The eve of the Championship season is upon us! Here's a quick look at tomorrow's fixtures in Division One :
Hants vs Durham - Tough opener for both sides. Durham much closer to full strength than they were for the majority of last season, Harmison will lead the attack, backed up by useful County seamers such as Plunkett, Claydon, and Thorp. The exciting Ben Stokes has supposedly won promotion in the batting order, likely to come in at four. Just hope they're not rushing him, batting him a touch lower gives him the freedom to play his shots, let's hope he takes his chance higher up the order, but I'd prefer him at around 5/6.
Hants could have Simon Jones and Friedel de Wet opening the bowling, which is an exciting and potential very threatening partnership. Backed up by the skipper Cork and possibly the spinning talent of Briggs, this is an attack that comes close to Durham, if not in squad depth, certainly in the first XI. Runs on the board will be even more crucial in this encounter, while winning CC games is about taking 20 wickets, the batsmen that succeed in this fixture will go a long way to securing their side a result.
Lancs v Sussex - The venue - Liverpool, that makes this fixture look even more interesting, and even more likely for either side to get a result. Lancs have always looked one batsman short in their line-up for a few years, and some of the top 5 really need to stand up. Paul Horton cannot be as poor as last season, while Steven Croft continues to grow. Maharoof will not play tomorrow due to Visa complications.
For Sussex the English trio of Prior, Yardy and Wright may be missing, but Rana Naved returns and Amjad Khan I expect will debut. Murray Goodwin skippers, The captain along with Ed Joyce will be under pressure to score a high percentage of the runs.
Worcester vs Yorkshire - How much will the loss of Jaques Rudolph hurt Yorkshire ? That is a lot of runs to find for Yorks, Joe Sayers will return to the side after missing plenty of 2010, and they hope Anthony McGrath is fit enough to play a part. Ryan Sidebottom makes his return, and that is surely going to be a quality signing.
On paper Yorks will start as strong favourites, despite missing the likes of Bresnan and Shahzad. Worcester will hope Moeen Ali and Alexei Kervezee can replicate their form in the second division, and the next four days will be a huge test for them. Australian Damien Wright could be crucial on these early season pitches.