County Championship Division 2: Pre-Season Preview
Will Jackson 
The new county cricket season is just round the corner, with nine matches across the two divisions set to kick off the English domestic season of 2025.
With the way the cricket calendar works these days, it perhaps feels as though cricket has never left our screens but there is always something magical about the start of the County Championship season.
Surrey and Lancashire are the two pre-season favourites among betting sites, but how is each side shaping up after a winter away?
I've had a look through each of the squads ahead of the opening round of fixtures including players brought in or let go - but I'll be staying away from offering any cricket tips or predictions!
We'll start with Division Two today before coming to Division One later in the week.
Division Two Odds
Before we go through each team, here's a quick look at the betting odds to win Division Two of the County Championship - which you can use alongside as part of a free bet.
It's not really a surprise to see Lancashire come out top in the bookies' odds considering the size of the county, but I'm not sure that represents great value considering the profile of their squad and the struggles they have had of late.
Middlesex ran Yorkshire close for second last season so it would be no surprise to see them up there again, while it's expected to be another struggle for the likes of Derbyshire, but keep an eye out for dark horses in Gloucestershire.
Derbyshire
There was always going to be a bit of upheaval at Derbyshire this winter after winning just one game in the previous two seasons.
Stalwart Wayne Madsen has taken the captaincy reigns at the ripe age of 41 but he remains as safe a pair of hands as any, having passed 1,000 runs once again last season and averaging over 50.
They had their bad luck last season, with overseas quick Blair Tickner forced to cut short his spell owing to ill health in his family, so they'll be hoping for a turnaround in fortunes but it's pretty hard to see that happening right away.
Madsen admitted in an interview with Wisden recently that their best chance of doing something this year was in one of the white-ball competitions, and I'd back that up. Caleb Jewell will be an interesting player to keep an eye on - he has looked really good in the Big Bash for Hobart Hurricanes for the past couple of seasons, but I wouldn't have him in the same calibre of overseas as some other counties have got.
Just a cursory glance at last year's averages shows a team overly reliant on Madsen with the bat and Zak Chappell with the ball. If Tickner and Jewell can fire then they should at least be able to improve on their tally of wins.
In: Martin Andersson (Middlesex), Jack Morley (Lancashire), Caleb Jewell (Overseas), Blair Tickner (Overseas)
Out: Sam Conners (Durham)
Glamorgan
It's been a pretty manic few months for Glamorgan, who sacked head coach Grant Bradburn in December following a misconduct charge.
While the circumstances around his departure are very distasteful, you wonder whether they might actually be in a better position now he has gone, with England Lions coach Richard Dawson brought in to replace him on an interim basis and Matthew Mott joining on a part-time basis.
Given that Mott is a World Cup-winning coach in both the men's and wome's games, you'd have to say this is a bit of a coup for the Welsh club, and I'll be keeping a very close eye on how that goes.
Glamorgan won just twice last year and were pretty hopeless with the bat - only Derbyshire picked up fewer batting bonus points - so they need more from players around Colin Ingram and Sam Northeast, who squeezed past 1,000 runs for the season despite hitting 335* in April last year.
Ingram was the leading run-scorer in Division Two last season with Northeast in seventh place, which shows you just how much the rest of them underperformed. With no Marnus Labuschagne at this stage, it's not immediately clear how they will put that right but someone like Kiran Carlson has the ability to do that and improve on a decent campaign.
I think the bowling stocks look decent with Asitha Fernando a shrewd addition while Shoaib Bashir needs a good start to the season after a difficult winter - if he can find some sort of form then Glamorgan will be the happy beneficiaries.
In: Ned Leonard (Somerset), Callum Nicholls (Youth), Shoaib Bashire (Loan), Colin Ingram (Overseas), Asitha Fernando (Overseas)
Out: Harry Podmore (Retired), Prem Sisodya (Retired)
Gloucestershire
It's been two pretty tough years for Gloucestershire in Division Two, but I have them down as dark horses for this season if they get off to a good start.
The main reason for that is the signing of Cameron Green, even if it is only for a couple of months.
