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.’