COUNTY BY COUNTY GUIDE TO THE 2009 SEASON by Marcus Hook 

DERBYSHIRE
For no other team is the experience of winning a major domestic trophy as distant a memory as it is for Derbyshire. Only Hampshire have notched up as many bowling bonus points in the last two seasons, so it does not take much to work out why John Morris's charges have not finished higher than fifth in the County Championship's basement division since being relegated at the end of 2000. The batting continues to look weak - except in one-day cricket where Stuart Law will feature - so, once again, skipper and overseas player Chris Rogers will be expected to show the way. At least Rogers has one of the better bowling attacks in Division Two at his disposal. Graham Wagg has now taken 110 championship wickets in two seasons. In the seam department, Wagg will be ably supported by Charl Langeveldt, Tom Lungley and twenty-two-year-old all-rounder Jonathan Clare, while the improving Jake Needham is expected to be the main spin option. 
Ins: Tim Groenewald (War), Stuart Law (Lan, as a one-day player), Mark Lawson (Yor), Garry Park (Dur), Atif Sheikh 
Outs: Rikki Clarke (War), Kevin Dean (Ret), Nayan Doshi, Liam Hughes, Chris Paget, Akhil Patel, Tom Poynton, Ollie Saffell, Wayne White, Ross Whiteley 
Overseas 2009: Chris Rogers (Aus) 
New captain/coach: Chris Rogers takes over from Rikki Clarke as captain 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Charl Langeveldt (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 22-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 25-1, Twenty20 Cup - 25-1 jt outsiders

DURHAM
Durham's first ever championship title last summer made it two pieces of silverware in two years for the Riversiders who, this term, will be led by Will Smith. Dale Benkenstein, who has decided to stand down, will still be at the heart of what Durham achieve with the bat alongside the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Michael Di Venuto and new signing Ian Blackwell. But there must be a concern that the captaincy could affect Smith's batting, which made all the difference last season. A year ago, however, it was said that Durham would struggle to overcome the loss of Ottis Gibson. Far from it, by mid-season it was almost a case of: "Ottis who?" with Mark Davies, Graham Onions and Liam Plunkett not always making the starting line-up. With Stephen Harmison failing to cement a regular place in the England side, Durham could well have a full hand of bowling options once again, which is why many are expecting them to hold on to their championship crown. 
Ins: Ian Blackwell (Som) 
Outs: Garry Park (Der), Gary Scott 
Overseas 2009: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI), David Warner (Aus, for the Twenty20 Cup) 
New captain/coach: Will Smith takes over from Dale Benkenstein as captain 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Paul Collingwood (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 4-1 favs, Friends Provident Trophy - 9-2 favs, Twenty20 Cup - 5-1 favs

ESSEX
Essex have three trophies to show for the last four seasons' work and with arguably the best attack in Division Two of County Championship they are not only expected to feature strongly in this year's one-day competitions. David Masters was a revelation, taking 40 wickets at an average of 24.05 in the championship after arriving from Leicestershire. Another seamer, Chris Wright also had a successful first season at New Writtle Street. But the key to the attack remains leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who, amazingly, is not in Pakistan's one-day plans. However, Essex can only look forward to promotion if batsmen Ravi Bopara and Alistair Cook are regularly available. Skipper Mark Pettini has not hit a championship hundred since September 2006 and Varun Chopra has only gone past fifty six times in two seasons - if the fortunes of these two do not change it seems too much to expect James Foster, Ryan ten Doeschate and new signing, Matt Walker to make all the runs. 
Ins: John Maunders, Matt Walker (Ken) 
Outs: Alex Tudor (Sur) 
Overseas 2009: Danish Kaneria (Pak) 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Ravi Bopara (IPL), Graham Napier (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 6-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 10-1, Twenty20 Cup - 10-1

