Spring has sprung, it’s bucketing down daily, it must be time for another season of domestic cricket action to get underway on English soil. The 2024 County Championship begins on Friday, with defending champions Surrey travelling to Old Trafford to take on Lancashire one of the opening round highlights.
We are all currently doing our anti-rain dances, hoping that Mother Nature is a cricket fan too, and is waiting excitedly for the first balls to be bowled like the rest of us.
Embed from Getty ImagesSurrey Aim to Three-peat in 2024
The first County Championship crown was handed to Surrey way back in 1890. They would also win the following two titles. 132 years on and nothing has changed, well the Brown Caps are gunning for their third consecutive Championship title in-a-row any road. Surrey’s 2023 success was their 22nd in total and they sit second in the overall Championship wins (Yorkshire are top with 33 titles). They are attempting to win three successive titles for the first time since the 1950s, where they lifted the trophy seven years on the bounce.
County Championship 2023 –Surrey Defend the Crown
Surrey kicked off the defence of their 2022 crown against Lancashire at Old Trafford on April 6th, 2023 (the same fixture that awaits Rory Burns’ men this week). Despite the visitors being the dominant side (Ben Foakes notching the first of three tons during 2023), Lancashire held firm on day 4 to grab a vital opening draw.
Surrey wouldn’t have to wait too long to open their account as they wrapped up cosy 9-wicket victories over both Hampshire and Warwickshire before the end of April. Next up, a trip to Chelmsford, to take on unbeaten Essex. In a match, where 62 was the highest individual score, the sides fought out a dogged draw. Gus Atkinson, playing in one of the five Championship matches he’d start throughout 2023, starred during Essex’s 1st innings, where he claimed six of the host’s scalps.
Gareth Batty’s Brown Caps would then go on a 3-game winning run, beating Middlesex & Kent at The Oval, and Kent again in Canterbury. They would finally be brought down to earth with a bump, with their unbeaten run ended by Lancashire at The Oval at the end of June. It was Surrey’s first County Championship defeat at home since July 2019. Despite a solid 1st innings performance, they would be skittled for just 84 when they batted again. Surrey failed to bounce back against Notts in the following match at The Oval, with the bat ruling the ball as the game ended in a draw.
It would be sunglasses on and feet up for Surrey during the height of summer though as they rattled off easy victories against Middlesex, Somerset, and Warwickshire to maintain their title push. Those wins would prove even more crucial, with a disappointing draw against Division 1 whipping boys Northants and a loss to Hampshire in their final two games of the season. Despite finishing with a whimper, they had done enough, finishing 20pts clear of their nearest rivals Essex. Thankfully for Surrey, Essex had lost momentum at the vital time, losing both of their final two matches.
Embed from Getty ImagesCounty Championship 2024 – The Front Runners
The Surrey boys will be spurred on to give Alec Stewart the perfect send-off. The former England and Brown Caps legend is due to hang up his pads for the final time following this season, after a 11-year stint as Director of Cricket at The Oval. Surrey’s 2023 Championship success was built on a great all-round team effort, as there were no stand-out players with the ball or bat. None of their players appeared in the top-10 runs scored or wickets taken standings. Dom Sibley, Jamie Smith, Ben Foakes and Rory Burns all chipped in with important runs though. Jordan Clark, Daniel Worrall, Tom Lawes & Sean Abbott would do the same regards wicket tallies. All those mentioned remain in the Surrey ranks. The capture of Dan Lawrence from title rivals Essex also looks a very positive addition to the batting ranks.
The bookies have chalked up 2023 runners-up, Essex, as being Surrey’s main rivals again for Championship honours. The retirement of Sir Alastair Cook after 20 years county service is of course a major loss. Though the arrival of another high-scoring left-hander (& former international captain) in the shape of South African, Dean Elgar. He will help ease the pain. He will look to aid Tom Westley & Matt Critchley in the batting department. Both of whom clocked up impressive totals last year. Elgar’s Boks buddy, Simon Harmer, is staying put. Following a stellar 2023 campaign, where he finished 2nd on the ‘Most Wickets’ taken list. Just behind him on that list was Essex team-mate, Jamie Porter. Both played all 14 County Championship matches last season and will likely cause plenty of problems once again.
Embed from Getty ImagesDurham’s Resurrection
Durham & Worcestershire are back amongst the County Championship big guns following their promotion from Division 2. Worcestershire return for the first time since 2018, Durham since their controversial demotion in 2016 due to financial irregularities. The bookies don’t fancy either side to pose a threat this season in Division 1. But Durham, who ran away with the Division 2 title in 2023 offer the biggest threat of the two.
Durham has two interesting overseas players who could cause a stir at Chester-le-Street and beyond this term. Aussie cult-hero, Scott Boland, joins the ranks for the first half of the Championship season. He will be keen to impress after struggling to make an impact in the Ashes Series on England soil last year. South African, David Bedingham, returns to the Durham fold after a positive 2023 season. He racked up over 1019 runs, over 300 more than in 2022. Alex Lees will look to impress with the bat again. He would finish on top of the Division 2 run-scoring pile with a staggering sum of 1347, which included five tons and five 50’s. The bowling duo of Ben Raine & Matthew Potts created havoc in Division 2 last season, claiming 114 wickets between them. They’ll both be hoping to claim some prize scalps during 2023.
County Championship 2024 – Round 1 Schedule
Durham v Hampshire
(Seat Unique Riverside, Chester-le-Street)
Kent v Somerset
(The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury)
Lancashire v Surrey
(Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester)
Nottinghamshire v Essex
(Trent Bridge, Nottingham)
Warwickshire v Worcestershire
(Edgbaston, Birmingham)
All matches (are due to) start at 11:00 on Friday April 5th
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