The Australia all-rounder has been injured for a while but he still has the potential to be world class in my eyes, and that's just as a batter before we even consider what he offers with the ball.
It was quite an unusual signing because there was a significant third-party contribution made to bring him to Gloucester, but if he can help them win a few games before he goes off for international duty, then I think we could have a bit of a story developing.
I have a sneaking suspicion his spell could be cut short for one reason or another, but lets see what happens.
In terms of the rest of the squad, Cam Bancroft is a good appointment as captain and a good runscorer at this level - with a point to prove to selectors as well - but collectively they need more runs to support James Bracey, who it was good to see back in form after a few years struggling to regain his pre-England form.
Zafar Gohar will be a loss as he goes to Middlesex, but in Zaman Akhter they have a guy who is highly rated and capable of a breakout season. He will need to lead the attack and if he does, he could find himself in the frame for higher honours.
In: Cameron Bancroft (Overseas), Cameron Green (Overseas)
Out: Zafar Gohar (Middlesex)
Kent
I think the most eye-catching thing Kent have done over the winter is hire Adam Hollioake as their head coach, following the resignation of club legend Matt Walker at the end of last season, when they were relegated from Division One.
I must admit that was a bit out of the blue for me. I wasn't too aware of his coaching credentials beyond occasionally popping up as a 'mentor' or assistant coach, but he did have a stint with Surrey last season so it shouldn't be too much of a shock to the system.
he obviously has huge leadership credentials from his playing days, and given his CV from that perspective it's actually quite an exciting appointment - I just have no idea how it will go!
I think a huge talking point will be the early season form of Zak Crawley as he seeks to re-establish his England credentials following an appalling run of form. He really needs runs, so could Kent be the beneficiaries? We know he doesn't like facing bowling around 75mph-80mph, so I worry a little for him, but let's be honest, he could make absolute mincemeat of some of the attacks.
Tawanda Muyeye is another who needs to have a good start. He is a class player but struggled last season but this could be what he needs and if it is, then like Crawley he will be one to watch this season.
You would usually expect the team coming down to dominate the betting markets in pre-season, but I just don't think Kent have the bowling to do that. Matt Parkinson will do well for hismelf if the weather continues to be this dry into the summer, but aside from Wes Agar it doesn't look like there's much there.
In: Chris Benjamin (Warwickshire), Corey Flintoff (Lancashire), Wes Agar (Overseas), Kashif Ali (Overseas), Keith Dudgeon (Overseas)
Out: Arafar Bhuiyan (Released) Hamidullah Qadri (Released)
Lancashire
It's no surprise to see Lancashire installed as the pre-season favourites, but that's mainly due to the size of the club rather than anything else.
They didn't exactly stink the place out in Division One last season when getting relegated, but it wouldn't take a long look at social media to see that supporters were pretty peeved off with the job Dale Benkenstein did and the direction of the club.
They have responded with some pretty big signings for this level. Marcus Harris has churned out runs for years in Division Two - while never making the step up - and is probably as sure a thing as you can get, while Chris Green was excellent for them when he played last year (although unlikely to feature much outside of the T20 Blast this year) and Anderson Phillip looks an exciting if unproven addition.
Clearly the biggest talking point about the Red Rose is James Anderson and his availability this season. If he plays regularly and still has that zip - I'm 99% sure he will do - then he could absolutely clean up. He'd have been too good in Division One, never mind Division Two.
So with Anderson, Tom Bailey, Keaton Jennings, Marcus Harris and Josh Bohannon in their side - what can go wrong?
It certainly looks a strong side, but it's what came beneath those players that was the issue last season with Rocky Flintoff batting at number four far too often - even for as big a talent as he is - and other youngsters failing to convince.
It will be exciting to follow Flintoff's progress this season and I think he will find the level far easier at this stage of his career, but if too much responsibility is placed on his shoulders again then Lancashire might come unstuck.
In: Michael Jones (Durham), Marcus Harris (Overseas), Chris Green (Overseas), Anderson Phillip (Overseas)
Out: Steven Croft (Retired), George Lavelle (Released), Jack Morley (Derbyshire), Corey Flintoff (Kent)
Leicestershire
After what's felt like years of toil, that's now back-to-back season Leicestershire have put together with finishes of fourth and then fifth last year.