GLAMORGAN
In the last four years Glamorgan have lost 35 championship matches and either propped up their division or finished one from bottom. No team has scored fewer bonus points in the last two summers and only 52 batting points during that time underlines where the Welshmen are particularly weak. In 2008 just six championship hundreds were struck by a Glamorgan batsman. Gareth Rees hit three, but it is little wonder that the Dragons have elected to use their overseas signing to reinforce the batting. Mark Cosgrove, who averaged 50.35 for Glamorgan in 2006, will initially deputise for South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs. It is difficult to be optimistic about the Welshmen's chances, but if they do achieve anything this season it will down to their attack, which is by no means the worst. It will be interesting to see if Adam Shantry is able to replicate the form he showed in 2008 and if the promising James Harris can return to full fitness following an ankle injury. 
Ins: Garnett Kruger (Lei) 
Outs: Richard Grant, David Hemp, Kyle Tudge, Matthew Wood (Ret) 
Overseas 2009: Mark Cosgrove (Aus, for the beginning of the season), Herschelle Gibbs (RSA, for the remainder of the season)
New captain/coach: Jamie Dalrymple takes over from David Hemp as captain 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Herschelle Gibbs (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 28-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 55-1, outsiders Twenty20 Cup - 22-1

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 
The Gladiators' dominance of one-day cricket between 1999 and 2004 must now seem like a distant memory. Gloucestershire have only won seven championship games in the last four years and appear to have taken root in Division Two. Changes are clearly needed, so to engineer the turnaround Alex Gidman takes over from Jon Lewis as captain while John Bracewell returns as director of cricket. On only three occasions did a Gloucestershire bowler bag five victims last term, but Bracewell brings with him fellow New Zealander James Franklin to make it three Kiwis in the Gloucestershire squad. Franklin is likely to take the new ball with Steve Kirby, who led the way in 2008, albeit with a paltry 36 championship scalps. The batting was also below par. Kadeer Ali, Grant Hodnett, Hamish Marshall and Craig Spearman regularly failed to turn good starts into big runs. Chris Taylor showed some consistency, but the leading light with the bat was 26-year-old wicketkeeper Steve Snell. 
Ins: David Payne, Jack Taylor, Rob Woodman (Som) 
Outs: Ian Fisher (Wor), Carl Greenidge, Mark Hardinges, Will Rudge 
Overseas 2009: James Franklin (NZ) 
New captain/coach: Alex Gidman takes over from Jon Lewis as captain. John Bracewell returns as director of cricket 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 40-1 outsiders, Friends Provident Trophy - 28-1, Twenty20 Cup - 20-1

HAMPSHIRE 
Apart from lifting the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy in 2005, Hampshire have had not managed to get their hands on any silverware for well over a decade. But in four seasons in Division One they have always finished in the top five in the County Championship. For the Rose Bowl outfit to keep it that way James Tomlinson and Imran Tahir will have to prove that last summer was no flash in the pan. Dominic Cork, surplus to requirements at Lancashire, is added to an attack that will be without Mascarenhas in the opening weeks, due to his IPL involvement. But with Chris Tremlett apparently fit and raring to go the Hawks should be less concerned by their bowling and more worried about their batting. Michael Carberry and Nic Pothas can be relied upon, but with Michael Brown moving across to Surrey, Adams, Benham, Ervine and Lumb must up their game to avoid being overtaken in the pecking order by Liam Dawson. Should be strong in the one-day comps. 
Ins: Dominic Cork (Lan) 
Outs: Michael Brown (Sur), Nantie Hayward, Rory Kleinveldt, Greg Lamb, Kevin Latouf, Richard Morris 
Overseas 2009: Imran Tahir (Pak) 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Dimitri Mascarenhas (IPL), Kevin Pietersen (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 7-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 14-1, Twenty20 Cup - 20-1

