Who to watch out for in 2015

Who has the most to play for and upcoming pivotal seasons in their career in the county season on 2015. Here I give my views on those on the precipice of big seasons.

James Vince

Having eventually found lions runs this winter and with a return to the first division with Hampshire in four day cricket Vince is poised for a career altering season. Vince oozes talent and if he adds a little more stability and consistency to his game he could easily make the transition to international cricket. If he’s a success in 2015 expect him to get a chance in the ODI team and push hard for a test role if there is any injury but if he fails he could be overtaken by Roy and Lees in the England batting pecking order that is looking increasingly competitive.   

Joe Clarke

A promising young wicketkeeper batsman Clarke at 18 will be looking to break into the Worcestershire first team in what will be his first year playing for Worcestershire since leaving school. An elegant and lithe batsman and keeper Clarke will have to get past a much improved Ben Cox to take the wicketkeepers role but expect opportunities to be given and to be taken by a hungry young cricketer who has the traits to be a future England wicketkeeper.

Nick Browne 

An accumulator at the top of the order Browne has served his time in second team cricket and grade cricket to get the opportunity that he now has. Consistent runs at that level has allowed him to step up to first team cricket and whilst he missed part of last season with injury he still was a massive positive for Essex in the four day game laying a solid foundation at the top of the order. He could be the final of the jigsaw in Essex’s continued pursuit of promotion to the first division.

Matt Dunn

Made the breakthrough to the first team last year as he toiled away as the other Surrey bowlers suffered with injuries. Now that he knows what is required off him in the professional game hopefully he can push on again once more this forthcoming season. Has the qualities of an international bowler with a good action that generates decent pace and swing. A good season would push him close to international selection and Surrey to promotion in the championship.

Mark Wood

Now 25 Wood will be hoping that his injury travails have passed and that he can have his first complete season in county cricket. If so expect him to be pushing for international recognition as he offers explosive pace from a short run-up and extracts some movement through the air. Injuries can be fickle especially for a fast bowler but it’s really about time that Wood showed his potential on a more regular basis.

Alex Davies
 
Jos Buttler’s understudy at Lancashire will likely get a lot of game time this season and so he should as a very capable keeper batsman. Not the most traditional of batting techniques but he showed last season when he opened in the championship a fighting spirit and was not overawed in the first division. Not as overtly talented as Buttler but a real scrapper who has the potential to go far in the game. For this season Davies will be looking to solidify his position in the Lancashire team and help them return to division 1 of the championship.

Tymal Mills 

Injury troubles blighted 2014 but England will continue to take notice of Mills due to his prodigious pace. His blistering pace makes him such an enterprising option that as soon as he puts together any kind of consistency into his game expect him to get a chance with England. At present there must be a little doubt over his motivation and he’ll have to decide whether he really wants to be an international cricketer or whether he slips out of the game. The move to Sussex is a good move and should get him out of his comfort zone and hopefully lead to an upturn in his career.

Will Gidman 

With a move to Nottinghamshire and the first division Will Gidman has the opportunity to further his career. Gidman will never have the pace to play for England and when the wickets go flat his bowling offers minimal threat. What he does offer to Notts is a quality new ball performer when the wicket is green and a quality batting option at 6,7 or 8 in the batting order. Notts have for a long time being looking for an English type bowler who takes wickets with the new ball and they may have found one with Gidman. If he shines, Nottinghamshire could well win a first title in 5 years. Can Gidman prove that he has what it takes to be a success in first division cricket?

Reece Topley  

An injury curtailed couple of years has seen Topley slide down the list of potential England bowlers. Topley already has excellent English, new, red ball skills and decent variation with the white ball. What he needs now is a little added pace as bowling at 81 or 82mph at international level is rarely going to cut it especially as he offers nothing as a batsman. If he can get a few mph more out of his action, once he passes the worst of his injuries, he could be an outstanding bowler. Now is the time he should be concentrating on making sure that he can become the best that he can be or else he might find himself being surpassed by others.
 

Will Rhodes

With multiple England callups likely Rhodes has the opportunity to push for a spot in an extremely strong and talented Yorkshire squad. With the strength of the squad as a whole and the successful youth setup Rhodes will have to quickly make the transition from junior to squad player if he wants to make it at Yorkshire. It’s likely in the shorter formats where Rhodes will likely get first chance as he has decent variation with the ball and can bat in the top 7. Opportunity awaits for Rhodes but he likely will have a short window in which to convince.

Lewis Gregory

The Somerset allrounder may see batting as his stronger suit but last year it was his bowling that stood out as he became Somerset’s main championship bowler. He bowls a full length and jags the ball around but has lost a little of the pace that he had when he came onto the scene as an eighteen year old. If Gregory wants to standout from the bunch and move closer to lions selection, improvement in his talented but inconsistent batting will go a long way to making him an enterprising option. Last season was his first where he was a key player for Somerset; Can he keep the intensity going and keep improving?