Wednesday 15 April 2009

County Championship: Week 1

There are five County Championship games taking place as of today:

LV County Championship: Division One
Hampshire v Worcestershire, The Rose Bowl, 11:00
Somerset v Warwickshire, Taunton, 11:00

LV County Championship: Division Two
Essex v Derbyshire, Chelmsford, 11:00
Leicestershire v Northamptonshire, Grace Road, 11:00
Surrey v Gloucestershire, The Brit Oval, 11:00

Durham, who are not playing today, are my tip to retain their title. They have kept together the winning squad of last year and have added the proven talents of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ian Blackwell, who scored a century in last week's MCC curtain-raiser at Lords. Kent, who also have yet to kick off their first-class campaign, are my tip to win the Division 2 crown, pipping Surrey who have recruited well in the winter. Kent, you feel, have simply too much class for this division and expect Rob Key and Joe Denly to feast on some of the bowling at this level.

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