With the LV County Championship just around the corner, can Sussex do it for a third time and which new faces will have an influence on the outcome?

After such an enthralling finish to the end of last season who knows what thrills and spills the coming season may throw up. It was fantastic that there could be so many different possible outcomes on the last day of the 2007 season.

One thing is for sure, however, and that is the weather which is likely to be as unpredictable as ever. Only a weekend before the start of the Championship, England has been experiencing snow and hail showers. Typical!

Most notable names in the County Cricket pre-season merry-go-round include: Jason Gillespie to Glamorgan and New Zealand quickie Shane Bond completing his move to Hampshire. They are two well renowned world class bowlers, although the fans are sure to be equally entertained by the batting talents of new arrivals Wisden cricketer of the year 2008 Shivnerine Chanderpaul, from the West Indies and South African opener Neil McKenzie both joining Durham.

The argument about overseas players has probably been put to bed for now, following the ECB’s ruling that there can be only one overseas player per team although the County Championship seems to lurch from dealing with one issue straight into another. The topic of Kolpak has arisen within the last couple of years, and in only a short space of time has caused a good deal of controversy.

The rule states that; ‘anyone with a work permit from a country which has an associate trading agreement with the EU had the same rights as a European worker’. This means that County clubs can sign cricketers from around 100 countries, including South Africa and Zimbabwe, without having to designate them as overseas players, so long as they have not represented their country in the past year.

The Kolpak legislation was brought into force in 2003 following a ruling by the European Court of Justice. Undoubtedly Yorkshire will be one team who have no qualms with the decision which allowed them to play both Jaques Rudolph and Gerard Brophy in their team in addition to their overseas star. Both players were crucial to Yorkshire last year.

Worcestershire coach Steve Rhodes however, is firmly sat on the other side of the fence. ‘Where's the opportunity for our young English guys?" he asks. Mike Gatting, recently appointed as Managing Director of Cricket Partnerships, a new role created following the Schofield Report which involves increasing the number of good quality English players being produced, supports this view "Overseas players have been wonderful for the game but if we can get more English players coming through that can only be good for English cricket".

The English County circuit has some really good young home grown players. A few have real potential and are worth watching out for in 2008. Yorkshire leg spinning all rounder Adil Rashid will look to successfully spearhead both aspects of Yorkshires attack. Another good season for him and he may well place pressure on Monty Panesar for an international place.

Batting wise last years England U19 captain Rory Hamilton Brown has made a big move to reigning champions Sussex. He is someone who really does have the makings of a quality player. Hopefully his winter move will help him to fulfil his potential. Input from the likes of Michael Yardy and Matty Prior both with recent international experience can only help his development.

As for Sussex, they will always be strong. With spinner Mushtaq Ahmed at their disposal they have an individual match winner. They also seem to have a real team bond and work well as a unit. Last season did however see a number of teams close the gap between themselves and Sussex. This may be the year they struggle to be once again crowned champions.

So the waiting is almost over. All that can be done is to pray for some good weather and sit back and watch some top quality cricket. If division 1 is anywhere near as closely fought as last season we are set for a cracker.

Can Sussex Do it Again?

LV County Championship

It is seven years since Yorkshire won the County Championship. Yorkshire

coach and ex England & Yorkshire wicketkeeper batsman Richard Blakey

however, believes this the year the title could go North.

His former County finished a competitive fourth last season in Division 1.

However for much of the time they were in contention to be crowned

Champions, and for a small period even led the division, before falling

away towards the end. ‘The squad is relatively young and full of promising

talent’ stated Blakey. A major plus and part of the reason why Yorkshire

did so well last season was the performances of a number of these youngsters.

‘For too many years Yorkshire have relied on the runs and wickets of just one or two’ commented the former glove man. It seemed last year Yorkshire had finally started to perform more as a team. Collective contributions from the majority of the team on the day made a massive difference. Youngsters such as opener Joe Sayers and bowler Amjal Shazad are just two examples of players who played key roles in making Yorkshire into a force to be reckoned with.

