The "silly points"

A blog by Splatthat:

My (late) season preview
Just a basic run through of last years results,
some key players, and some young players to keep an eye on

Derbyshire

Last Year:
County Championship: 147 points, 6th in Div 2
Pro40: 2 points, 8th in Div 2
Friends Provident Trophy: 8th in North Conference
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Rikki Clarke, signed from Surrey as captain. If he can perform Derbyshire should do well
One To Watch: Jonathan Clare, a young allrounder with considerable promise.

Durham

Last Year:
County Championship: 197.5 points, 2nd in Div 1
Pro40: 12 points, Champions of Div 2
Friends Provident Trophy: Champions
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Dale Benkenstein, the captain and a quality batsman
One To Watch: Ben Harmison, Steve’s younger brother and a good batsman

Essex

Last Year:
County Championship: 182 points, 4th in Div 2
Pro40: 5 points, 9th in Div 1, Relegated
Friends Provident Trophy: Semi Finals
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Pakistan’s legspinner Danish Kaneria
One To Watch: Promising young batsman Tom Westley

Glamorgan

Last Year:
County Championship: 92.5 points, 9th in Div 2
Pro40: 1 point, 9th in Div 2
Friends Provident Trophy: 9th in South Conference
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: The captain David Hemp, also a quality batsman
One To Watch: Young all rounder James Harris, who was impressive last season

Gloucestershire

Last Year:
County Championship: 139.5 points, 7th in Div 2
Pro40: 6 points, 6th in Div 1
Friends Provident Trophy: 3rd in South Conference
Twenty20: Finalists

Key Man: Steve Kirby will take wickets regularly
One To Watch: Thomas Stayt, a seam bowler who will be looking to break into the first team

Hampshire

Last Year:
County Championship: 177 points, 5th in Div 1
Pro40: 9 points, 4th in Div 1
Friends Provident Trophy: Finalists
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Dimitri Mascarenhas, a key player and the new captain
One To Watch: Slow left arm bowler Liam Dawson

Kent

Last Year:
County Championship: 153 points, 7th in Div 1
Pro40: 10 points, 5th in Div 2
Friends Provident Trophy: 4th in South Conference
Twenty20: Champions

Key Man: The captain Rob Key will lead the team and score plenty of runs
One To Watch: Joe Denly was impressive last year, can he build on that?

Lancashire

Last Year:
County Championship: 190 points, 3rd in Div 1
Pro40: 10 points, 3rd in Div 1
Friends Provident Trophy: 7th in North Conference
Twenty20: Semi Finalists

Key Man: Mark Chilton, the captain and opening batsman, who will want to lead Lancashire to success
One To Watch: 19 year old batsman Karl Brown

Leicestershire

Last Year:
County Championship: 115 points, 8th in Div 2
Pro40: 4 points, 7th in Div 2
Friends Provident Trophy: 6th in North Conference
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Paul Nixon, great at inspiring the team
One To Watch: Matthew Boyce, a promising young batsman who will want to break into the team

Middlesex

Last Year:
County Championship: 192.5 points, 3rd in Div 2
Pro40: 10 points, 3rd in Div 2, Promoted
Friends Provident Trophy: 7th in South Conference
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Owais Shah, who consistently gets runs for Middlesex
One To Watch: Steven Finn, the fast bowler who made his debut aged 16, is an exciting prospect

Northamptonshire

Last Year:
County Championship: 176 points, 5th in Div 2
Pro40: 6 points, 7th in Div 1, Relegated
Friends Provident Trophy: 9th in North Conference
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Lance Klusener, the hard hitting all rounder
One To Watch: Mark Nelson, a middle order batsman and bowler

Nottinghamshire

Last Year:
County Championship: 214.5 points, 2nd in Div 2, Promoted
Pro40: 10 points, 2nd in Div 1
Friends Provident Trophy: 3rd in North Conference
Twenty20: Quarter Finals

Key Man: Chris Read is a top class keeper, who will also captain the side and get runs
One To Watch: Alex Hales, a young opening batsman

Somerset

Last Year:
County Championship: 266 points, 1st in Div 2, Promoted
Pro40: 11 points, 2nd in Div 2, Promoted
Friends Provident Trophy: 6th in South Conference
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Marcus Trescothick, his retirement from international cricket has benefited Somerset
One To Watch: Their young wicket keeper Craig Kieswetter

Surrey

Last Year:
County Championship: 178 points, 4th in Div 1
Pro40: 10 points, 4th in Div 2
Friends Provident Trophy: 5th in South Conference
Twenty20: Group Stage

Key Man: Mark Ramprakash, the seemingly unstoppable batsman
One To Watch: Laurie Evans, a good young batsman

Sussex

Last Year:
County Championship: 202 points, Champions of Div 1
Pro40: 8 points, 5th in Div 1
Friends Provident Trophy: 8th in South Conference
Twenty20: Semi Finalists

Key Man: Mushtaq Ahmed, the leading wicket taker for several seasons
One To Watch: Ben Brown, a young wicketkeeper batsman

Warwickshire
Last Year:
County Championship: 139 points, 8th in Div 1, Relegated
Pro40: 5 points, 8th in Div 1, Relegated
Friends Provident Trophy: Semi Finals
Twenty20: Quarter Finals

Key Man: Darren Maddy, a good all round player and the captain
One To Watch: Nicholas James, a young all rounder

Worcestershire

Last Year:
County Championship: 95 points, 9th in Div 1, Relegated
Pro40: 13 points, Champions of Div 1
Friends Provident Trophy: 4th in North Conference
Twenty20: Quarter Finals

Key Man: Vikram Solanki consistently gets runs for Worcestershire
One To Watch: Moeen Ali, a much talked about all rounder

Yorkshire

Last Year:
County Championship: 175 points, 6th in Div 1
Pro40: 9 points, 6th in Div 2
Friends Provident Trophy: 5th in North Conference
Twenty20: Quarter Finals

Key Man: Anthony McGrath, great batsman and handy bowler
One To Watch: People will be watching Adil Rashid again, the promising legspinning all rounder.