Thread by @ErikaMorris79

Despite England’s poor red ball form there is some serious anticipation for the #CountyChampionship starting.
I’ve been looking at data and as usual I have summarised in a thread but I warn you, it is a deep thread…
Firstly detail of a few of the data parameters I used

For all players their career First Class figures have been used

Team battings averages - the figures for batters, wicket keepers and all-rounders have been used

Teams bowling averages - the figures for bowlers and all-rounders have been used.

Let’s start with the makeup of each county. Does the growing focus on all-rounders translate into county game? It seems for some it does, Leics and Glous squad is just under 30% all-rounders. At the other end Middlesex have just 1. Will Derbyshires small squad be an issue?

We all know about the evergreen Darren Stevens but what can we see from the team’s average age. It is actually Somerset who have the oldest average age at 29.49yrs. Despite a wealth of international players Sussex are the young guns of the championship at just 25.55yrs.

Age is a factor but how valuable is FC experience? Somerset out front here with an avg of 86 FC games per player and boasting Siddle, Davies and Hildreth over the 200 figure. Last year’s winners Warks have the second lowest with 46.2 games and Leics have the lowest with 35.12

Test caps can be a blessing and a curse so how does each team fare. Yorks players on avg have 11 test caps each& it’s Leics with the lowest of 0.35 per player. However they will have the least interruption to their squad in international call ups, will this play into their hands?

Which type of players have the most FC experience? Well batters are on avg the most experienced with 71 previous FC games under their belt, followed by wicketkeepers. In comparison the bowlers have an average of 46 games each, could this translate into some high scoring games?

Can we draw something from the test caps by specialisms. It's the batters who have the highest avg caps at just under 7 each compared to 5.5, 4.5 and 3.5 for wicket keepers, bowlers and all-rounder’s. Has England’s fruitless search for a stable batting line up had an impact?

What of the batting average and strike rates of each team. Essex are leading the way with their FC avg of 33.32, with Cook alone at 47 and 7 other players at 30+. Derby might find it tough this year with an average of just 24 despite good showings from Masood and Du Plooy.

Let’s look at bowling for a few minutes and the average and economy rates by teams. Yorks have the lowest bowling average with 28.77 whereas Sussex have the highest at 38.77. The econ rates are super close across all teams around 3.5 other than Lancs whose rate of 5.97 sticks out

Which bowling type is the most effective? In terms of economy it’s very even with most around the 3.5 mark however left arm fasts are the highest at a shade under 5. The avgs are more spread with right arm fasts the most economical at 29.35. Have teams got the right combos?

Econ & avgs are 1 thing but it’s taking wickets that win you games so how do the teams stack up? Hamps are out front with their bowlers taking an avg of 3.6 wckts per game each. Derbs are again propping up the table with an avg of just 1.94 wkts each, can they take 20 in a game?

Now for a dive of each team. This heat map showing teams ranking on batting av, batting SR, bowling avg, economy and wickets per game. This throws up some really interesting results with Warks sitting in 12th and Div 2 teams like Durham, Notts, Glamorgan & Essex all in the Top 10

First Derby and as we know they have the lowest wickers per team and an avg just under 33. Looking at their breakdown there will be a huge reliance on Lakmal and Reece for their wickets and low rates, without these the bowling attack looks light.

what about batting? In Marsden, Masood, Du Plooy and Godleman they have good avgs of 32+ but after that it is relatively slim pickings. Derbyshire are going to need these 4 to really fire consistently for them otherwise there could be trouble ahead. Can Mickey Arthur work magic?

Now let’s look at Durham’s bowling. Standouts are Stokes and Wood but with Eng duty looming for them in Potts, Carse and Rushworth they have 3 bowlers with economy rates of 3-3.75. A few high avgs like Trevaskis and Doneathy really distort what is a good looking bowling line up.

How does their batting fare? In Bedingham they have the player with the 3rd best average at 49.18 and with a strike rate of over 60 he certainly has intent to score runs. Backed up by Peterson, Lees and Stokes the batting line up looks pretty decent too.

