County Championship 2025: Will Surrey win fourth title in a row? Division One challengers and season predictions

Surrey will look to develop into the primary aspect to win 4 County Championship titles in a row for 70 years when the home red-ball competitors begins its 2025 season on Friday.

The final county to attain such a feat? Surrey themselves throughout a run of seven successive titles between 1952 and 1958.

Whereas England’s males have a busy Take a look at summer season on the horizon with first Zimbabwe after which India as vacationers, the early-season focus will probably be firmly on who may put themselves within the body for choice whereas additionally spearheading a bid for silverware come September.

Division One in 2025 options some counties again within the high tier for the primary time in a lot of seasons together with a batch of perennial challengers for the Lord’s Taverners Trophy.

May a shock challenger upset the stability of energy from current seasons? We check out how the marketing campaign might unfold…

Contenders

It is laborious to look past Surrey doing it another time in 2025.

Whereas membership legend Alec Stewart has moved on as director of cricket to tackle a extra part-time put up as excessive efficiency cricket advisor, head coach Gareth Batty can nonetheless name upon a high-class squad able to posting massive totals and taking 20 wickets repeatedly.

Bowling-wise, many eyes will probably be on the now England-eligible Dan Worrall with the Australian-born seamer wanting so as to add to the 139 Championship wickets he has amassed prior to now three seasons by doubtlessly capping it off with a Take a look at aspect call-up.

With the bat, anticipate former England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley to as soon as once more be within the runs and main the best way.

When obtainable, Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith will lend middle-order assist, whereas Dan Lawrence will need to put himself again into Take a look at competition after a irritating sequence as a makeshift opener in opposition to Sri Lanka final summer season.

Pushing for the title will probably be Somerset, who had been “the nearly men” as soon as once more final season regardless of an exhilarating win over Surrey within the penultimate spherical.

When match, Will Smeed will probably be obtainable to function in all codecs with the bat having upgraded his white-ball solely contract whereas New Zealand seamer Matt Henry will probably be their abroad spearhead for the primary half of the season when he arrives in mid-April.

Add the twin-spin risk of Jack Leach and the rising Archie Vaughan, who’ve proved prolific sufficient to power fellow England tweaker Shoaib Bashir out on mortgage to Glamorgan and the Cidermen must be properly within the combine to lastly safe their first ever title.

When it comes to one other potential challenger, Durham ought to form up properly with the chance to construct of their second season again within the high division.

They’ve made some shrewd English-qualified signings below dynamic coach Ryan Campbell in opener Emilio Homosexual on a everlasting deal from Northamptonshire, England Lions seamer Sam Conners from Derbyshire and all-rounder Will Rhodes from Warwickshire.

England seamers Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse will seemingly function prominently alongside thrilling left-arm fast James Minto, who nonetheless solely 17, has already caught the attention with an entertaining debut in opposition to Surrey final season.

Neil Wagner has additionally signed on as an abroad bowler so as to add some invaluable early-season expertise.

Pretenders

In the course of the pack, anticipate there to be little to select from between a gaggle of 4.

Warwickshire ought to do higher than their 2024 return of just one win with an eye catching collection of abroad signings set to reach at Edgbaston via the season in New Zealand skipper Tom Latham, Australia all-rounder Beau Webster and Pakistan seamer Hassan Ali.

Jacob Bethell, Dan Mousley and Sam Hain may even be three potential England choice contenders to keep watch over via the marketing campaign.

Yorkshire are again within the high flight for the primary time in three seasons and there was loads of change each on and off the pitch over the winter.

Jonny Bairstow has been named red-ball captain after Shan Masood’s transfer to Leicestershire whereas Anthony McGrath is again at his former county as first-team coach having helped Essex to a Championship title and runners-up finishes in his time in cost.

Regardless of dropping Matthew Fisher’s providers within the seam bowling division to Surrey, they need to nonetheless possess sufficient efficiency to win extra video games than they draw or lose. Bairstow’s presence alongside Dawid Malan and Adam Lyth on the high of the batting order, with occasional cameos from Harry Brook and Joe Root, ought to ship loads of runs.