KENT
Kent used just 15 players in last year's championship. Fatigue eventually got to them, with Durham twisting the knife in the final game of the season. It must have been of little comfort to Kent that they won two more matches than the two sides above them in Division One, or that they became only the second team with four victories ever to be relegated in the championship. Reaching a brace of one-day finals only to lose in both added to the pain. Apart from Tredwell's off-breaks, which only brought a wicket every 51 runs, skipper Rob Key could have had no complaints with his bowlers. But with just one championship hundred himself, any criticism Key meted out to his under-performing batsmen must have sounded hollow. Martin van Jaarsveld was in a class of his own, however, none more so than when he made hundreds in each innings against Surrey. With Denly and Jones likely find runs easier to come by this summer, promotion in the champo looks assured. 
Ins: Rob Ferley (Not), James Hockley 
Outs: Neil Dexter (Mid), Matt Walker (Ess) 
Overseas 2009: Stuart Clark (Aus, for the beginning of the season) 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Amjad Khan (cartilage), Ryan McLaren (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 2-1 favs, Friends Provident Trophy - 8-1, Twenty20 Cup - 11-1

LANCASHIRE 
After rounding off the Nineties with six one-day trophies in five seasons, Lancashire have not picked up any silverware since the turn of the century; and no one at Old Trafford needs to be reminded that they have not been crowned outright County Champions since 1934. Last season the Red Rose county suffered from a severe shortage of runs with their batsmen hitting just six championship centuries. VVS Laxman has therefore been drafted in as overseas player, but the likes of Mark Chilton, Steven Croft and Mal Loye must deliver if Lancashire are to mount a serious title challenge. After a resurgent season with the ball, Glen Chapple was appointed captain to succeed Stuart Law, who was axed due to his links with the unofficial Indian Cricket League. Then, just as he was coming to terms with being relieved of the England manager's job, Peter Moores was made overseer following Mike Watkinson's move upstairs. With no shortage of bowling options, Lancashire should be competitive. 
Ins: Steven Cheetham, Simon Kerrigan, Adrian Shankar 
Outs: Dominic Cork (Ham), Stuart Law (Der), Simon Marshall, Iain Sutcliffe (Ret) 
Overseas 2009: Ashwell Prince (RSA, for the beginning of the season), VVS Laxman (Ind, for the remainder of the season) 
New captain/coach: Glen Chapple takes over from Stuart Law as captain. Peter Moores succeeds Mike Watkinson as coach
Likely to miss the start of the season: Glen Chapple (hamstring), Andrew Flintoff (IPL), Gary Keedy (fractured hand), VVS Laxman (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 8-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 12-1, Twenty20 Cup - 12-1

LEICESTERSHIRE 
The Foxes have now spent five summers in Division Two of the County Championship without looking like promotion candidates. It has been a similar story in the Pro40 League. So, at last, they have bitten the bullet and decided to go with youth, even though it is unlikely to result in a return to the top flight in the short-term. With the batting a major issue, the Grace Road outfit can ill afford HD Ackerman, Paul Nixon and Josh Cobb - who, at just eighteen, is already averaging 49.11 in the championship - being off colour in 2009. Last term, Boeta Dippenaar had a very lean time, but a batsman of his quality must surely be capable of mastering English pitches, plus 19-year-old James Taylor looks the part. With the ball, New Zealand seamer Iain O'Brien will provide more of a cutting edge. AJ Harris, who finds now himself at his third county, will be under pressure from Sam Cliff, while Malik, Allenby and Henderson will complete the cast. 
Ins: Boeta Dippenaar (converts from overseas player to a Kolpak), AJ Harris (Not) 
Outs: Ryan Cummins (Nor), Dillon du Preez (no longer qualifies as a Kolpak), Edward Foster, Harry Gurney, Garnett Kruger (Gla), Jermaine Lawson, Johan Malcolm, Daniel Rowe, Jeremy Snape (Ret) 
Overseas 2009: Iain O'Brien (NZ) 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 28-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 33-1, Twenty20 Cup - 22-1