Onto the 2021 2nd division champions Essex. As you would expect the spin of Harmer and the pace of Cook are their two shining lights, both with economies under 3 and averages in the mid 20s. Backed up by Shane Snater and Jamie Porter it is a fairly experienced attack.

There isn’t anything that hasn’t already been said about Alastair Cook and his glorious batting, his average of 47 speaks for itself. With Lawrence, Wheater, Westley, Walter and Browne in support having an average over 35, this looks a high scoring line up.

Onto Glam & their bowling. In terms of avgs they have the 5th highest bowling of all teams, with Salter, Doutwaite, Lloyd and Sisodiya going at over 40 we could see some high scores going against them. In terms of economy rates the picture looks brighter with 7 players under 3.5

In Labuschagne Glamorgan have the number 1 ranked test batter and with a FC avg of 46.09 it is clear to see why.
The experience of Ingram, Cooke and Northeast with over 400 FC games combined and an avg score of 37 could be crucial to an otherwise inexperienced batting squad.

As division 2 runners up last year Gloucs will want to build on that success. One big positive for them is Higgins who at 2.58 has the lowest bowling avg overall (players who played 10+ games), with Howell, Payne & the young gun of Naseem Shah this bowling unit is one to watch

Their batting doesn’t look quite so good I’m afraid with the 3rd lowest avg of all teams. There are some shining lights in Harris, Bracey and Van Buuren all averaging over 35 but after that they are relying on their all all rounders to chip in crucial runs.

Looking through Hamps bowlers they have the 2nd lowest bowling average of all teams in the 2022 championship. The overseas Abbas actually has the highest average of all the Hamps players but this is balanced by Organ who has the 2nd lowest average of all at an impressive 18.26

In terms of batting power Hamps look to have a few key standout players. In Vince and Brown they have 2 experienced players with an average around the 40 mark who will be key to developing young exciting talent like Tom Prest who I am really looking forward to watching this year.

Last year’s Div 3 champions Kent will be looking to push on from that success. The peter pan of English cricket Darren Stevens will continue to be a key figure, with the experience of Jackson Bird and the re-signed Matt Henry helping nurture the younger bowlers coming through.

Kent actually have the highest no of players (11) with an avg of +30 but 3 of these being Crawley, Denly & Billings could they be losing key players to England/IPL duty? With a core of experienced players like Linde, Bell-Drummond & Leaning I expect some big scores.

Lancs have the 2nd highest no of test caps in their team, mainly all from the wonder that is Anderson & his miserly avg of 2.82. In Mahmood and Parkinson they have players who get called on for England so will need to reply on the experience of Croft and Bailey should this happen

With key Eng (red & white ball) players like Buttler, Livingstone and Salt potentially being missing for periods Lancs will need strength in depth. Luckily their batting until delivers with Bohannan and Villa both averaging 40+ and Jennings and Croft not far behind on 35+

Leics are an intriguing prospect still in a transformation stage. Bringing in the experience of Hendricks and Mulder (550+ FC wickets between them) will strengthen their bowling attack, the spin of the lesser known Parkinson helping them to a healthy overall economy figure

Leics batting reads more like a white ball team with 6 pure batters & 7 all-rounders. Lilley has the highest SR of the 2022 players at an impressive 88 and with the inform Eng u-19 star Rehan Ahmed averaging 44.5, Leics are sure going to be entertaining to watch

With a marquee signing like Afridi it’s no surprise Middlesex excel in bowling. They have the 2nd lowest economy of all teams with Baber, Walallwaita and Mutagh all less than 3. Add in the pace of Shaheen and the experience of Toby Rowland-Jones this team could take 20 wickets

Unfortunately the batting doesn’t appear to match up posting the 2nd lowest batting average and the 2nd lowest strike rate. Whilst there are 5 players that avg 30+ the rest are in the low 20’s at best. Will we see lower scores and the bowling team bailing them out?