Richard Blakey picked out two men to watch in 2008; Tim Bresnan and Adil Rashid. ‘Adil was outstanding last season; he took both wickets and scored lots of valuable middle order runs’. The young leg-spinning all rounder was a real threat at times and could be just as influential with a bat in his hands. The 20 year old already has a century to his name and has amassed a total of 905 runs at an average of just under 40. His performances last year earned him his first cap for the England Lions. It is mind blowing to think that he is only 20 and is still learning. ‘Adil can be as good as he wants to be’ stated Blakey, who has no doubts that Rashid will one day play for England. No wonder then that there is much talk in the press of him even now putting Monty Panesar under a great deal of pressure.

Tim Bresnan also had a big hand in Yorkshires relative success last season. ‘Tim has been around a bit longer than some of the other youngsters but last year he really moved on a level’ said Blakey. He also earned a call up with Rashid for the England Lions game against India. This then led to Bresnan making his full international debut in England’s one day game with Sri Lanka. Richard Blakey had this to say on his international call up, ‘I was chuffed to bits for the lad. He fully deserved his cap and by no means disgraced himself on the day’. It will be interesting to see if Bresnan can produce his best more consistently at Headingly this year and play a crucial role in helping Yorkshire compete for the Division1 title.

Yorkshire has brought in experienced Pakistani bowler Rana Naveed who was instrumental in helping Sussex regain their title during 2007. He is a proven wicket taker in all formats of the game and alongside captain Darren Gough will form a great bowling partnership. ‘He is a proven international bowler’ said Blakey, however he went on to say: ‘although he makes our bowling seem strong, his signing may well leave the batting slightly short. Younus Khan was a massive for us last year and we will miss his runs’.

Yorkshire is valued at 10/1 but remain many people’s dark horses. They look very strong bowling wise, but as Richard Blakey said, they may well regret not going for an overseas batsman after plumping for a bowler, which puts a lot of pressure on vice-captain McGrath, Craig White and star man Jaques Rudolph. ‘It will be a real challenge for the squad in 2008, and a chance to see how much our young talent has progressed. They must perform this year if Yorkshire is to stand any chance of competing with last seasons Champions Sussex.’

Cricket Going Global

Cricket has been played for a number of years by a select number of countries. However this does look set to change. With the recent introductions of Ireland, Bangledesh amongst other small up and coming nations cricket is definately expanding.

The next country gracing the sport is Canada.'standards are improving dramatically and in time Canada will be able to compete with the 10 full members' this according to Ben Stinga's blog.

I find it hard to believe that a nation such as Canada or neighbours America would find the game of cricket to their fancy. The characteristics usually associated with american sport is; fast moving, highly exciting and uncomplicated sporting experiences. For them to see the game of cricket the way we do would be undoubtebly phenomenol for the game of cricket.

I think the world of cricket may undoubtedly rise within the next few years as with the introduction of the twenty20 world cup and the new up and coming Indian Premier League. A showcase for the worlds best players taking part in one competition againts eachother. I cant wait!

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To Spin or Not to Spin

Graeme Swann has spoken out this week in his blog, saying although England may have suffered a series defeat to New Zealand they are still improving as a team.

'Its a setback for us, but Peter Moores has said we are a team on a journey'. Graeme Swann is a relatively new member to the England one day set up however he has impressed in the small number of games he has played. He is unlikely to threaten Monty Panesars test place when the test series comes around but his off spin has provided a new dimension to an England attack.

This then was a suprise to Jonathon Agnew who said that 'England got the team selection wrong!'. Usually teams opt for the two spinners at Christchurcgh as it can be a slow turning pitch so Aggers was dumfounded when finding England had failed to pick a specialist spinner.

During the test series i expect Monty Panesar to play an important role in helping England to hopefully another series victory.

