketers as well so you'd fancy plenty of runs coming out of the top 6/7. The bowling department down at the Oval is again right up there with anyone on the county circuit. Dernbach, Tremlett and Meaker as a front line is really threatening on paper, and with the spinning qualities that Murali Kartik possesses, and the emerging Zafar Ansari, it's really hard to find a weakness in the Surrey side. Further talents include Tom Linley, who I think is a really good cricketer and the new acquisition of Jon Lewis, who adds further depth to the side and barring any major disasters, I fancy Surrey to be right up there come the end of the season and win the Championship for the first time for over 10 years. Sussex to be relegated from Division 1- 5/2 Ladbrokes- (3/10) Warwickshire to be relegated from Division 1- 4/1 Ladbrokes- (2/10) Two teams who I think may struggle this season are Sussex and Warwickshire. I expect Worcestershire to be amongst those fighting for survival as well, especially given the fact they will be without Gareth Andrew for the first couple of months but there's no value in them and they may take some confidence into this season after a decent Championship campaign last season. Sussex have invested a ton of money into their facilities and Michael Yardy has been bigging their chances up this season but I'm not so sure. Their batting talent is undeniable, however there is so much pressure on the likes of Goodwin, Joyce and Nash to score runs consistently that if a couple falter, they are in really big trouble. International call-ups really don't help them either, with Panesar back in the England reckoning and Prior likely to be away for the majority of the season. Put that with the fact that Luke Wright is away at the IPL and Ed Joyce will be needed by Ireland at times, there's so much disruption amongst the Sussex squad which is never beneficial. Their seamers are hardly likely to get them out of trouble either, and at times it will be hard for them to take 20 wickets against the quality of batsman who play in the division. The signing of Steve Magoffin as their overseas player will help but compared to the bowling attacks around in the county circuit right now, it doesn't really match up and I reckon there's a fair chance they could be playing in Division 2 next season. Now some may call me crazy for thinking Warwickshire will struggle after a couple of superb Championship campaigns but I fear for them this year. They've actually got a huge squad with a lot of depth, strengthened with the signings of Chris Wright from Essex and Jeetan Patel who will be a replacement for Ant Botha who has retired. Last year though, they relied heavily on Chris Woakes, both with the bat and ball and the news that he's out for at least the first month or so with injury may disrupt their preparation for the season as he's key in their side. Boyd Rankin and Rikki Clarke had good seasons last year as well, with Varun Chopra showing why he was a youth international for England but whether he'll back that up with another season full of runs is dubious in my opinion. Without Ian Bell, their batting lineup just lacks that consistency that you need throughout the season and although they have the likes of Maddy, Porterfield and Troughton in there, to me there looks to be far greater teams with players who can win matches on their own this season so I'll have a little punt at the Bears' fortunes in the 4 day game changing this season. Yorkshire to win Division 2- 7/2 William Hill- (5/10) This Yorkshire squad should have too much about them not to be in Division 2 next season. Their strength lies in their seamers consisting of Sidebottom and Shahzad who would get into most county teams across the country, and with Stephen Finn perhaps ahead of Bresnan in the England pecking order now, that could be a huge boost to Yorkshire, both bowling and batting wise. As Kev has said, last year some of their results were interesting to say the least with their batting being their main downfall last season along with a couple of injuries. They have some decent youngsters coming through though in Joe Root with captain Andrew Gale, Anthony McGrath and Phil Jacques quality batsman in their own right. They still have the option of getting an overseas player in as well to add more depth to what is a pretty balanced team already. They are a step up from plenty of the teams in their Division and I fancy them to bounce back straight away with the accolade of winning Division 2 this season. Gloucestershire to finish bottom of Division 2- 11/2 William Hill- (3/10) Was surprised to see such a high price on Gloucestershire finishing bottom this season as looking at their squad, it's extremely hard to be optimistic about their chances this season. Barring Essex, their pre-season has been the worst out of any county, with their former captain Chris Taylor being released, as now as a result is suing the club which is hardly what you want for a club who are hardly rolling in the money anyway. On top of that, they've had planning permission to redevelop their ground refused and their main bowler in Jon Lewis has left for Surrey which leaves the bowling attack dreadfully short or real quality. The club have announced they have signed Kane Williamson as their overseas player for the first half of the season, however he will still miss the opening 3 Championship matches. You feel that most of their runs will have to come from Hamish Marshall who is a good cricketer, but if he doesn't make runs in at least one innings of every match, I really fear for them with some decent bowlers in the Division. They do have David Payne who looks a good prospect and with Jon Lewis no longer at the club, he'll be needed to step up and really lead from the front with the ball. Even when they do score a fair amount of runs, quite where they are going to take 20 wickets on a regular basis escapes me and the fact is you won't win matches without a decent bowling attack which is a huge problem for them. They have a few individuals who are good county cricketers, but as a squad they do lack depth and quality and it wouldn't surprise me if they were lingering at the bottom come the end of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Another outright. Lots more of these will come along tomorrow too once I've worked out stakings. 1pt ew A.McGrath Top CCD2 Batsman 66/1 BetVictor (1/4 1-5) Daft odds alert :loon. I know Anthony McGrath is getting on a bit now but he's still a mighty fine cricketer in his own right and having had a full pre-season behind him I think the runs will flow from his bat as Yorkshire attempt to get back to the top flight at the first time of asking. McGrath's season last year was dogged by injuries but he feels fresh he says and if he stays fit he will be a massive contributor of runs to this Yorkshire side, especially with the likes of Joe Sayers and Joe Root another year advanced in terms of experience and dealing with the new ball while Phil Jaques is a seasoned campaigner opening the batting so McGrath should get to face an old ball a lot more and that's when he can fill his boots. Unlike in division one there isn't really a paradise of batting in this division perhaps with the exception of the Ageus Bowl but the wickets there are taking a greener tinge this year to give Hampshire a better chance of getting promoted. There are a lot of names ahead of McGrath in the betting and I may well come back with another one or two in this market because I like the value in it but we can't ignore the former England all rounder here. McGrath's season was awful last year but in 2010 he was the 7th highest run scorer in Division 1 and the likes of Trescothick who finished above him that season aren't seen in Division 2. McGrath has made half centuries in both warm up matches including a 79 against Durham earlier in the week and he won't be seeing an attack like Durham's this season apart from in the nets so that is a positive. All the reports are he's looking really good too. With a full pre-season behind him I think we will get a lot of runs churned out of the former Yorkshire skipper who might want to shut those who criticised him last season up and prove his lack of a pre-season last season was the contributing factor to his poor season and not that he's lost any of his ability. 66/1 is a massive price if McGrath stays fit and it's a price I'm more than happy to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 A few more outrights. 