With just 0.8 test caps per player, Northants have limited test experience. Yes they won’t lose their players but the lack of experience shows in their bowling line up. The one glimmer is Sanderson has the 3rd lowest econ rate but with a few players avg over 45 it might be tough

Adding international batting experience of Will Young to the team is a smart move, at an avg of 41 he will give the team a solid base to build on. Vasconcelos is highly rated and with an avg of 36 it’s easy to see why. Berg and Rossington give some fire power with impressive SR.

One thing Notts aren’t short of is bowling options. In Broad, Ball and the Aussie Pattinson they have great test experience and with Broads ENG place in question he may play more than expected. In Fletcher they have last years leading wicker taker.

Their batting is equally as consistent with 9 players including Hales, Duckett, Hameed and Moores avg over 30.
Interestingly their overseas batters of Montgomery & Schadendorf have only 5 FC games between them, is this a purposeful build for future or could this be a mistake

Somerset have 2nd lowest bowling avg in the championship, looking at their line up its clear to see why. The experience of Leach, Overton, Siddle, Davey, De Lange and Van Der Merwe will be hard to rival but with Overton and Leach seemingly nailed on for Eng, will this impact them

The good news keeps on coming for Somerset fans as the batters have the 2ns highest avg. Hildreth boasts over 41 and Davies, Renshaw, Van De Merwe and Abell are not far behind. With Tom Abell being touted for an England player how much could this impact the balance of their team?

Despite having a lot of international players in their ranks Surrey bowlers have the 2nd highest econ of all teams. Players like Steel and Topley going at 4.5 and 5.3 an over, the rest of the unit will need to help pull this back. Sam Curran getting some games will help this team

Surreys batting line up reads like an embarrassment of riches with Foakes, Roy, Pope and Burns. Pope has the highest FC avg at 62.25, despite the failed opening for Eng experiment Roy has a FC SR of 82.36. With Foakes, Pope & Burns in ENG frame how will they fare without them?

Onto Sussex and their bowling, despite having international such as Archer, Robinson, Finn, Mills and Bopara they have the highest bowling average (38.77) of the whole championship. With Jofra still in recovery and Robinson likely on ENG duty we could see long wicketless spells.

However their batting line up has 4 players- Pujara, Rizwan, Bopara and Head with an avg of over 40 along with last year’s leading run scorer in Haines. Outside these the averages are all around or under the 20 figure so there could be a reliance on their overseas batting talent.

Declaration of interest time as a proud Brummie I am a Warks fan so how are last year’s champs shaping up? Looking purely at the stats you could say the team is greater than its individual component parts, with only a few players like Woakes, Stone and Rhodes with stand out avg

As a batting unit they are very strong posting the 4th best average across all teams. With key players like Sibley, Rhodes, Hain and Yates in the mid 30’s their experience alongside the younger players of Bethell and Benjamin will be key to repeat the success of last year.

Onto my local rivals of Worcs, as a team the bowling av is the 9th best. Looking at the out and out bowlers it’s a fairly young inexperienced team with the exception of Joe Leach and Morris. The all rounders of Ali, Barnard and D’Oliveira have great economy rates around 3-3.5

In their batting line up they have 2021’s 2nd highest run scorer Jake Libby who has an avg of 35.09 and the overseas experience of Azhar Ali at just under 40. Cox and Roderick are useful wicketkeeper batsman at an av of 27 and 33 respectively.

Ignoring the off field issues, Yorks go into the 2022 season with the lowest bowling avg at just 28.77. Add to this the economy under 3 for Coad, Bess, Thompson, Revis and Patterson we could see this team taking frequent wickets through economical bowlers squeezing the batters

Despite the international array of batters Yorks only have 6th best batting avg. If you take away Root, Bairstow & Malan missing a huge chunk of the season then this drops to the 10th best. This will increase the reliance on the experience of Lyth & the emerging talent of Brook.

Correction - this is the graph that it should have been with Lancs at 3.73!

Correction to the Lancs batting graph as it still had Davies in.

Correction to Sussex bowling as had copied Robinsons average wrong 🙃

Correction to the Sussex batting as well as it still had Head listed.