***Official*** English Domestic Season 2014

[superkingdave]

Almost unbelievable but the season started today - the Champion County game in Dubai, Durham currently 30/1. Seems to get earlier each year.

My tips for this year

County Championship - Warwickshire
Relegated - Northants, Yorkshire
Promoted - Surrey, Essex

Royal London One Day Cup - Somerset
Natwest T20 Blast - Hampshire

Just noticed Warwickshire are officially known in the T20 as Birmingham Bears...

Fixtures

 

[superkingdave]

MCC team has a mixture of old and young

LM Reece, SD Robson, DJ Bell-Drummond, V Sehwag*, SR Patel, HAPW Jayawardene†, OP Rayner, KW Hogg, AR Adams, MS Panesar, HF Gurney


Interesting to see if Reece backs up his season last year. Bell-Drummond is obviously someone with great talent but always a danger he becomes the next Sam Northeast or Billy Godelman.

 

[morgieb]

Surrey's batting will dominate with Smith and Pietersen out of their Test teams. Probably the best two bats in county cricket full stop.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Tips

CC - Yorkshire
Relegated - Northants and Lancashire
Promoted - Surrey and Hampshire
Wooden spoon - Gloucestershire

RLODC - Surrey
T20 - Somerset

Think Yorkshire will win the title as they will have Bairstow all season and Bresnan for most of it so will be much stronger.

 

[Cabinet96]

Surrey will bottle it.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

They may but surely the amount of spending will pay off one year in a crap division.

 

[Pothas]

County Championship - Middlesex
Relegated - Northants, Sussex
Promoted - Surrey, Hampshire

Royal London One Day Cup - Hampshire
Natwest T20 Blast - Notts

Really looking forward to this season, so much to play for regards England.

Making up for my failure to get to the Rose Bowl last season by going to the first game this season. The squad is better than it has been for a few years but we really have to get promotion this year.

 

[grecian]

Surrey's batting will dominate with Smith and Pietersen out of their Test teams. Probably the best two bats in county cricket full stop.

This guy is judging you here

and hey he's still playing Test cricket...

 

[grecian]

Monty monstering the Champions, excellent.

 

[Tpw123]

County champions - Middlesex
Relegated - Northants and Sussex
Promoted - Surrey and Essex

Royal London One Day Cup - Nottinghamshire
Natwest T20 Blast - Nottinghamshire

 

[theegyptian]

Surrey will bottle it.

Yes I'm not convinced they'll go up. Were awful last year. KP I really can't see playing much. Big plus for them potentially is Meaker fit again who they missed loads last year. Hoping for Dunn or Edwards to break through . Both late 80's mph bowlers. Curran probably the best prospect of the lot.

 

[morgieb]

This guy is judging you here

and hey he's still playing Test cricket...

Forgot that Shiv was still with Derbyshire.

 

[theegyptian]

Sehwag should enjoy facing a bit of Borthwick tomorrow.

 

[superkingdave]

Good to see Hogg starting well, need him to take 50+ again this year. Although we might have Jimmy for a few games as well. We certainly have a division one quality bowling attack its always the batting

 

[fredfertang]

I'm thinking Mrs Miggins must have put some magic mushrooms in flibberty's pie as he's clearly been posting in an alternative reality

 

[superkingdave]

My predicted Lancs FC team to start the season (Jimmy said he is available for at least the first 5 possibly 7 CC games.


Reece
Horton
Prince
Croft
Butler
Procter
Smith
Hogg
Chapple/Jarvis
Anderson
Kerrigan

Croft has been gash in FC recently but without Katich there isn't much choice (we aren't getting an overseas player) and he does provide a second spin option. Almost too many seam options.

 

[theegyptian]

Chapple is incredible. Was bowling mid 80's on a couple of sky games last year at 39 and really well. Not even sure he bowled mid 80's at 29. Really is some top qualitty stuff to still be bowling as consistently good as he does at this age.

Any of you Lanky guys know much about Livingstone? I know he did well for the seconds last year and got a contract - and gives the ball an almighty thump when he is batting. Might get some one day cricket this year?

 

[fredfertang]

This time of year I always think Lancs will go through the season unbeaten, and I'm never right of course - this year is no different and that batting lineup looks to have some potential, although it could easily be as brittle as ever - would be a whole lot happier if the name Chanderpaul was in there

But if we really can't score any runs we'll just have to produce a few dust bowls and play Parry with Kegga and rout the oppo

 

[Dan]

Jarvis potentially not making the starting XI shows the ridiculous depth there is in seamers at Lancashire. Anderson, Chapple, Hogg, Jarvis, Kabir, Newby - combine any 3 and you have a more-than-FC standard attack. Add in Kerrigan and Parry, and it may be very tempting to duck across to the NSW School of Selection and pick the following:

1. Reece
2. Horton
3. Prince
4. Procter
5. Buttler +
6. Smith
7. Hogg
8. Chapple
9. Anderson
10. Kerrigan
11. Jarvis

 

[superkingdave]

^long tail with Anderson, Kerrigan and Jarvis - I think especially if Jimmy is playing we don't need 4 seamers +Smith/Procter/Reece. Not much of a build up before the season either, we are playing a few mm cricket games in Dubai and only one 2 day friendly as far as I can see. I think Jarvis will start in the seconds but the CC games come thick and fast in April and May, can't see Chapple playing all of them. Think Jarvis will be a regular by the end of the season but by then we won't have Jimmy.

Anyway, was going to say it was a weak looking Durham attack in the season opener, given Onions, Wood etc are out but all three of Rushword, Arshad and Harrison average under 25 (albeit a small sample size in Arshad and Harrisons case), so maybe more inexperienced than weak. Is Wood injured?