**Official English County Cricket 2013**

[theegyptian]

Predictions for the season

County Champions:
Relegated from Division one:
Promoted from Division two:
Division two wooden spoon:
40 over Champions:
T20 Champions:
Top runscorer in county championship(Trescothick excluded):
Top wickettaker in county championship:
Cricketer of the year:
Young cricketer of the year:
Failure:
Batting at 6 in last test of the summer for England:
A random event that will happen:

 

[Viscount Tom]

County Champions: Somerset
Relegated from Division one: Worcestershire & Derbyshire
Promoted from Division two: Lancs & Kent
Division two wooden spoon: Leics
40 over Champions: Hampshire
T20 Champions: Sussex
Top runscorer in county championship(Trescothick excluded): Not sure if Ballance batted at 3 and doesn't get an England call up him possibly, if not Hildreth is my nominee
Top wickettaker in county championship: Roland Jones
Cricketer of the year: Tresco
Young cricketer of the year: Bell Drummond
Failure: Bopara
Batting at 6 in last test of the summer for England: Collingwood if I'm allowed to hope Hildreth if I'm right about the run scoring.
A random event that will happen: Bopara will fluke a hundred.

 

[Cabinet96]

County Champions: Warwickshire
Relegated from Division one: Durham, Derbyshire
Promoted from Division two: Hampshire, Lancashire
Division two wooden spoon: Gloucestershire
40 over Champions: Warwickshire
T20 Champions: Hamsphire
Top runscorer in county championship(Trescothick excluded): James Hildrith
Top wickettaker in county championship: Toby Roland-Jones
Cricketer of the year: James Hildrith (Chris Woakes if he doesn't play much for England)
Young cricketer of the year: No clue. What age even constitutes as young?
Failure: James Taylor
Batting at 6 in last test of the summer for England: Joe Root
A random event that will happen: A team will get 350 in the YB40

 

[Pothas]

County Champions: Middlesex
Relegated from Division one: Derbyshire, Yorkshire
Promoted from Division two: Lancashire, Hampshire
Division two wooden spoon: Gloucestershire
40 over Champions: Somerset
T20 Champions: Sussex
Top runscorer in county championship(Trescothick excluded): Michael Carberry
Top wickettaker in county championship: James Harris
Cricketer of the year: Ben Stokes
Young cricketer of the year: Shiv Thakor
Failure: Ajmal Shahzad (Hope I am wrong)
Batting at 6 in last test of the summer for England: Ben Stokes
A random event that will happen: New Road will not get flooded. (please be a decent summer)

Fairly sure I predicted a couple of these last year, certainly the Stokes one. Have decided, without any evidence, that being sent home in the winter will have done him some good and that he will have a fantastic year.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Will be very interested to see how Will Vanderspar goes with the bat for Leeds/Bradford. He had massive wraps as a schoolboy at Eton but seems have fallen off the radar a little bit since then.

Another one worth noting is the first-class debut of Alex Hearne, ex-Dragon School, in his first year at Cambridge University, following five years of First XI cricket at Radley and three at our place. He's been on Essex's books for years, mind, so he might make a better fist of facing Tymal Mills than the rest of the students...

 

[BackFootPunch]

County Champions: Nottinghamshire
Relegated from Division one: Yorkshire, Durham
Promoted from Division two: Northamptomshire, Hampshire
Division two wooden spoon: Leicestershire
40 over Champions: Surrey
T20 Champions: Sussex
Top runscorer in county championship(Trescothick excluded): Varun Chopra
Top wickettaker in county championship: Chris Tremlett
Cricketer of the year: Chris Woakes
Young cricketer of the year: Ben Foakes
Failure: Ravi Bopara
Batting at 6 in last test of the summer for England: Joe Root
A random event that will happen: 150 run 10th wicket partnership in CC game.

 

[Woodster]

Nice to see some of the young England possibles for the future enjoying a decent day in their respective friendlies. Ben Stokes aims to answer his critics this season and started in fine fettle with an opening day century, Scott Borthwick backed up his team-mate's good work with 99 runs of his own. Tymal Mills' pace proved too much in the closing stages of Day 1 for Cambridge and Yorkshire's Gary Ballance backed up his ample promise with a patient 112. Ben Wright struggled for consistency at Glamorgan last season, not on his own there though, but hopefully today is an indication his performance levels will go up a further notch in 2013, he was unbeaten on 68 today when Glamorgan declared. Finally Tom Milnes, perhaps not as well known as the previous players mentioned, announced himself today with an unbeaten half-century for the champions Warwickshire, then took the new ball and snared himself a couple of wickets to top the day off nicely.

Great having domestic cricket back on the radar!!

 

[Pup Clarke]

Top run scorer in the CC : Gary Ballance
Top wicket-taker in the CC : Steve Magoffin
Cricketer of the Year : Tim Murtagh
Young Cricketer of the Year : Sam Northeast
Failure : Tres
Batting at 6 in the last test of the summer : Ballance
Random Event : 10-fer will taken

 

[Woodster]

Just looking at the Essex line-up today, only one player averages of 40 in first-class cricket, and that's Ravi Bopara and he's only just over that threshold. Going to need to find someone to get some consistent runs, especially early in the season when there's no Shah or ten Doeschate. Big season for Rav, and Essex need him.

 

[Jarquis]

Fabian Cowdrey can play. I'm going to say that much.

 

[theegyptian]

County Champions: Warwickshire
Relegated from Division one: Derbyshire and either Durham or Yorkshire. Probably Yorkshire
Promoted from Division two: Lancashire, Hampshire
Division two wooden spoon: Leicestershire
40 over Champions: Somerset
T20 Champions: Nottinghamshire
Top runscorer in county championship(Trescothick excluded): Chopra
Top wickettaker in county championship: Kerrigan
Cricketer of the year: Ben Stokes
Young cricketer of the year: Kerrigan
Failure: Plunkett
Batting at 6 in last test of the summer for England: Prior
A random event that will happen: English bowler goes close to 95mph in televised match.

 

[stumpski]

Hmmm, it can't be said that the students are exactly making the county bowlers work hard for their wickets, although Sussex are amusingly 14-2 against Loughborough. They were bowled out for 50-odd in one of these matches last year, you may remember.

 

[Viscount Tom]

Make that 30-3.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Hmmm, it can't be said that the students are exactly making the county bowlers work hard for their wickets, although Sussex are amusingly 14-2 against Loughborough. They were bowled out for 50-odd in one of these matches last year, you may remember.

#minorcountiescricket

 

[Viscount Tom]

Yorkshire playing better in their second innings.

 

[theegyptian]

haha Bopara.

 

[Viscount Tom]

4 and a golden duck oh dear.

Still at least we can be assured that Cricinfo won't post an article saying Bopara should be in the England side for at least another week.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Hmmm, it can't be said that the students are exactly making the county bowlers work hard for their wickets, although Sussex are amusingly 14-2 against Loughborough. They were bowled out for 50-odd in one of these matches last year, you may remember.

At least Oxford are holding their own... although I do wonder whether Sam Agarwal is ever planning on graduating.

I played against Charlie Morris when he was 13. No indication that he was going to be this good...

 

[theegyptian]

haha looks like oxford might beat the county champions warwickshire

 

[Neil Pickup]

2/2 is not a good start to the run-chase, though. Guess it must be doing a bit at the Parks.

Still, as far as I know the last two Oxfordshire age group teams to play Warwickshire both won despite catastrophic starts to their run-chases. Keep it going, boys, believe...