2pts ew M.Carberry Top CCD2 Batsman 10/1 Ladbrokes (1/4 1-4) As well as Anthony McGrath who was just a daft price the player I like to be in the runs in the second division is Michael Carberry. Carberry is a seriously good batsman who not so long ago was in the England side and the fringes of it. He had a health scare prior to last season where he was lucky to live let alone be able to play cricket but he came through that and made his way back into the Hampshire side for the second half of the season. Carberry could only play 9 matches last season in Division 1 but he still scored 793 runs against some decent attacks so he didn't lose any of his ability during his health problems. Batting at the Ageus Bowl as it's now known will be good to him in a division where there isn't really a batting paradise giving players a bit of an advantage so if Carberry can show the form he showed in the second half of last season then he will go very close to top scoring in a division I expect Hampshire and Yorkshire to dominate in. 3pts ew R.Sidebottom Top CCD2 Bowler 8/1 Stan James (1/4 1-4) Ryan Sidebottom might no longer be part of England's plans but he's a perfectly good bowler still and one which I believe is too good for the second division on English cricket. Headingley is a nice place to bowl which is good and he knows how to take full advantage of the conditions. Sidebottom was the 4th highest wicket taker in the first division last season with 62 wickets in his 16 matches. That was against the best sides in the country so down in Division 2 there has to be the potential that he will go even better against some of the weaker batting line up's in the country. Sidebottom is a passionate Yorkshireman so he will be desperate to get the White Rose back into the top flight and he will know his wickets will go a long way to doing that. With Tim Bresnan away for parts of the season the onus will be on the former Nottinghamshire man to deliver and once again deliver I think he will. 1pt ew M.Davies Top CCD2 Bowler 33/1 Stan James (1/4 1-4) Mark Davies is a very experienced cricketer who could be a fantastic signing for Kent this season. He was an intregral part of Durham's title winning sides over the last five years but sadly injuries have dogged him for the last couple of seasons. However he's been away on trial with Kent and proved his fitness and has been bowling well for them in pre-season. Kent have got themselves a bowler with 253 wickets to his name at 22.63 and if he can bring that form down to Canterbury then he is going to be a very menacing bowler, especially with Charlie Shreck sharing the new ball with him. Davies has pace and swing and if he lasts the season without major injuries then I think he will be very close in the top wicket taking stakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Taken a ridiculous amount of further outrights so I'll crack on with the write-ups. Will do 2 separate posts, one for both divisions with the domestic season kicking off tomorrow. Division 1 first... Murray Goodwin Top Sussex Batsman- 2/1 BetVictor- (3/10) I've spoken about how I expect Sussex to struggle in the longer format this season but Murray Goodwin continues to be one of the most classy and consistent batsman in the game and would get into any side in county cricket. The Zimbabwean had another super campaign last year, scoring almost 1400 runs in the Championship at an average of over 52 and it's almost a guarantee that he will score over 1000 runs given the talent he possesses with the bat. Ed Joyce was the closest to scoring more runs than Goodwin last season, yet he still fell around 100 runs short which highlights how well Goodwin scores in this format. He doesn't really have any weaknesses which makes him an extremely hard wicket to take as he's shown for year upon year. The main competition in this market comes through Joyce and Nash you'd expect, but Joyce may not be around for every match due to his Ireland commitments and Nash although I really like him in the shorter format, he isn't as good as Goodwin and I'd be surprised if Murray wasn't top of the Sussex scoring charts again this season. Simon Kerrigan top Lancashire Bowler- 7/2 BetVictor- (3/10) Simon Kerrigan Top Division 1 Bowler- 25/1 Bet365- (1/10 E/W) (1/4 1-4) Simon Kerrigan looks a huge price in this market to me and I expect him to have a really good season with the ball as Lancashire look to defend their title. I don't expect them to win the league again but this could be the season that Kerrigan really catches a few eyes as he is a really quality spinner. With Gary Keedy aging and not able to play in every match, Kerrigan will be the main spin option that Chapple turns to on what I've been hearing is a pretty flat Old Trafford wicket now it's been turned. He impressed the Lancashire staff in the one day format last year and then continued to shine in the 4 day game. He took 24 wickets at 18, including 9 wickets in one innings against Hampshire which shows how capable he is with the spinning ball. Gary Keedy is the favourite in the market but as I've said, he isn't getting any younger and I don't expect him to play in every Championship match, something I see Kerrigan doing. Chapple and Mahmood are the threats with the ball, and despite the super season the skipper had last season, I wouldn't expect him to take 50+ wickets again this season, whilst Saj hasn't been in the best form in the Championship for a while. Really think the 24 year old is in for a really good season and I'm happy to back him to lead the charts for Lancashire, as well as the be up there in the Division 1 table for wicket takers so I'll have an each way punt there as well. Luke Fletcher Top Nottinghamshire Bowler- 5/1 StanJames- (2/10) The price on Luke Fletcher that StanJames are offering looks a tad high to me as well. It looks as though this market is between Fletcher and Andre Adams considering Samit Patel will be away for periods with England and that in itself makes Fletcher's price here too big. Granted Adams is a good cricketer and his FC bowling figures are superb, backed up by taking 67 wickets at under 23 last season but he isn't getting any younger and you'd expect his 36 years may catch up with him eventually. Luke Fletcher is a decent bowler in is own right and although he didn't take nearly as many wickets as Adams last season, he comes into the season in decent form after he took 4-21 in the warm up match against Loughborough the other day. He's a tall bowler and should get some purchase off the Trent Bridge surface and build on the fact he's an established member of the seam attack now so I'll back him to outshine Adams and this price. Steve Kirby Top Somerset Bowler- 6/4 StanJames- (3/10) Price looks way off on Kirby here, especially considering other firms have this price around the 4/7 mark. The truth of the matter is that there's very little competition to Kirby in this market. There's no doubting Somerset's batting capabilities but whether they will consistently take 20 wickets is extremely dubious. If they are then Steve Kirby will have to have a really good season and be amongst the wickets on a regular basis with Alfonso Thomas being involved in the IPL for the start of the season and a pretty inexperienced look to the rest of the attack. Dockrell looks to be a bright prospect but you have to feel that Kirby has to have a big season if Somerset are to trouble the top of the table on their road of a pitch down at Taunton. Kirby took over 50 wickets last season in the Division and if he repeats that, it's hard to see anyone in the Somerset squad coming near so Kirby to take the most wickets for me in this market. Timothy Linley Top Surrey Bowler- 11/4 BetVictor- (2/10) Timothy Linley Top Division 1 Bowler- 14/1 Bet365- (1/10 E/W) (1/4 1-4) Linley had a superb season last year with the ball, taking 73 wickets with an average of just above 18 which given that was his first main season as a Surrey player, is exceptional. He's surrounded by the likes of Tremlett, Dernbach, Meaker and new acquisition Jon Lewis which when put together is one of the strongest seam attacks in the domestic game. Although all 3 have been in the England reckoning, it's Linley who I think will build on last year's success and shine through again this season. The Oval will obviously benefit Murali Kartik when he gets back from the IPL, but in that time it gives Linley a bit of time to gain an advantage on the wickets front. He virtually won the match for Surrey in their warm-up match in the second innings where he took 5 wickets, and after last year's success, I'll back him to go from strength to strength and possibly be in the England shadows at the end of the season. Paul Horton Top Division 1 Batsman-25/1 Bet365- (1/10 E/W) (1/4 1-5) Paul Horton is a guy I really like especially in the 4 day format as there's very few weaknesses to his game. He plays the short ball extremely well which is crucial in Division 1 and when he gets his eye in, he is a very hard man to dismiss. Now Old Trafford is ready to host games again, it won't necessarily benefit Lancashire's attempts to retain their title, but it should play host to some pretty big scores as apparently it's a pretty flat wicket this season. Horton will open the batting with Stephen Moore so will be in early and will have plenty of time to score runs as he has done for the previous few seasons now he's established in the starting XI. Horton will have been a tad disappointed with his return with the bat last year as although he made 8 50+ scores, he didn't make a single century which he will definitely want to improve on this season now he'll be playing on a better wicket. Despite no centuries, he still managed over 1000 runs and I'd be surprised if he didn't do the same