2013 Season Preview: County Championship

With the 2013 season just around the corner, and the first pre-season game getting underway tomorrow, I think it’s the right time to look forward and give my opinion on how we are going to do this season. The first competition I’m going to be previewing is the Liverpool Victoria County Championship, so here goes.

Due to obvious unforeseen circumstances last season, our Championship campaign didn’t go according to plan, finishing one place and 33 points ahead of the relegation places. It was a wonderful effort from Batty and co to keep us in Division One, and hopefully that can inspire us to greater things this year.

It is certainly a different looking squad to the team that beat Sussex in the opener at the Oval in 2012. The starting X1 that day was: Rudolph, Jordan, Ramps, de Bruyn, RHB, Maynard, Burns, Batty, Lewis, Meaker, and Dernbach. That’s 5 of the top 6 not at the club anymore for varying reasons, which has certainly left a big hole in the depth of our batting. This season will be the first for over 12 years that we won’t have Mark Ramprakash walking out to the middle at number 3, and those are big shoes to fill. However, I think we have the batsman capable to fill the void of Ramps, and can lead us to a successful season.

For the first time in a long time, perhaps when Batty and Newman were at their best, we hopefully have a solid opening partnership in Graeme Smith and Rory Burns. Smith has dipped in form of late for South Africa, in the ODI’s especially, but there is still no doubting the calibre of player that has been acquired. He’s arguably one of the greatest Test captains of all time, and when unavailable, will be replaced by another great captain of the past in Ricky Ponting. And for those doubting Ponting’s ability nowadays, he has recently been named Sheffield Shield Player of the Season, which isn’t to be sniffed at.  Burns looked very assured towards the end of last season, a natural opener who has the ability to score quickly but knows his limits well and hopefully will grow into the role this coming season.

In my opinion, the openers are the only two positions that are set in stone for the Championship opener against Somerset on April 17^th, with selection headaches causing a problem for Adams. However, competition for places is always good in a squad, so here’s my team for the opening game:

Smith (C)

Burns

Harinath

De Bruyn

Solanki

Roy

Davies (W)

Batty

Meaker

Lewis

Tremlett

Apart from the openers, each position of my side could be challenged. Harinath at 3 did well at the end of last season, hitting 2 centuries in 6 matches, including one in that vital win against Middlesex in August, earning himself a new contract. Some however may argue that we need a more experienced head to come in at the fall of the first wicket, perhaps Solanki or de Bruyn, but personally, Harinath should be given a chance for the first few games at least, in what could be a make or break season for him.

A popular debate on Twitter is that of Zander de Bruyn, who is still to arrive in the UK, and many believe doesn’t deserve a place in the side. It’s true that he has had a poor season again for the Highveld Lions after a lean campaign for us in 2012. Therefore, many believe academy graduate Tom Jewell should be given a chance ahead of the 37 year old South African. However, I think with Burns and Harinath in the top 3, an experienced number 4 is, and all being well, Zander can rediscover the form he showed in 2011 and at the end of 2012 to some extent. His seam and swing can also prove to be (sometimes!) useful.

That brings us onto Vikram Solanki who joined mid-season last year. There is no doubting the quality of the man, but like de Bruyn, is he past it? Poor form for Worcester led to him getting dropped from the Championship side, but his knowledge and experience of the game is unquestionable, so I think he should be given a chance against Somerset. However, if he or de Bruyn struggle early on, then either Jewell or the unfortunate Gary Wilson should definitely be given a go, rather than Adams persisting on picking them, like he strangely did with de Bruyn last year. Wilson really does deserve a chance in 4 day cricket, but I don’t think Adams will start the season with him, so that’s why I left him out of my side.

It’s a massive year for Jason Roy I think. After a good couple of seasons, he fell away considerably last year, and in the Championship scored just 3 50’s from 21 innings. He is a far better player than his statistics suggest, but too many times he throws his wickets away in 4-day games, so this needs to be addressed if he wants to be a firm fixture in the LVCC line up.

Steve Davies is almost nailed on for the wicket keeper role against Somerset, but does face stiff competition from Wilson. Davies had a poor season last year, with just 1 century and 1 half century in his 12 matches, averaging less than 22. However, he suffered from depression towards the end of last season after the events that had occurred previously, so that is one reason for it. This year is the first for a while that Davies hasn’t been picked by England to carry drinks on a winter test tour, so here’s hoping a full pre-season with us can lead him back to his sumptuous best.

Now onto the bowlers, where the competition is even stronger. At 8 I’ve gone with Gareth Batty, and with April pitches not being too conducive to spinners, he is the sole spinner in the side. Adams did say when Gary Keedy signed that he would play 2 spinners in home LVCC games, but I don’t think that will happen in seamer-friendly conditions that are so frequent in the early part of the season. Playing two spinners, as we saw towards the end of last year with Batty and Kartik, will be vital at some points of the season, but not from the start.

Talk of those conditions lead me onto the subject of Jon Lewis. Despite falling away towards the end of last season, Lewis did have a good start to the campaign, and if the conditions suit his style of bowling, then that should be exploited to benefit the team. It could be argued that it’s not exactly building for the future playing the 38 year old, and others should be picked instead, but he won’t be playing every game in my opinion, just a select few.

The remaining two places speak for themselves really. Meaker was our leading wicket taker in the Championship last year and was a shining light in an otherwise bleak season for us, and his ability to turn a game on its head in a couple of overs is really quite something. If fit, then Chris Tremlett should play whatever. He’s been working extremely hard throughout the winter months, and if he can rediscover his form, then it is a huge bonus for us, because on his day he can be lethal.

Two bowlers I haven’t spoken about are Tim Linley and Jade Dernbach. Linley will once again feel unlucky if he is left out, after not getting enough opportunities last year, but Lewis’ ability to add vital runs towards the end of the innings is the reason I would start with him ahead of the Viscount. Without doubt Jade is our best Limited overs bowler, but I would put him behind Meaker, Tremlett and perhaps Lewis in the longer format, who all have a greater knack of picking up wickets at the right time. I’m not saying that Jade is a bad 4-day bowler, and will come in if Tremlett’s not fit, but in swinging conditions, Lewis wins the battle for me. Once pitches become quicker and harder, that’s when Jade comes into his own.

Overall, I believe that we have a strong squad heading into the Championship this year, and the fact that there are so many questions marks over who is going to play the first game speaks for itself. Towards the end of last season, there wasn’t this debate because frankly, we didn’t have the depth that we have now. It says it all when I’m at the end of the preview and I still haven’t mentioned Ansari, Dunn, Edwards, Sibley etc, so it’s a huge plus that we have so many options. Therefore, I think that with Smith at the helm, a good championship season for Surrey County Cricket Club is just around the corner.

Predicted League Position: 4^th