The sun is shining, the mercury is rising and banal stories of “parts of UK hotter than (insert some generic, typically hot, holiday destination here)” are somehow making the six o’clock news – who cares about Ukraine, Gaza or the end of capitalism as we thought we knew it? Leaving the news aside, cricket fans will be struggling with the concept of this fine weather and the start, on the 4th of April, of cricket’s County Championship.
Those familiar with domestic cricket will be used to the early parts of the season being plagued by rain, wind and temperatures in the single digits. Supporters in hats, scarves and thick coats, and overseas players with hands tucked deep inside hand-warmer-filled pockets are the more the norm for the start of the domestic four-day game. However, as defending champions Surrey get their season underway with a fixture at Chelmsford against Essex, the thermometers will be showing a balmy 20 degrees Celsius. What’s more, the glorious yellow sun icon is lighting up every hour of the weather forecast and the batters will be hoping to make hay, happy they don’t have to face the usual cloud-assisted hooping ball.
All 20 teams are in action on the opening day of the 2025 campaign, the 4th of April. Our focus here is on the 10 counties in Division One, and more specifically, can anyone stop Surrey from landing the title for a fourth year in a row?
Who Is in Division One?
One side that we can categorically rule out for glory this year is Lancashire, after they were relegated to Division Two last term for the fourth time since they won the top-flight title in 2011. Their great rivals Yorkshire were one of the two teams that were promoted, meaning there will be no Roses clash once again in 2025. Sussex were the other team to earn promotion and the 10 top-flight counties are listed below.
- Durham
- Essex
- Hampshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Somerset
- Surrey
- Sussex
- Warwickshire
- Worcestershire
- Yorkshire
What Do the Bookies Reckon?
If you believe the bookies, who, let’s face it, know a thing or two about discerning likely winners, then Surrey are all set to make it four titles in a row. The champions are clear favourites, with some betting sites pricing them as short as even money, broadly equating to them having a 50% chance of claiming the title.
Somerset and Essex are both priced at 6/1 as joint-second favourites so the opening-day Chelmsford clash might give us a bit of insight into how the season will pan out. All the other counties are deemed to be real outsiders at double-digit odds, with Durham (9/1) and Hampshire (17/2) deemed the most likely to challenge. That said, aside from rank outsiders Worcester, on offer at 22/1, the rest are all generally available at around the 16/1 mark with most bookmakers.
In summary then, based solely on the odds, Surrey are highly likely to make it four titles in a row. Back in the 1950s they won an amazing seven County Championships in succession, but no rival has managed even three in a row since then. If anyone is to stop them from claiming more silverware in 2025, Somerset and Essex might be the ones to watch, but do the bookies have it right?
Can Surrey Be Stopped?
In recent seasons Surrey have been easily the best team. Last year they won eight of their 14 matches and won the title by 17 points. It was a similar picture in 2023, with eight wins again and a margin of 20 points, whilst in 2022 they amassed their biggest points total, helped by a huge tally of batting points, to win by 25 points, again with eight wins.
They have been hugely successful financially and much as they like to say otherwise, that has certainly played a big part in their success. Surrey’s huge membership plus the astonishing success of their conference and events business means they have a financial clout that no other county can come close to matching.
Their ownership of the Oval puts them at a huge advantage over, for example Middlesex, with Lord’s owned by the MCC, rather than the county. Whilst Surrey have to operate within many of the same financial restrictions as their rivals, their financial might – and of course location – has meant they can attract and retain top players, provide the best training facilities and develop a powerful and wide-reaching academy.
They have a brilliant and well-balanced squad and even allowing for the many players that they lose to England duty, it is hard to see anyone stopping them. Coach Gareth Batty has proved brilliant in his role and on the pitch they are very ably led by Rory Burns. Every part of the club is elite and whilst the likes of Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson will miss most of the championship, not to mention the many players they have that will feature in white-ball cricket for England, the depth of their squad is quite astounding.
The Challengers
If anyone is to challenge them then Somerset could prove to be the ones. Last year the county, who have never won the County Championship, were in the mix for all three trophies but came up short. They lost the finals of both the One-Day Cup and the T20 Blast and finished third in the County Championship. They have an excellent bowling attack and if their batting can click and Archie Vaughan continues to progress, they might just cause a surprise.
Yorkshire may be capable of an even bigger surprise though after they finished second in Division Two last year. Jonny Bairstow will be hurting due to falling out of favour with England but historically he has played his best cricket when he has had a point to prove. Yorkshire are the most successful side in the history of this competition and if they could call upon the services of England stars Joe Root and Harry Brook they would certainly be capable of pushing Surrey hard.
As it is, they are outsiders. However, if Bairstow, who is 35, can produce his best form with bat and gloves, he might have the fire to lead them to a shock title. He has already stated that he does not believe his England career is over. An outstanding season as skipper of his home county, who have a nicely balanced side with decent bowlers, batters and some fine youngsters, might be just the way to force his way back into the national reckoning.