County Championship season preview: Who can stop Surrey?

A lot of eyes in Division Two will be on Lancashire as they look to bounce back from relegation at the first attempt with the help of England’s Test wicket record holder James Anderson, who has decided he is not yet ready to turn his back on the game.

Now 42, he is still a bowler no-one will relish facing in seamer-friendly conditions, although he is not expected to play this month because of a calf injury, and, at the other end of the age scale, there will also be interest in how 16-year-old Rocky Flintoff has progressed after spending part of the winter with England Lions.

Kent were the other side relegated from Division One last summer and have signed Pakistan Test bowler Kashif Ali and South African paceman Keith Dudgeon, with Australian fast bowler Wes Agar not rejoining the club until the end of May as his workload is managed at the end of the Australian campaign.

They have also given a two-year rookie deal to Rocky Flintoff’s elder brother, Corey, who played for Lancashire’s second XI last summer.

The signing of South African paceman Dane Paterson makes up for the departure of Ethan Bamber as Middlesex look to go at least one better than last year’s third place and it will interesting to see what impact spinner Zafar Gohar will have at Lord’s after moving from Gloucestershire.

Northamptonshire have South African batter Matthew Breetzke available for the first eight games and, in Ben Sanderson, have one of the most consistent wicket-takers around, but their most important move over the winter was surely the arrival of head coach Darren Lehmann.

After winning only one game last season and drawing 10, Leicestershire will look to a talented – and, in Louis Kimber, explosive – batting line-up boosted by the signing of Pakistan’s Shan Masood while the acquisition of Dutch seamer Logan van Beek could also be a shrewd move.

The Glamorgan attack will feature England spinner Shoaib Bashir and Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando in the early part of the season while Gloucestershire hope Australian Cameron Green can provide an early-season spark after last year’s seventh place.

For Derbyshire, the only way is up and they will hope that last season’s under-performing batting line-up can raise their collective game with elder statesman Wayne Madsen reinstalled as captain.