again this year. He averages almost 40 in the Championship but IMO he's slightly better than that. On a pitch that should be good for batting, I'll back Horton to go well this season and be up there with the best batsman in the division. Alex Hales Top Division 1 Batsman- 20/1 Bet365- (1/10 E/W)- (1/4 1-5) Considering the likes of Trescothick and Rodgers are in the single figures for this market, I don't understand why Alex Hales is 20/1 to be the highest run scorer. He only played in 12 of the Championship matches last season and still scored over 1000 runs and averaged over 50. If he had played in all 16 matches, he could well have scored more than Goodwin and Benkenstein so quite how he warrants this price I'm not sure. The England talk looks to have faded for a bit which should be a good thing and allow Hales to relax at the crease. Just have a feeling the call-up came a couple of years too early but even then he scored a 50 against the WIndies. Whichever way you look at it, on a decent surface at Trent Bridge, Hales will score runs and attack the bowlers with the new ball. With Samit Patel amongst the England squad, Hales will need to score runs if Notts are to make up for their pretty weak bowling attack to make sure they don't lose more matches than they win so I'll back the youngster to continue to impress this season. Tom Maynard Top Division 1 Batsman- 66/1 Ladbrokes- (1/10 E/W) (1/4 1-4) With Kev pointing out one stupid price, here's another one which is ridiculous in truth. Even if Maynard doesn't score anymore than 500 runs this season, this price is still out of place. I can only imagine Maynard is as big as this because Surrey have the likes of Ramprakash, Davies and Hamilton-Brown in their top order but Tom Maynard is an extremely talented cricketer and really showed what he can do last season. He scored over 1000 runs in Division 2 last season, with 3 centuries to his name in that time. He almost hit a century in the warm-up match a few days ago, making 91 and then unbeaten on 19, in a match where skipper Hamilton-Brown struggled. Sure most eyes will focus on the talent of Ramprakash and Davies, but Maynard is a real good young talent and at this price, for a guy who managed 1000 runs last season, I'm happy to see just how far he can make this price look like value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Some more from me. 1.5pts ew G.Onions Top CCD1 Bowler 10/1 Bet365 (1/4 1-4) Graham Onions is a class act and with a full pre-season behind him instead of the injury hit ones which have dogged him in the last couple of seasons I think we will see the England bowler going very strongly. I don't think he's quite close enough for England contention at the minute so the fear of him missing matches for test matches is only a slight one so if he performs like he did last year when he took 50 wickets in 11 matches then he will take a lot of beating. He might even have been top wicket taker last season if he had played the 16 matches but those above him look like they won't go as well this season, certainly I believe that to be the case with Alan Richardson and Monty Panesar while Ryan Sidebottom isn't in the division any more. Andre Adams is always there or thereabouts and would be a danger as would Keedy if the Old Trafford wickets have something in them but one man who will go well is Onions who will enjoy conditions at the Riverside in particular and should be right up there in the wicket charts throughout the season. At 10/1 he looks like a fair bet to me this season. 0.5pts ew N.Compton Top CCD1 Batsman 40/1 Ladbrokes (1/4 1-4) 0.5pts ew T.Maynard Top CCD1 Batsman 66/1 Ladbrokes (1/4 1-4) There isn't one person who I really fancy in the first division when it comes to top scoring and I wouldn't be surprised if someone unexpected has a remarkable season like Adam Lyth had a couple of years ago, and snatches the run scoring title. Therefore I've looked for a couple who could be overpriced and one of those is Nick Compton. Compton hit over 1000 runs in this division last season despite not playing all the matches and if you have the same school of thought that I have, in that I don't think Marcus Trescothick will go as well this season, he'll be there or thereabouts but scoring almost 1700 runs again? I'm not so sure. So if he doesn't go that well then someone is going to have to score his runs and that could be Nick Compton who is really beginning to flourish at Somerset. He went well in the Champions League in the main and comes into the season off the back of a 200 against one of the University sides and if he can just put 250-300 runs onto last season's total, which could come automatically if he plays the full 16 matches, then he will be a serious factor in the top runscorer list this season. The same can be said of Tom Maynard too. He scored over 1000 runs last season albeit in Division 2 but scoring runs against that tiflex ball wasn't easy so that was a fair effort. He's still learning all the time but if he really knuckles down, which he will have to do with the competition for places at The Oval now, then he could well be another who goes very well. Both men bat on good batting wickets which could give them an advantage and at big prices I'll pay to see how well they go this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Last 3 division bets for me. 1pt Sussex to finish bottom of Division 1 7/1 Ladbrokes I think this is decent enough value for Sussex to finish bottom. I know everyone assumes it will be Worcestershire but they have an attack which can take wickets and their batting line up looks a lot better this season in a division which at the bottom end looks no better than last year. Middlesex are second favourites but they've definitely got enough to stay up when they are all fit and available. I worry a bit for Sussex. They don't have the biggest squad going around neither do they have a particularly strong bowling attack and if Monty Panesar doesn't have a fantastic season I think they will be in trouble. Steve Magoffin has signed as overseas player but he's nothing special and as we've seen last year with Hampshire draws don't do much good anymore. That's only a factor is Sussex regularly put up runs which while you would think they will there is no guarantee to go with it. I think the relegation places will be filled by Worcestershire and by Sussex but I don't really see Sussex 7 times less likely to finish bottom than Worcestershire so for me the Sharks look good value to go down with their small squad which is already being tested to the full with the likes of Prior and Wright away for at least half the season. 2pts Gloucestershire to finish bottom of Division 2 11/2 William Hill I really think Gloucestershire are in trouble this season and while the signing of Kane Williamson is a good one he's only actually only going to be here for half a dozen Championship matches at the most. Having lost their leading run scorer and leading bowler from last season some people are going to have to seriously step up to the mark this season. The other problem they have is I very much doubt Will Gidman will go as well this season so there are a lot of holes which will need filling and I just don't see who is going to do it. Leicestershire are the dangers to this bet but with Sarwan's experience and Hoggard's fighting spirit I think they will do just enough to stay off the bottom leaving Gloucestershire primed for the wooden spoon. 1pt ew Kent to win CCD2 12/1 William Hill (1/5 1,2,3) I ummed and arred about taking Kent but if they gel straight away then I think they could have a really good season. I've already mentioned Mark Davies leading the attack and with the likes of Charlie Shreck, Darren Stevens and James Tredwell they have the makings of a decent attack without the good level of youngsters they have there too. With the bat a top order when everyone is available of Key, Bell-Drummond, Jones, Nash, Powell and Stevens with Mahmood to go into that when he's done in the IPL and you'd say that's a side that can go well in Division 2 this season. Kent have a number of good quality youngsters ready to fill in for injuries and the likes and while I think Yorkshire will be too good for the rest and Hampshire should go up too there's no reason why Kent can't push either for the title or at least the promotion places. With Hills paying out to three places I think 12/1 is a decent value bet on the Spitfires who are definitely flying under the radar it would seem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Last outrights for me. Been a manic season for outrights but confident on getting a very strong return on them. All team performances. 