And I think we'll have another positive year for the Foxes, even if it is one that falls short of a real promotion bid or anything like that, but if things go well they might not be far off.
To start off with, Peter Handscomb is a very solid appointment as captain. They won't go far wrong with that, and they'll hope he can better the 894 runs scored last season.
The signing of Shan Masood could be a masterpiece. It's a shame they won't see him until the latter part of May, but in previous stints at Yorkshire and Derbyshire he has proved one of the best batters at this level, and he could provide that support to Handscomb that he has lacked - Rishi Patel with 719 was the second-highest run-scorer last season.
There's a lot to like about the crop of players Leicestershire have brought through. They - and England - will be hoping Rehan Ahmed can take the next step with his batting and become a genuine all-rounder, while I think we will see more from him with the ball this year in what looks like it should be a better summer for spinners.
In general they could do with more from their bowlers if they are to seriously challenge (Scott Currie was the top bowler with just 29 wickets), and there will be plenty of intrigue around the progress of Josh Hull after his England Test debut last season despite taking just two Championship wickets at 182.50.
In: Logan van Beek (Middlesex), Ben Green (Loan), Shan Masood (Overseas), Peter Handscomb (Overseas)
Out: Sam Evans (Released), Marcus Harris (Lancashire)
Middlesex
If I was going to pick anyone to challenge Lancashire, it would be Middlesex.
They ran Yorkshire close for second place last season and have responded by adding Kane Williamson and Dane Paterson to their squad.
Everyone knows about Williamson's credentials. He's one of the best batters in the world in every format, but he also has played Championship cricket before so knows the schedule, the conditions etc, he is as good a character as you can get and just ticks every box you want from an overseas.
Paterson did a great job at Nottinghamshire too and has broken back into the South Africa side so that looks like a good bit of business for the early rounds so you look at it and think they have most bases covered.
Ryan Higgins is one of the best players in the league, Sam Robson rediscovered his best form, Leeus du Plooy is a very talented batter and Max Holden showed that he is really stepping up now too.
With Toby Roland-Jones and Higgins leading the bowling attack along with Paterson - Ethan Bamber will be a miss but has been well replaced - they should have a really good side and I think they should finish in the top two.
In: Ben Geddes (Surrey), Aaran Sawan (Youth), Naavya Sharma (Youth), Sebastian Morgan (Youth), Zafar Gohar (Gloucestershire), Dan Paterson (Overseas), Kane Williamson (Overseas)
Out: Ethan Bamber (Warwickshire), Martin Andersson (Derbyshire), Mark Stoneman (Hampshire), Robbie White (Retired), Thilan (Walallawita)
Northamptonshire
Darren Lehmann's arrival at Northants has been the big move of the winter, and given what he's done in the game I think that's a pretty exciting appointment for supporters.
Yes he's pretty brash, outspoken and has been involved in a few unsavoury incidents over the years, but he has all the experience in the world and will be one to watch over the course of the season.
He has clearly had some influence over the signing of Harry Conway who has a decent record for New South Wales in Australia, but the re-signing of Matthew Breetzke is a good one with the South African having just broken into their ODI side.
It sounded like a pretty unhappy ship last season despite a fourth-placed finish (they only won two games), so change was inevitable and there has been some turnover in players.
Emilio Gay and Jack White will be big misses and looking at their squad, I'm not sure where the wins are coming from.
Ricardo Vasconcelos is a talented batter and will want to step up, while Luke Procter, George Bartlett and James Sales will all be hoping for big seasons with the bat, while Ben Sanderson is the clear leader of the attack and even at 36 will no doubt be one of the bowlers of the division.
In: Dom Leech (Yorkshire), Arush Buchake (Youth), Aadi Sharma (Youth), Liam Guthrie, Matt Breetzke (Overseas), Yuzvendra Chahal (Overseas), Harry Conway (Overseas)
Out: Emilio Gay (Durham), George Gowler (Released), Alex Russell (Released), George Weldon (Released), Jack White (Yorkshire)
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