MIDDLESEX
Having finished third in Division Two in each of the last two seasons the North Londoners certainly haven't benefited from the switch to two up and two down in the championship. But, by lifting the Twenty20 Cup last summer, at least they managed to end their15-year wait for a major trophy. Despite the retirement of skipper Ed Smith and Joyce also exiting the batting still looks in decent shape with Aussie opener Phillip Hughes inked in for the early exchanges and the likes of Morgan, Malan and Godleman starting to mature. Neil Dexter has been brought in from Kent as cover for Shah and Strauss, though it is still hoped that Compton can cut the mustard. Tim Murtagh carried the Middlesex attack in 2008 with 64 championship wickets at 26.43 runs apiece, but Richardson impressed when available and with Evans and Finn continuing to make strides the future seems bright for the newly dubbed Panthers, who will again have India's Murali Kartik as their primary spin threat. 
Ins: Neil Dexter (Ken) 
Outs: Ed Joyce (Sus), Mark Jackson, Shaun Levy, Dirk Nannes, Chris Peploe, Vernon Philander, Ed Smith (Ret) 
Overseas 2009: Phillip Hughes (Aus, for the beginning of the season), Murali Kartik (Ind, for the remainder of the season) 
New captain/coach: Shaun Udal takes over from Ed Smith as captain 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Murali Kartik (IPL), Owais Shah (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 5-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 12-1, Twenty20 Cup - 14-1

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 
Having failed to capture any meaningful silverware since 1992, Northants go into the new season more in hope than expectation that their barren run is set to end. Along with Glamorgan they have the least number of bowling points to show for the last two summers' work and, in 2008, were it not for Johannes van der Wath they would not have reached the giddy heights of fourth in Division Two. Ryan Cummins and Lee Daggett have therefore been drafted in from Leicestershire and Warwickshire respectively and coach David Capel is no doubt secretly hoping to see more of Monty Panesar this term. Thankfully, the batting was something to write home about last season with six batsmen hitting two or more championship hundreds. David Sales went past one thousand first-class runs for the fifth year in a row, but a worrying knee injury to the former skipper will need to be monitored. The performances of Stephen Peters and the hard-hitting Robert White could therefore be crucial. 
Ins: Jack Brooks, Ryan Cummins (Lei), Lee Daggett (War) 
Outs: Jason Brown (Not), Richard Browning, Lance Klusener, Richard Logan 
Overseas 2009: To be announced 
Likely to miss the start of the season: David Sales (knee) 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 14-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 20-1, Twenty20 Cup - 25-1 jt outsiders

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 
Other than being crowned County Champions in 2005, Nottinghamshire have not had any trophies to celebrate since the late Eighties, but there is every indication that the Trent Bridge outfit are set for big things. Last summer they finished runners-up to Durham in the County Championship despite only two batsmen scoring over 700 runs. The addition of Alistair Brown, who joins from Surrey, will increase competition in the batting, even though Patel, Read and Wagh are assured of their places. But Nottinghamshire's strength lies in their bowling. As they proved last term, Pattinson, Shreck and Swann are more than capable of making up for the absences of Broad and Sidebottom. Adams and Ealham will chip in with bat and ball, and should England prefer Graeme Swann to Monty Panesar, Notts have Jason Brown, who decided to part company with Northants at the end 2008, to bring in. Likely to challenge in all four competitions - with overseas signing Adam Voges on board they should be particularly formidable one-day opponents. 
Ins: Alistair Brown (Sur), Jason Brown (Nor), Kyle Hodnett 
Outs: Rob Ferley (Ken), AJ Harris (Lei) 
Overseas 2009: Adam Voges (Aus) 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 5-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 12-1, Twenty20 Cup - 12-1