1pt B.Stokes Top Durham Season Batsman 6/1 Stan James This looks a big price on for me the most talented young cricketer in the country right now. Before his horrible injury last year Stokes was absolutely flying and scoring centuries like they were going out of fashion. That injury set him back bigtime and he hasn't really been the same since but England have an eye on him so his potential is there for all to see. This Durham batting line up hasn't changed since last year. All that has happened is the likes of Benkenstein and di Venuto have got a year older and potential on the way to decline whereas Stokes should improve even on what he showed last season. It is all about if he can put that injury behind him. If he can then runs will flow from his bat because he's that good. With Collingwood out in the IPL for half the season he isn't a factor and Stokes should bat above Blackwell so hopefully he won't be a factor either. Di Venuto and Benkenstein are quality cricketers but with Stokes almost certain to continue to improve I will chance the 6/1 on him being Durham's top player throughout the season. 1pt B.Nash Top Kent Season Batsman 11/2 Stan James I think this is a big price too. Brendan Nash has settled in fine at Canterbury and has been in the runs in the warm up matches. This is a guy who averages over 33 in test cricket and even more than that in first class cricket and I think he is perfectly suited to Kent. He isn't a flamboyant scorer, he's a steady accumulator and can act as the glue for the likes of Stevens, Jones and Powell to score around. Having seen a lot in his time with the Windies I don't think there will be much that can happen to Kent that can trouble him and while they have some good players in the form of Key, Stevens and Jones I think Nash is the best value of the lot and if he plays every game and stays fit I would expect him to go very close to the magical 1000 runs mark which should be enough to take this down. 2pts D.Sales Top Northants Season Batsman 11/2 Stan James David Sales has to be a big price here. This isn't a Northants batting line up which has centuries galore in the top order and quite often the likes of Andrew Hall, Chaminda Vaas and James Middlebrook had to bail them out of a spot of trouble last season. David Sales has had an awful knee problem which has dogged him for the last two years but he has had a full pre-season behind him where he has scored plenty of runs and if he is fit and confident then he's still the best batsman at Wantage Road by a long way. It's a mystery how someone so good never played for England in his prime but if he can get back to his best form then Northants will benefit massively this season because he churns out a lot of runs. When he's in and get going he converts scores into big hundreds and I would be very surprised if Sales plays 16 matches this season and doesn't hit 1000 runs. At 11/2 I think he's tremendous value to beat the only other two I'd genuinely consider dangers in the market in Stephen Peters and Alex Wakely. 1pt J.Tomlinson Top Hampshire Season Bowler 9/1 BetVictor This market is a bit wide open because I wouldn't say Hampshire have a settled attack but a couple of years ago James Tomlinson was taking 50 and more wickets in the 1st division and so with a bit of early season form behind him I would expect him to go well this season too. Hampshire drew a lot of matches last year due to flat wickets but I think there might be a bit more help for the new ball bowlers this season and there will certainly be some assistance for Tomlinson in away matches. Tomlinson doesn't play one day matches so he'll be fresh for decent spells in the four day game and he's never a 9/1 shot. I know Danny Briggs is on the fringes of England honours but that works both ways. While he will take wickets for Hampshire he will miss matches at times too which can keep Tomlinson in the mix. Kabir Ali misses the start of the season through injury and I'm sure that won't be the only injury he picks up this year while Mascarenhas is in the IPL so there is a vacancy for someone to take a lot of wickets for Hampshire this season and at 9/1 I'll pay to see if Tomlinson can reproduce his 2010 form and lead Hampshire to promotion with a load of wickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Rest of my outrights then which like Kev, I'm hopeful of a pretty decent return out of as well. Taking quite a few... Wayne Madsen Top Derbyshire Batsman- 3/1 BetVictor- (2/10) Like the look of the Derbyshire skipper here who is a decent cricketer amongst a squad who are a little short of genuine quality. They've managed to lure Martin Guptill in for the first half of the season who should really bolster the stregth of the top order but apart from that, it leaves a side heavily dependant on Wes Durston and Madsen for runs. Durston had a decent season last year, scoring over 1100 runs so Karl Krikken and co will be hoping that the former Somerset man can repeat those kind of performances this season if they are to stand any chance of avoiding the foot of the table. I'm taking Wayne Madsen on though over Durston as after a disappointing campaign last year in which he only scored a little over 700 runs, he has been made club captain after Luke Sutton retired, and he will know that he will need to up his performance if he is to gain the respect from his fellow team mates as his appointment wasn't welcomed by all. His average in the FC game shows what he is capable of, averaging around the 40 mark so I'l; back him to step up and lead from the front as captain this season. Mark Wallace Top Glamorgan Batsman- 4/1 StanJames- (2/10) I'm backing another captain to lead the run scoring charts for their county over in Wales in Mark Wallace. There's a lot of pressure on Wallace this season to score plenty of runs given Alviro Petersen has left for Essex so that's 1000 runs they are lacking from last season. That means the skipper is really going to have to shine and recieve decent support from the likes of Gareth Rees and William Bragg who both scored around 1000 runs last season. Wallace is a Glamorgan boy through and through so will really want to shine for his side and with Petersen leaving, he will really need to step up and give the likes of Cosker, Croft and Harris something to bowl at. The skipper scored an unbeaten century earlier on in the week so he looks to be in decent nick coming into the season and if he scores over 1000 runs for his side, I'd fancy him to be their best batsman this year. Hamish Marshall Top Gloucestershire Batsman- 7/2 StanJames- (3/10) David Payne Top Gloucestershire Bowler- 5/2 StanJames- (2/10) I fully expect Gloucestershire to really struggle this season but in Marshall and Payne, I've picked two players who have genuine quality and would get into sides better than Gloucestershire. Hamish Marshall had a rotten Championship campaign in 2011 in truth, scoring 400 runs in 11 matches which is shocking for a guy of his quality. The truth remains though that he is Gloucestershire's best batsman and if they are to challenge any side in the league, they will need Marshall to perform and despite last seasons performance, he still is their best batsman so I'm happy to back him to improve and score at least double the amount of runs he scored last year. Will Gidman had a super season with the ball last year but I'm backing the promising David Payne to lead the wicket charts this season. He established himself in the side last year and managed to take 42 wickets and with a season behind him, I'd expect him to improve and shine through in this pretty weak side. Jon Lewis has left, and Chris Taylor is suing the club which is hardly ideal preparation for the season, but I'll back some young talent to shine with the ball in Payne and show some glimpses of talent in this squad. James Tredwell Top Kent Bowler- 9/4 StanJames- (3/10) I'd be surprised if Tredwell wasn't the leading wicket taker for Kent this season. He'll be bowling so many overs this season for his county given the unreliable nature of the rest of the bowling attack. Mark Davies is a quality bowler, but there's certainly no guarantees over his fitness yet, and I'm not sure how many matches he'll actually play this season. Charlie Shreck isn't the most dangerous bowler in terms of wickets whilst Darren Stevens won't take more wickets than Tredwell despite good performances last season. Tredwell still remains one of the most effective spin bowlers in the county game and given the amount of overs I expect him to bowl this year due to the lack of depth in the bowling attack, I expect him to be Kent's best bowler this year. Stephen Peters Top Northamptonshire Batsman- 11/4 StanJames- (3/10) Stephen Peters Top Division 2 Batsman- 33/1 Ladbrokes- (1/10 E/W) (1/4 1-4) Jack Brooks Top Northamptonshire Bowler- 4/1 StanJames- (2/10) Jack Brooks Top Division 2 Bowler- 25/1 StanJames- (1/10 E/W) (1/4 1-4) Northants were extrmely unlucky not to gain promotion last season, failling a point short and although I don't expect them to gain promotion either this season, two players who I feel are in for good seasons are Stephen Peters and Jack Brooks. In Stephen Peters, the club have one of the most consistent batsman in county cricket. He never really did it at Essex but the move to Northants has seen him become an established member of this talented Northants side. The main danger to Peters would be Sales in the Northants market, but age and fitness is a worry for me and he may not play in every match this season which would be a blow as his quality is undeniable. Stephen