Jonathon Agnew has said that England can take a lot of confidence going in to the final ODI game on saturday. The fact 'England managed to avoid defeat' should at least spur England on again, giving them great momentum.





Agnew also commented on Englands lack of bowling options, with only Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom as there only out and out bowlers. This team selection worked perfectly in the previous game with the three named bowlers all bowling particulary well. However In a thrilling game that saw runs galore in a spectacular tie, Agnew has said he is unsure about only naming three bowlers. This was compounded by Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad having relatively poor games.





It was however a fantasic game and a great come back from England. 'Newzealand throughout their run chase seemed destined to win'. It was left to Luke Wright to bowl the final over in which the Kiwis only needed seven runs to win. Agnew said 'he bowled the over of his life'. Skipper Paul Collingwood did have the chance to win the game for England when he was inches away from a run out 2 balls before the end.



If this game was anything to go by the finale on saturday should be another absolute thriller and a treat for those fans who have got tickets. It will also be interesting to see just how much impact the result of these ODI games will have on the test series.

England's Cricketers Embarrassed

England are crushed for the second time in a row as New Zealand take a 2 v 0 lead in the One day format after a comprehensive ten wicket victory.

After a promising start in the Twenty20's Englands tour of New Zealand has swayed back in the favour of the kiwi's. Their victory in the first two one day games will again pose question marks over certain roles and positions within the team. Englands lack of fight and character is very evident at the moment. There no longer seems to be any individual performances that carry the rest of the side when they are struggling.

The most recent defeat took place in Hamilton. The tourists were put in by the Kiwis and got off to fast start. This was halted when phil Mustard was removed for 13. His opening partner Alastair Cook was the only bright point for England as he scored a lonely half century before being run out. The rest followed, only Kevin Pietersen offered any other threat. One other worrying factor was again Englands running between the wickets. Three batsman being run out. England eventually stumbled to a poor 158 from 35.1 overs on what looked a good wicket.

New Zealand were in a rush to get things over. Openers Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder made batting look unnervingly easy as Englands bowlers were smashed to all parts of the ground. 112 runs of the revised 165 target came in boundaries Brendon McCullum hitting fives sixes as he blundered the opening bowlers. However it wasnt just the opening bowlers that were hammered each variation captain Paul Collingwood tried resulted in the same outcome.The total was embarrassingly reached in the 18th over!

So going in to the next game things surley can only improve. The last two displays have been worse than dismal. All aspects of Englands game must improve to even compete with quite a strong one day outfit that is New Zealand. Momentum will be key for both teams going in to the test matches so a win in the next ODI game is essential.

Your Chance to Visit the War on Terror!

Gamers look out because the latest 'shoot em up' is here, with an added realisticness. Army of Two is the latest thrill seaking game in which you get your chance to fight against terror.

The game is set in actual modern day conflict zones. You have the option of selecting between army veterans Salem and Rios. Which ever character you select will be accomponied by the other controlled either by a friend or the computer as you attempt to take out the bad guys of Afghanistan and Iraq.

To survive you must master the art of communication between yourself and your partner, tactically out thinking the enemy targets. Obviously it helps to have a damn good shot too! This game is definately one to get your claws into and play your part in the war against terror.

No Business Like Show Business

Wednesday, 30th January 2008, Today i am kicking off a blogging space as a part of my university degree. I see it as a chance to share some of the journalistic skills i have picked up over the past year and a half. I am working in a group of three. The subject area allocated to me is entertainment.

This gives me the opportunity to pass comment and write on anything happening in the crazy world of the entertainment industry. I will do my best to cover both national and local Preston stories from this topic.

Todays main story seems to be the potential split between Cherly and Ashley Cole. It has been rumoured for a while that the pair have been experiencing rocky times and todays revelation that sexy singer Cheryl has moved out of the pairs luxury home. However they claim there has been no such break up! For more on this story click here http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article742083.ece

EAch week i shall post a new blog so keep your eyes open!