Lancashire in the mood for glory
Cricinfo Betting charts Division One of the County Championship and finds Lancashire as potential winners
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Last year provided one of the great moments in the history of the County Championship, when the perennial bridesmaids, Sussex, finally claimed the title that had eluded them since their formation in 1839. It was a triumph that was underwritten by their two overseas stars, Murray Goodwin and Mushtaq Ahmed, and overseen by their battle-hardened captain, Chris Adams, who has subsequently been honoured as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year.
No-one will be taking Sussex quite so lightly this season, but it is improbable that they will be quite so feared as their wounded arch-rivals in South-East London. As the self-styled "Manchester United of cricket", Surrey's 2003 season had a curiously familiar ring to it - fading to third just when the pundits assumed they had the title race in the bag.
But Sussex and Surrey's contrasting anxieties could spell good news for Lancashire, second in Division One last season, and the smart-money bet for the title this time around. Their off-field issues have centred around a possible move from Old Trafford, but on the pitch they have a more settled squad than at any stage since the early 1990s. Warren Hegg and Mike Watkinson have a fine rapport as captain and coach, and in Carl Hooper and Stuart Law, Lancashire possess two of the most destructive middle-order batsmen in county cricket.
Another side whose prospects are on the up are Warwickshire, who will have been watching Heath Streak's falling-out with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union with keen interest. Zimbabwe's loss would be Warwickshire's gain, and with Nick Knight in charge of a troupe of players with England ambitions - including Michael Powell, Ian Bell and Jim Troughton - Edgbaston may be revisiting the early-1990s glory days come September.
Andrew Strauss is another being spoken of in dispatches from the ECB headquarters, but while a Test call-up is not out of the question this summer, his primary concern will be leading Middlesex out of their recent slough. He will be helped on his way by one of the more explosive overseas pairings this season, South Africa's Lance Klusener and Nantie Hayward.
Hayward's arrival at Lord's is a blow to his former club Worcestershire, whom he helped out of the second division last year with some terrifically quick spells of bowling. But in Andy Bichel, Worcestershire have recruited a proven county performer who is sure to have been fired up by his omission from Australia's Test and ODI plans this year. He typifies a squad that is unlikely to be greatly affected by international call-ups, but has the talent to push some of the bigger teams to the limit.
Gloucestershire are another side that have become used to punching above their weight, particularly in one-day cricket, where in 2003 they won the C&G Trophy for the third time in five years. Mark Alleyne has since retired from first-class cricket to become their coach, with the four-day captaincy passing to Chris Taylor, but it is the loss of their influential overseas player - and Wisden Cricketer of the Year - Ian Harvey which will be the bitterest blow to their prospects of staying in the top flight.
Influential Aussies, however, don't come much more influential that Northamptonshire's Mike Hussey, whose gargantuan tally of 1697 runs included a third triple-century in as many seasons. But he has opted to take a year away from county cricket to concentrate on building a Test career. David Sales, his replacement, could not have a harder act to follow, although in Usman Afzaal, Northants have at least recruited a player of hunger and talent.