Peters will play in every match though and is capable of scoring centuries on a regular basis. His average is in the mid 30s in the 4 day game and in recent years, he has proven to be one of the most consistent batsman in the Northants side so I'll back him to lead from the front run wise for his side and if he can really get going early on this season, against a few poor bowling attacks in the division, he could well surprise a few people and go well beyond 1000 runs. Chaminda Vaas is the big favourite to lead the wicket chart both for Northants and the division in general but I'm going against this and backing his seam partner to have the better season. For one I don't expect Vaas to play in every Championship match given his age which puts me off him massively in the wicket markets. He is one of the stand out players in the Division but his age of 38 worries me a touch against some decent batting talent in the Division. That leads me to Jack Brooks who has impressed me when I've seen him on TV with his changing of sweatbands in every session. Away from the silly antics of the youngster, he is a promising bowler and this could be the season where he really shows us what he can do. The Northamptonshire seam attack is a little thin, and with Vaas not getting any younger, the task of taking wickets consistently will fall down to Jack Brooks, and I think he has the quality to make the new ball seam around and really rattle some batsman in the league. His bowling average last year was a touch over 20 which is a good return and this year, I fancy him to go even better so I'll pay to see just how well he goes for Northants in the second tier. Danny Briggs Top Division 2 Bowler- 16/1 Bet365- (1/10 E/W) (1/4 1-4) To me in this outright market looks fairly open, and given how I expect Hampshire to be challenging for promotion, I fancy Danny Briggs to be fairly instrumental in that push. He's still looking to challenge for England honours and in order to do that, he'll need to impress with the ball now Panesar, Patel and Swann are in front of him in the England reckoning. I don't actually expect him to miss many, if any matches this season given the strong competition for places in the England spin department. One thing that I like about Briggs is that he will take wickets, that's pretty much a guarantee. Mascarenhas is at the IPL for the start of the season, whilst Kabir Ali has injury concerns as well so Briggs will be the main threat you'd fancy for certainly the early part of the season at least. Hampshire have a good batting lineup, but the bowling lets them down a touch, and Briggs will need a good season if Hampshire are to challenge for promotion and he still has something to prove to the England selectors so I'll back the youngster to go well this season. Jonny Bairstow Top Division 2 Batsman- 16/1 Ladbrokes- (1/10 E/W) (1/4 1-4) The young batsman had a super year last season in Division 1 so you'd fancy he'll be right up there in this market come the end of the season. It was only Joe Root and Bairstow that really scored enough runs last season which was one of the problems for Yorkshire, but they should be okay for runs this year. I expect the White Rose team to go really well, and in that I'd be surprised if Bairstow scored any fewer than 1000 runs minimum. In just 13 matches in Division 1 last season, he managed to score over 1000 runs, including a double century, and this year he won't be facing the calibre of bowlers he did last season. Yorkshire look a really good side on paper to gain promotion this year, and I fancy Bairstow to continue to impress and be challenging the likes of more favoured Katich, Carberry and Jacques to score the most runs in the Division this year. 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kevshat Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Odds for the first round of matches: Division 1: [TABLE=class: couponTable] [TR] [TH][/TH] [TH=class: firstColumn]Thursday 5 April 2012[/TH] [TH]Home[/TH] [TH]Away[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.5[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.92[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]100.91 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Somerset v Middlesex (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.57[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]3.05[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]96.42 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Surrey v Sussex (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.66[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.68[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]97.31 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Division 2: [TABLE=class: couponTable] [TR] [TH=class: firstColumn]Thursday 5 April 2012[/TH] [TH]Home[/TH] [TH]Away[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Derbyshire v Northamptonshire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.38[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.67[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]101.90 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Essex v Gloucestershire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.57[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.62[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]101.73 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Leicestershire v Glamorgan (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.1[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.83[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]102.17 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Yorkshire v Kent (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.57[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.75[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]100.00 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 First three match bets for me. As with past seasons all match betting in this event will be DNB unless stated. 6pts Surrey to beat Sussex 4/6 Paddy Power I think there is enough value in taking the side I think will win the division against the side who I think will prop up the rest especially when Sussex are without three crucial players in Matt Prior, Luke Wright and Monty Panesar. Panesar and Prior are away with England while Wright is at the IPL and with Magoffin not available either Sussex are already calling on their reserves and their squad isn't that big and they don't have that many. To be fair to Sussex they look ok with the bat on paper in this match but they are up against a very good attack but even if they score runs it'll mean nothing if they don't take 20 wickets and I don't see where 20 wickets will come from in this match for them. Surrey will be without Kevin Pietersen and Chris Tremlett in this match but it is open to debate just how much they will play this season anyway. The simple facts of it is Surrey look like they will have to leave one of Chris Jordan, Stuart Meaker, Tim Linley, Jon Lewis or Jade Dernbach out of their side unless they play all five and go in with Hamilton-Brown and Rudolph turning their arms over. Whichever one of those five are left out would get into most squads in this division that is how good this Surrey attack is on paper. There's no issues with their batting line up with Rudolph and de Buryn over here in plenty of time to feature in this match and with home advantage, the better batting depth and much better bowling attack Surrey look like a penalty kick to me here. 3pts Middlesex to beat Somerset 13/8 Betfred I think Middlesex are worth chancing here too. Somerset aren't the best of starters in the world and they have a youthful element to their side and if Philander isn't the fantastic bowler everyone thinks he is then they could struggle here with a fairly toothless attack supporting him. Philander has taken test cricket by storm but what has he bowled on in test cricket really? SA wickets and NZ wickets all of which were more than a touch green. It isn't a Taunton road. With the bat you would think Somerset will be fine but again will they take 20 wickets. Sure Middlesex are without Strauss and Finn who are in Sri Lanka and Morgan who is in Kolkata for the IPL but they have a decent attack without them with Collymore and Murtagh good bowlers backed up by Crook and Berg and with the bat Rogers, Malan, Dexter and Denly are all good quality players. I don't think this will be easy for Middlesex but I think in April conditions their side is good enough to win this match and win it at a tasty price. 