English county cricket 2014 - All that you need to know
County Cricket – this is where cricketers turn from ‘good’ to ‘stars’
Domestic cricket is the stepping stone for every cricketer to achieve what they’re set to achieve. To be precise, this is where players turn from ordinary to extraordinary and go on to represent their respective national sides. And if there’s one country where domestic cricket is given the relevant important that it should, it’s the English country. For years now, English county cricket has been THE standard for the country cricket of every other cricketing nation to follow.
The followers of English cricket give great importance to the quality of cricket, played in county cricket. The standard of cricket keeps on improving every year and this is because from the club cricket level, the cricketers are trained with such infrastructure that by the time they reach the level of county cricket, they’re ready to play at the best of their game and this is what makes English county cricket stand out from the domestic cricket of other cricketing nations.
The English county season began just a few days back and therefore, this article will help you to know about the teams that performed the best among the 18 teams that play in English county and further, I’ll also be emphasizing on certain ‘outstanding performers’ from the last season, on whom the English selectors will have a keen observing eye.
The defending champions – Nottinghamshire
Will they be able to defend their title?
LV 40 – This is the very team that has players like Lumb, Hales, David Hussey, Voges, James Taylor (bright future), Samit Patel, Chris Read, Shahzad, Broad – with such a strong line up, this has to be THE team to watch out for in this year’s county season. Particularly for limited overs, this side has got the perfect mix of all rounders, pure batsmen and pure bowlers. Given the fact that majority of these players are locals i.e. from England and only 2 are foreign i.e. David Hussey and Adam Voges, this makes the Nottinghamshire’s side even more dominant. Watch out for this side!
LV T20 – This team is the perfect example of how a side can win in spite of not being dependant on one particular player. The top-order gave a solid platform in the early overs in every match, on which the latter batsmen could capitalize; these players were Cameron White, Richard Levi and Kyle Coetzer. These 3 players’ consistency helped them finish as 4th, 7th and 11th in the top run scorers stats of last year’s LV T20 championship.
Durham (County Championship Division One)
To start off, Durham’s successful season’s secret goes to Graham Onion’s consistent performance with the ball, clinching 70 wickets for Durham and therefore, becoming the highest wicket taker for the county season – 2013. Apart from Onions, it’s players like Borthwick, Stokes, Collingwood and Mustard that strengthen the middle order. Their season campaign began with 2 back to back home losses but they regained their confidence and flourished through the group with ease and won the championship – division one.
Lancashire (County Championship Division two)
Simon Katich, Ashwell Prince, James Anderson – 3 big names that delivered for Lancashire in the matches they played for them. Lancashire has been a team that has never depended on one particular individual to win them matches, especially in the last few years.
Lancashire have quality all-rounders in Chapple, Kerrigan, Hogg – which give the side the much needed balance that it requires. Look out for these players this season – this is one of the most balanced sides of the county circuit and hence why, it won the county championship division two last year.