SOMERSET 
No team has notched up more batting bonus points in the last two seasons than Somerset and while their bowling relies heavily on Charl Willoughby and Andy Caddick, the likes of Trego, Jones, Thomas and Munday give the Cidermen more options than a number of teams enjoy. As well as leaving a hole in the middle order, the departure of Ian Blackwell to Durham is likely to make the Sabres even less of a force in limited-overs cricket, which they have not excelled in since winning the Twenty20 Cup in 2005. Somerset's top priority must therefore be staying in Division One of the County Championship. To achieve that, not only will Justin Langer and Marcus Trescothick need to score heavily, but Zander de Bruyn, Neil Edwards and James Hildreth will also have to play some important knocks. Craig Kieswetter is an exciting prospect as gloveman, but coach Brian Rose's over-riding concern will be that his side can ill afford suffering a spate of injuries. 
Ins: David Stiff 
Outs: Ian Blackwell (Dur), John Francis (Ret), Andy Sutton, Rob Woodman (Glo) 
Overseas 2009: Justin Langer (Aus) 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Justin Langer (IPL) 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 7-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 12-1, Twenty20 Cup - 11-1

SURREY 
After picking up eight major pieces of silverware in eight years between 1996 and 2003, the Oval outfit seem to have lost their way. Not only did the Brown Caps fail to bowl their opponents out twice in 2008, on just four occasions did a Surrey bowler bag five victims in the championship. The legendary Saqlain Mushtaq accounted for three of them, only to be shown the door for refusing to cut his ties with the outlawed ICL. Enter Andre Nel, who will give the seam department more strength in depth, but much will hinge on Dernbach and Jordan, 23 and 20 respectively. The new Brown Caps' manager, Chris Adams, would therefore appear to have his work cut out; especially if skipper Mark Butcher misses the beginning of the season due to injury. With Afzaal, Newman and new signing Michael Brown around, and Ramprakash, of course (though only after he has served a two-match ban in the championship), Butcher's runs will not be missed anywhere near as much as his leadership. With Essex, Kent and Middlesex looking better bets for promotion in the championship, Surrey's best chance of glory this year probably lies in the one-day arena. 
Ins: Michael Brown (Ham), Andre Nel (as a Kolpak), Alex Tudor (Ess) 
Outs: Alistair Brown (Not), Richard Clinton, Lee Hodgson (Yor), Neil Saker, Saqlain Mushtaq 
Overseas 2009: Grant Elliott (NZ, for the first half of the season), Harbhajan Singh (Ind) has been approached regarding the second half of the season 
New captain/coach: Chris Adams succeeds Alan Butcher as coach 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Mark Butcher (knee) 
Betting: County Championship Div 2 - 5-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 14-1, Twenty20 Cup - 16-1

SUSSEX 
After winning four trophies in the last three seasons Sussex are due a spell in the wings, especially if Matt Prior spends most of the summer on international duty. With Chris Adams retiring, Michael Yardy takes over as captain. The batting has been strengthened by the acquisition of Ed Joyce, but the indications are that Murray Goodwin must continue making up for Chris Nash, Carl Hopkinson and Luke Wright's lack of runs. With the ball, the Martlets should be competitive, especially if Jason Lewry can keep going at the age of thirty-eight. In addition to Lewry, overseas signing Yasir Arafat should find useful allies in Corey Collymore and off-spinner Ollie Rayner. Sussex are capable of punching above their weight in the Twenty20 Cup and the Friends Provident Trophy, but already, one suspects, coach Mark Robinson is not even thinking about the Pro40 League, given that the emphasis towards the end of the season is likely to be keeping his players fresh for a survival battle in the championship. 
Ins: Corey Collymore (as a Kolpak), Joe Gatting, Ed Joyce (Mid), Pepler Sandri (as a Kolpak), Dwayne Smith (as a Kolpak)
Outs: Chris Adams (Ret) 
Overseas 2009: Yasir Arafat (Pak) 
New captain/coach: Mike Yardy takes over from Chris Adams as captain 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 8-1, Friends Provident Trophy - 16-1, Twenty20 Cup - 16-1