3pts Derbyshire to beat Northants 11/8 Blue Square I think Derbyshire are worth a poke here too. Northants go across the Midlands without their captain Andrew Hall and his back up David Willey is still making his way in the four day game. David Sales will take over the captaincy for this match but I do have concerns over his bowling attack. Jack Brooks' back issue is never reliable and Chaminda Vaas hasn't played much cricket since arriving from Sri Lanka earlier in the week. Stephen Peters and Niall O'Brien both return from playing for the MCC but conditions here will be vastly different to those ones. Derbyshire have a very underrated attack, especially with the new ball with Tim Groenewald and Tony Palladino taking over 100 wickets between them last year and they are well backed up by the likes of Jon Clare too. With the bat they do have Martin Guptill in place and ready to score runs and he along with Wayne Madsen and Wes Durston give them some solidity for the likes of Chesney Hughes and Dan Redfern to attach the finishing touches to. This match is likely to be a lot closer than people would think and it remains to be seen how big an absence David Lucas will be from the Northants attack. We'll find out in this match but at 11/8 I think just Derbyshire could be a touch overpriced to start the season with a win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Taking 3 on the opening day. Short write-ups as I'm really tired. Surrey to beat Sussex- 4/6 William Hill- (4/10) Any shorter than 4/6 then I wouldn't be taking Surrey but they should be shorter IMO. I expect them to have a really good season this year as their team is extremely strong all round and that's backed up with the former 'golden' generation being involved in the running of the club. They are pretty much full strength coming into this one and they've had time to practice outdoors despite the bad weather. Sussex will be without Prior and Panesar given they are with England and the absence of Panesar is huge I feel. On top of that, Luke Wright is away at the IPL and overseas signing Steve Magoffin won't play until the second Championship match, which leaves Sussex short in the bowling department. In the squad they've named, there's quite a few inexperienced faces and coming up against one of the strongest teams in the league, you need your big game players available which is something they don't have the luxury of so I'll back Surrey to start the season with a win. Couple for Division 2: Leicestershire to beat Glamorgan- 11/10 William Hill- (3/10) Don't see any reason why Hoggard's men are underdogs in this one. They may have lost James Taylor to Notts but they've signed Sarwan as a replacement who is a class act to slot into the middle order. The West Indian has spoken about how well he has settled in which is a good sign for the Foxes. The news that James Harris is injured for the first couple of months for Glamorgan is really a huge blow as he's the main spearhead of their attack whilst he chips in with some valuable runs as well. Batting wise they have some good names in there, but whether they have the bowling capabilities to dismiss the likes of Jefferson, Sarwan and co I'm not so sure and for that reason I give the slight edge to Leicestershire here. Derbyshire to beat Northants- 11/8 Bet365- (3/10) The Derby groundsman has said the pitch should be fine barring any further rain overnight for this one to start on time. This will be the first competitive game that Wayne Madsen is captain for so he'll be desperate to kick his reign off with a win. Martin Guptill has arrived in time to play in this one which is a massive boost, whilst David Wainwright looks set to make his debut and is a competent spinner. Northants will be without influential talisman skipper Andrew Hall which leaves their team a tad unbalanced in the middle as Hall has been one of their leading players for some time now. A few of the Northants players have only got back to the club this week for various reasons so I'm not completely sure about the conditioning of some of them. Peters and O'Brien played for the MCC over in Dubai earlier on this week so they may be fatigued a little and Chaminda Vaas is only recently back from Sri Lanka. I just fancy Derbyshire to be the more settled of the two sides and they could take advantage of any fatigue that the Northants side are struggling from early doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerryPFC Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 The quality in this thread already is something else... I'm rubbing my hands together already! With you two, i'm envisaging a profitable season ahead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 A good bowling display from Derbyshire today ensured a good start to the season with all 3 teams winning and +10.08 from the opening few matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Great work Fishy :clap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 This week's matches. A full fixture list in Div 1 this week. Division 1: [TABLE=class: couponTable] [TR] [TH=class: firstColumn]Thursday 12 April 2012[/TH] [TH]Home[/TH] [TH]Away[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Durham v Nottinghamshire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.67[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.24[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]104.52 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Lancashire v Sussex (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.63[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.37[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]103.45 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Middlesex v Surrey (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.14[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.8[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]102.28 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Warwickshire v Somerset (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.37[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.62[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]103.83 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Division 2: [TABLE=class: couponTable] [TR] [TH][/TH] [TH=class: firstColumn]Thursday 12 April 2012[/TH] [TH]Home[/TH] [TH]Away[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Glamorgan v Derbyshire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.9[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]102.38 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Hampshire v Gloucestershire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.44[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]3[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]102.56 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0] [TD][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn]Northamptonshire v Kent (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]2.1[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd]1.8[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp]103.17 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevshat Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 +5.13 for the opening round of matches for me. I'll go with three this week. Might have to do a bit of shower dodging but hopefully the time of the season will still allow for results. 5pts Surrey to beat Middlesex 4/5 Coral Surrey come into this London Derby off the back of a fine win over Sussex last week while Middlesex lost at Somerset but I don't think they will be too worried by that as they did show a lot of fight and a lot of heart. Surrey's win over Sussex was a good one because they were in trouble on the first morning before dominating the match after that. These local derbies are always fiercely contested and I expect no different in this match. Middlesex will name pretty much the same side which played for them last week. They haven't got Andrew Strauss or Steven Finn back until next week so the only decision to make is whether they play the spinner in Ollie Rayner or another seamer. Eoin Morgan is away with the IPL despite some reports that he isn't so he will miss out and that leaves a little bit of a brittle look to Middlesex's batting particularly if their big guns in Denly, Rogers and Malan don't perform. They have no problem with the ball though with Collymore, Berg and Murtagh a decent pace trio. Surrey will be boosted by the return to the squad of Steven Davies although I thought young Rory Burns looked quite good when I saw him on the opening day of the match with Sussex last week. Tim Linley is once again in the squad but could well miss out again and seemed to be having some problems with his height in delivery when he was warming up at lunch last week. Chris Tremlett is missing so Davies for Burns is expected to be the only change to the side unless Chris Jordan no longer merits a place in the side now that the opening space has gone. I think he did enough with the ball last week to get picked this week though. I was really impressed with Surrey's bowling attack last week and in helpful conditions I would expect them to perform just a well this week. There is serious pace in that attack with both Meaker and Dernbach touching 90mph and Chris Jordan not far off it. They have the spinner in Batty if they need him but a five pronged pace attack of Zander de Bruyn, Jon Lewis and the aforementioned three should be enough to get the job done. I thought Surrey's batting looked a bit rusty last week but I expect them to come on for the run and I will take them to secure bragging rights in this local derby. 