It's another big week of Cricket in the County Championship in both divisions 1 and 2 as both titles in both divisions are wide open with teams battling for promotion to division 1, plenty of division 1 teams looking over their shoulders at relegation while there are also plenty of teams chasing the hardest title in English Domestic Cricket to win with the Division 1 title well and truly up for grabs and with the majority of teams in both divisions in action it will be another week of big moves.
Let's take a look then at all of the matches starting both on Saturday, Sunday and Monday in divisions 1 and 2 and how they are likely to go:
Division 1:
Saturday 14th June:
Nottinghamshire Vs Middlesex- These 2 teams both look in very good shape in the championship and both look pretty evenly matched this season. Last time out Middlesex and Nottinghamshire both drew their games and even though there is only 8 points between them, Middlesex have won 2 more games than Notts. Both have very good squads and will be tough teams to beat especially at home, but there are so many draws in the championship it is silly, with Notts drawing half of their games. Because of how strong they both look with the only obvious weakness either team has being Middlesex's batting I think this looks very much like a draw.
Sunday 15th June:
Durham Vs Lancashire - This is an enormous game at the bottom of the county championship with only 2 points separating these 2 sides in 8th and 7th with Durham having a game in hand. Last time out both sides once again had draws which seems to be the flavour of the championship. While Durham look more consistent with batting and bowling it is simply the 6 draws they've had and no wins keeping them where they are while Lancashire look to be in some trouble with their batting and they've only won once themselves. Because of all of this I'd make Durham a decent favourite on their home turf and if they can finally convert a good position they could put Lancashire in a lot of trouble.
Northamptonshire Vs Warwickshire - Northamptonshire have had a nightmare season in the championship this season and really need something big to happen as with 5 losses from 6 games they are already in massive trouble with every aspect of their game looking quite poor. Meanwhile, Warwickshire struggled a little with their batting and with 2 wins, 2 losses and 3 draws they've been very inconsistent but the way Northamptonshire have been going there should be a winner this week with 2 poor batting line-ups but Warwickshire just have a bit of extra bowling quality which could win them this contest.
Monday 16th June:
Sussex Vs Yorkshire - Yorkshire have been brilliant in the championship so far this season with such a good squad and 3 wins, 4 draws and only 1 defeat from the first half of their games and they really are in a great position to challenge for the title. Sussex haven't been that much worse than them though with 2 wins 4 draws and 2 defeats and they look reasonably consistent with batting and bowling. Sussex had a poor defeat to Somerset in the last game while Yorkshire drew last time out and they just appear to have a slight edge in this match up. However, if I had to swing for 1 result it would be a draw, but if you asked me to pick a winner it would be Yorkshire, but these 2 should really be quite evenly matched.
Division 2:
Sunday 15th June:
Derbyshire Vs Surrey - Onto Division 2 now and last time out Surrey had a massive scoring draw with Gloucestershire while Derbyshire had a good win against serial wooden spoon winners Leicestershire. Derbyshire though are still 2nd from bottom while Surrey are in 5th simply because of the amount of draws they've had, most of which would be at home and they look pretty strong all around you'd say while Derbyshire just look weaker overall and I think that this time around that Surrey should be getting the win here as they are clearly a stronger side.
Hampshire Vs Essex - This should be a very interesting game with Essex sitting in 3rd place while Hampshire are in second, even if there is some distance between them. If Essex are to have any promotion chances they really need to win but cannot afford to lose while Hampshire haven't lost any of their 8 games so far and both of these 2 sides are very strong which always leads you to point to a draw as the likely result with the amount of draws you see in the county championship.
Glamorgan Vs Kent - Both of these teams last games were against Essex and both sides drew the games with Glamorgan's batting looking slightly weaker while Kent's bowling looked slightly weaker. That's been the story of their seasons so far with Kent being slightly more consistent while Glamorgan have really struggled for batting points. The only difference between the 2 in their opening games is that Kent have one extra loss while Glamorgan have drawn 5 matches and once again the likely result here is probably a draw with the most likely winners perhaps being Kent but it will be tough away from home.
Leicestershire Vs Worcestershire - In this one it's top against bottom in division 2 with Worcestershire having a lot of momentum behind them, while Leicestershire have none. Leicestershire have failed to win any of their matches so far while Worcestershire haven't lost a game and with Worcestershire having an overall stronger side than what is an essentially poor Leicester team there is only one winner here you'd say.
These really are some big matches this week that could shape how teams seasons do, whether they continue to go hard in the county championship or settle for mid-table, whether they are set to struggle for survival or whether they should be safe or whether they can still manage promotion or can start to focus on the one-day competitions. Whatever happens it will be an intriguing few days and I hope you all enjoyed my preview.
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