WARWICKSHIRE 
Last season it seemed that every due to be out of contract player was being linked with a move to Edgbaston, but in the end Ashley Giles only managed to recruit Rikki Clarke, who left Derbyshire by mutual agreement in August. Ian Salisbury's unexpected retirement has forced the Bears into signing an overseas spinner - New Zealand's Jeetan Patel - for 2009. As promising as they are, the inexperience of seam trio of James Anyon, Naqaash Tahir and England Under-19 sensation Chris Woakes is likely to prevent Warwickshire building on their immediate return to Division One of the County Championship. With Ian Bell and Tim Ambrose on the fringes of the England team, they, along with Clarke, have every incentive to put in the sort of performances that will get them noticed. But if Clarke remains an enigma Frost, Maddy, Trott and Troughton will all have to average over forty so as to avoid exposing the Bears' fresh-faced attack. Nevertheless, expect Warwickshire to mount a Twenty20 Cup challenge. 
Ins: Ateeq Javed, Keith Barker, Shaaiq Choudhry, Rikki Clarke (Der) 
Outs: Lee Daggett (Nor), Tim Groenewald (Der), Stuart Hole, Nick James, Luke Parker, Michael Powell (Ret), Ian Salisbury (Ret)
Overseas 2009: Jeetan Patel (NZ) 
New captain/coach: Ian Westwood takes over from Darren Maddy as captain 
Likely to miss the start of the season: Ian Westwood (wrist) 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 12-1 jt outsiders, Friends Provident Trophy - 18-1, Twenty20 Cup - 18-1

WORCESTERSHIRE
After gaining just 18 batting points in the championship in 2007, Worcestershire returned to the top flight at the first time of asking thanks in no small part to one thousand-run seasons from Stephen Moore, skipper Vikram Solanki and Ben Smith; all of whom were averaging less than 35 twelve months earlier. On the downside, Smith and wicketkeeper Steve Davies have now gone two summers without hitting a championship hundred, which needs to change if the retirement of Graeme Hick is to be surmounted. Doubts over the fitness of overseas signing Ashley Noffke appear to be clouding the Pears' preparations for the forthcoming season, which have hardly been helped by the collapse of their main sponsor, the electrical retailer Apollo 2000. Simon Jones is said to be fit again, though, and Imran Arif now qualifies as a non-overseas player; but Kabir Ali remains key to the Worcestershire attack, even though it is Gareth Batty who puts the overs in. Likely to struggle in four-day cricket, especially with the bat. 
Ins: Ian Fisher (Glo), Imran Arif (converts from overseas player to British citizen) 
Outs: Graeme Hick (Ret) 
Overseas 2009: Ashley Noffke (Aus) 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 12-1 jt outsiders, Friends Provident Trophy - 20-1, Twenty20 Cup - 18-1

YORKSHIRE 
Ever since returning to the championship's top flight in 2006, Yorkshire have been staving off relegation. This might have something to do with the fact that no team has drawn more four-day matches in the last four years. But with Tim Bresnan, Matthew Hoggard and Adil Rashid leading the attack there seems no reason why the Tykes should continue finding it difficult to bowl sides out twice; even though Darren Gough has retired and Deon Kruis rarely gets his just desserts. Having Michael Vaughan around this summer will be like having a new signing, but looking at the rest of the batting, Yorkshire may need to rely on the former England captain if Gale, Lyth and Sayers fail to kick on. Other than Vaughan, only Anthony McGrath, who takes over as captain, and Jacques Rudolph are certain to start in the top six. The Carnegie should be there or thereabouts in limited-overs cricket, but they may have to settle for a mid-table finish in the Division One of the champo. 
Ins: Azeem Rafiq, Jonathan Bairstow, Lee Hodgson (Sur) 
Outs: Darren Gough (Ret), Mark Lawson (Der), Greg Wood 
Overseas 2009: Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (Pak) 
New captain/coach: Anthony McGrath takes over from Darren Gough as captain 
Betting: County Championship Div 1 - 12-1 jt outsiders, Friends Provident Trophy - 14-1, Twenty20 Cup - 14-1.

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