4pts Derbyshire to beat Glamorgan Evs Stan James Derbyshire come into this match off the back of a very good win over Northants last week, a win they celebrated as if they had won the title which was a bit concerning but not enough to put me off taking them again this week. Glamorgan were rolled over at Leicestershire last week and eventually lost fairly heavily despite a second innings fightback and the news that James Harris won't play much cricket for a while is a bitter blow to their hopes in this early stage of the season. Glamorgan will make one change to their side for this match as Will Owen replaces Huw Waters but I don't think it was so much their bowling that was the problem last week however whenever the batsmen don't deliver in this country teams change their bowling attack which is a strange one. For me the Dragons batting line up needs Marcus North and quick but he's not arriving for another couple of weeks. Derbyshire will also make one change as Tim Groenewald is injured so either Mark Turner or Jon Clare will come into the side in his place. Aside from that Derbyshire will be unchanged for this match which is the sign of a squad who are settled. One thing you need when you go to Sophia Gardens is a decent spinner and Derbyshire have that in David Wainwright. Wes Durston is more than handy as a second spinner too. Derbyshire have no problems on the batting front and their top 6 all got runs last week which is what you want. Palladino, Footitt and whichever player replaces Groenewald is a decent seam trio and I think Derbyshire have the better balance at this stage in the season and can make it back to back wins to begin the season. 5pts Kent to beat Northants 4/5 Bet365 As I said in my preview I think Kent are a dark horse this season and they proved that last week at Yorkshire where they dominated the match and but for some indifferent weather could even have pinched a victory on the final day. However the weather scuppered that so they settled for a draw. Northants were looking for a final day draw at Derbyshire last week but couldn't cling on amid a dynamite spell of spin bowling from David Wainwright and went down to a very heavy defeat which they will look to atone for on their own patch. The Steelbacks have made just one change to their squad with seamer David Burton added to the squad in place of spinner Con de Lange which kind of suggests what wicket this will be. Northants will again be without their captain Andrew Hall so David Sales will continue to lead the side who look like they are missing Hall's bowling if not his captaincy. If they don't get wickets with the new ball you do worry a bit for them with Daggett hit and miss although admittedly more hit than miss last season, and Willey still young. Kent have James Tredwell back in their squad after he missed last week's match at Yorkshire as he was in Sri Lanka. That completes a very strong looking side for the Spitfires even allowing for the fact that Azhar Mahmood is in the IPL. Kent impressed me last week and with Tredwell back I think they will be even harder to beat this week. There doesn't appear to be a weak link in their side. Their top order has runs in them as does the middle order while Shreck and Davies definitely have wickets in them with the new ball and Stevens can back them up pretty well too. Tredwell completes a side which has all bases covered. For me Northants are missing a batsman and a bowler which Andrew Hall would probably cover in one go. James Middlebrook is batting a place too high for my liking at 7 and Daggett is bowling a change too soon for my liking. Against a Kent side like this you can't really afford to be understrength but Northants are which leads me to taking Kent to pick up a first win of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Good results from the first week of the season so looking to build on that. Taken 4 in total and very much in agreement with Kev on 3. Surrey to beat Middlesex- 4/5 Coral- (5/10) Backed Surrey last week against Sussex and fancy them to make it a second win in a row at Lord's in this one. They won pretty comfortably against Sussex in the end, setting a total of over 300 for Sussex to chase in the final innings which is always unlikely. It was the bowlers that were the most impressive for Surrey in the opening fixture, with Lewis, Dernbach, Meaker and Batty all amongst the wickets so I'd be surprised if their bowling attack changed. One man back for them though is Steven Davies which is a real boost at the top of their order as he's one of the most promising youngsters in the game. Barring Maynard and Hamilton-Brown, the batsman struggled against Sussex and Chris Adams' men were a bit lucky Maynard scored well otherwise they may have been in trouble so having Davies back will strengthen the top order. Middlesex lost to Somerset in their first match last week and from that result emphasized how short they are in key areas I feel. Granted the conditions may have favoured the bowlers, but to only score 246 and 175 on a Taunton pitch really isn't great. Joe Denly had a decent debut, but nobody really shone with the bat and you do feel without Strauss and particularly Morgan who is away at the IPL, they are a quality batsman short. The bowling attack worries me a tad as well, as there's nobody amongst their ranks with outstanding pace without Finn, and they are without a quality spinner which doesn't bode well for them. Vernon Philander blew them away really in the first innings last week, and Surrey have a stronger bowling attack than Somerset do so the Surrey camp will feel there's enough in them to get stuck into Middlesex straight away with the ball. With the bat, the likes of Rudolph, Davies and Ramprakash will want to score runs after missing out in the first match, with Maynard and the skipper Hamilton-Brown in decent from as well. Surrey just look a far better side on paper and they should be high on confidence after that win over Sussex, so I'll back them to record a second win in as many weeks here. Nottinghamshire to beat Durham- 6/5 Bet365- (3/10) Think Notts are worth a look here at odds against. The return of Samit Patel is a huge boost to them, both in terms of batting and bowling. Patel will slot in at number 4, making up a strong top order which will be without Riki Wessels who is out for a few weeks with a broken finger. Steven Mullaney replaces him so there's an extra bowling option for Notts, who shone with the ball in the win over Worcestershire. Luke Fletcher and Ben Phillips led well from the front, with Andre Adams and Paul Franks providing good backup. Samit Patel gives Chris Read the benefit of an international spinner at his disposal which gives Notts a far more balanced look to the side. Durham didn't have a game last week, so took the time to rattle their university out for 18 in the second innings :loon There's no Paul Collingwood for them in this one though as he's been hit with a virus but Ben Stokes is in line for a return to championship action and he hit a couple of half centuries in that warm-up match. Steve Harmison isn't fit either so that's two big players Durham are without in Collingwood and Harmison. The problem with Durham's side is that it is an aging one, and if the likes of Stokes and Benkenstein fail with the bat, you get the feeling they will struggle for runs. They have some decent batsman in their ranks but there's a lot of pressure on the before mentioned players to lead from the front. I'm surprised they haven't signed an overseas player to strengthen up their squad, and I'm not overly convinced about the bowling attack either. Onions is the main man in the attack and he's always likely to bag you some wickets, but whether Thorp and Claydon will provide sufficient back-up against a supremely talented batting lineup which they will face here I'm not sure. Not having Harmison and Collingwood are big blows in my eyes for Durham, as they provide quality just as much as experience. Notts have far more depth in their batting lineup and with their bowlers amongst the wickets against Worcestershire last week, I fancy they are worth a punt as underdogs here. Couple for Division 2: Kent to beat Northamptonshire- 4/5 Bet365- (5/10) Expected Kent to be a lot shorter coming into this one given the early performances of both sides last week. Rob Key's men were extremely unlucky that their match against Yorkshire was interrupted by rain as they were dominating that one for large periods and probably would have won but for the delays. All of their top order scored runs, and their main bowlers in Davies and Shreck took wickets as well which will give them confidence when they go looking for their first win of the season here. James Tredwell returns for them as well which will strengthen the bowling attack and if Northants' last innings was anything to go by, Tredwell will fancy his chances as David Wainwright spun Derbyshire to victory over Northants last week. They are still without skipper Andrew Hall, who in my eyes is their best player by far. Without him, they are missing one of their most consistent batsman, and an equally so competent bowler which leaves them short in both departments, and