Strugglers

A few of the names within the backside rung might come as a shock, however underline simply how shut the division will be.

Hampshire’s runners-up end final season will probably be powerful to emulate with out the expertise of James Vince, not solely as membership captain, but additionally by way of his weight of runs.

The previous England worldwide, 34, took the choice in January to give up red-ball cricket and transfer to Dubai following private points off the sector and to extend his alternatives to play T20 franchise cricket.

Bowling-wise, there will probably be curiosity in seeing how a batch of up and coming seamers together with Sonny Baker, who has joined from Somerset and been handed an England improvement contract over the winter, carry out within the absence of Mohammad Abbas.

Sluggish left-armer Liam Dawson will little question be up the highest finish of the bowling averages as he continues to be Hampshire’s Mr Reliable whereas Mark Stoneman has joined from Middlesex to interchange Vince within the batting division.

Nottinghamshire are a tough one to foretell, however the addition of the aforementioned Abbas for six video games between Could and September, might even see them carry out higher than anticipated.

If they will keep match, tall seamers Olly Stone and Dillon Pennington, who’ve each both been handed Take a look at caps or been on fringes of choice lately, may even add extra efficiency.

Haseeb Hameed’s time as an England opener might have come and gone within the Bazball period, however he can nonetheless ship prolific seasons by way of runs. Joe Clarke is one other who matches that standards within the middle-order, however has but to make a robust sufficient case with the constant weight of runs to make him laborious to disregard for Take a look at choice.

Essex have been there or thereabouts lately, however this season might show a a lot harder one.

After a turbulent break day the sector financially and administratively, there may be an alarming lack of depth.

Simon Harmer seems like being the solitary abroad signing after India all-rounder Shardul Thakur’s transfer fell via when he was known as up as a late damage substitute within the IPL.

Ex-England coach Chris Silverwood is again as director of cricket, changing his former assistant McGrath, and could have fond reminiscences of delivering the county’s first title for 25 years again in 2017.

However his seam bowling division will look stretched ought to both the prolific Sam Cook dinner lastly be rewarded with a Take a look at call-up or new-ball accomplice Jamie Porter get injured.

They need to have sufficient to remain up due to some skilled batters, however solely simply.

Sussex are again in Division One for the primary time since 2015.

The charismatic Paul Farbrace has completed a terrific job rebuilding a county that wanted a tough reset in lots of departments. However will top-tier cricket show an excessive amount of of a problem for a largely evergreen squad this quickly?

Skipper John Simpson would be the skilled hand main his troops whereas abroad signings Daniel Hughes from Australia and West Indies fast Jayden Seales will add spark.

If they will get Ollie Robinson on the park most of the time as the previous England seamer recovers from hernia surgical procedure, then issues will look a lot brighter. In the meantime, a sure Jofra Archer may additionally get the possibility to steam in from the Sea Finish at Hove if his lengthy street again to a Take a look at return for England would not run into any obstacles.

Lastly, Worcestershire had an amazing season in 2024 arising and surviving comfortably to document their finest end since 1997, however this season might show a testing one.

Chief government Ashley Giles has lots to take care of each on and off the sector because the county’s future at New Street seems unsure each from a monetary and environmental perspective.

The retirement of membership stalwart Joe Leach final season leaves them and not using a talisman with Brett D’Oliveira trying to fill that void as he continues as captain.

It might be a tricky look ahead to Pears followers, who will hope an thrilling batch of kids together with seamers Ethan Brookes and Ben Allison plus top-order batters Adam Hose and Kashif Ali ship match-winning contributions.

Predictions

Opening spherical fixtures

All matches start 11am, Friday April 4:

Chelmsford: Essex vs Surrey

Utilita Bowl: Hampshire vs Yorkshire

Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire vs Durham

Taunton: Somerset vs Worcestershire

Edgbaston: Warwickshire vs Sussex