that's not even taking into consideration the influence Hall has on the pitch. There's really nothing to suggest that Kent will struggle here, as if anything they should be better given Tredwell is in the side. They dominated the strongest team in the league in Yorkshire in my opinion last week, and with an understrength Northamptonshire side in their sights this week, I fancy them to bag their first win of the campaign. Derbyshire to beat Glamorgan- Evens Stan James- (3/10) A superb bowling display by David Wainwright in the final couple of session ensured Derbyshire a winning start to the season and I fancy them to make it two on the bounce against Glamorgan. They started nervously against Northants, but good innings from Redfern and Whitely set them on their way and they didn't really look back from then. All of their bowlers took wickets as well, which is a huge plus for them, and then virtually everyone made runs for them as well so everyone should be high on confidence ahead of this one. Glamorgan are still without arguably their 2 best players in Marcus North and James Harris, so they are far from full strength coming into this one. As Kev has said, spin will be key in this one, and with David Wainwright already putting in a contender for performance of the season, his confidence will never have been higher so he'll be looking to carry his form on. Wes Durston is also a pretty handy spinner as well which serves Derbyshire well in the spin department. Glamorgan's bowlers aren't actually all that bad, but they are let down by their batting and that was shown in their loss to Leicestershire as virtually nobody made a score of any note in either innings. Derbyshire just look the better side to me and have more weapons at their disposal to win this one and that's what I'll back them to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 God awful batting performance from Surrey this morning prevents a full house in the forum which is frustrating as they looked huge favourites coming into the final day. +5.60 from the second round of fixtures, taking me to +15.68 overall, but it really should be higher :\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerryPFC Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Great work both of you :clap Unbelievable collapse from Surrey... Turned a +4 into a -5! 9pt swing :wall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEs32 Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 nice work in here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Just 2 for me this week. Pretty short write-ups as I've got a presentation tomorrow and barely done anything towards it yet :spank Middlesex to beat Durham- 11/10 StanJames- (3/10) Middlesex were a tad fortunate that they didn't lose their last match let alone win it against Surrey, who collapsed dreadfully on the final day where it seemed they were heavy favourite. Some credit should go to the Middlesex bowlers though, who granted plugged away and got their rewards and I see no reason why they are odds against here. They've been boosted by the news that Steven Finn and Andrew Strauss are in their squad which means Corey Collymore drops out as well as someone else but it's a real bonus that these two are back so soon. Durham I opposed against Notts in their opening match and they were defeated pretty comfortably in the end after a dodgy first session and although they have Paul Collingwood back in their side after a virus, Steve Harmison is still out injured and besides Graham Onions, whether they have enough about their bowling attack to rattle Middlesex out cheaply I don't know. I mentioned earlier in the forum the doubts I have over their batting as well, as it's heavily dependant on Benkenstein, Stokes and Collingwood hitting runs and if a couple of the big boys fall early, they could be in a spot of bother in scoring runs. The conditions should favour the bowlers given the weather, and with Stephen Finn returning as well as Murtagh and Roland-Jones amongst the wickets early in the season, I give Middlesex's bowlers the edge here and that could be enough to see them to consecutive wins. Nottinghamshire to beat Somerset- 10/11 StanJames- (3/10) I'd personally be making Notts favourites in this one given the impressive nature in which they beat Durham last week. The big thing here is the extra quality they have in their bowling attack over Somerset. The conditions at Trent Bridge will do a bit for the bowlers anyway, and with the weather that is about, you feel the bowlers will have a massive say in this one. All of the Notts bowlers have started the season well, with Adams, Fletcher Phillips and Franks taking wickets early in the season. Somerset's main weakness without doubt is their bowling attack and disregarding Kirby and Philander, it looks extremely thin. Adam Dibble who took some wickets against Warwickshire has been ruled out through injury which Gregory or Meschede will come in and neither of those guys will strike too much fear into a strong home side batting lineup. Through losing Willoughby and Kartik, Trescothick's men have lost two of the finest bowlers in the county game and that does leave their bowling front a little short of out an out wicket takers. They have bits here and there, but aside from Kirby and Philander and also the spin of Dockrell, they will struggle to bowl quality batting sides out and that's just what they are faced with here in Notts who have arguably the best batting lineup in the country. Not convinced with Somerset yet despite the quality they possess and happy to back the home side here to get the win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Tad fortunate that the rain was about today, as Notts were never troubling Somerset, whilst Middlesex also looked unlikely to win their match. Both sides lost the toss though, meaning they were always on the back foot so pleased both managed to salvage draws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy25 Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Re: County Championship 2012 Looks to be plenty of rain about but still a full fixture list in both divisions scheduled this week. Division 1: [TABLE=class: couponTable, width: 617] [TR] [TH=class: firstColumn, align: left]Thursday 26 April 2012[/TH] [TH]Home[/TH] [TH]Draw[/TH] [TH]Away[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Somerset v Lancashire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.64[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.69[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]4.7[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]118.33 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Surrey v Durham (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.35[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.06[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.84[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]113.61 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Sussex v Warwickshire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.8[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.85[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.9[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]114.85 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.5[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.54[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.52[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]133.19 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Division 2: [TABLE=class: couponTable, width: 617] [TR] [TH=class: firstColumn, align: left]Thursday 26 April 2012[/TH] [TH]Home[/TH] [TH]Draw[/TH] [TH]Away[/TH] [TH=class: bppWidth]BPP[/TH] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Essex v Northamptonshire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.62[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.25[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]118.94 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Gloucestershire v Glamorgan (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.58[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.78[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.4[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]124.35 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row0, bgcolor: #F0F0F0] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Hampshire v Leicestershire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.22[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.77[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]4.1[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]125.93 %[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR=class: row1] [TD=align: center][/TD] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]Kent v Yorkshire (11:00 BST)[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]3.3[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]1.41[/TD] [TD=class: selectionBestOdd, align: center]2.98[/TD] [TD=class: bppWidth bpp, align: center]134.78 %[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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