English Season 1994 - Preview : By Allan Lamb Derbyshire have a very good seam attack and Phil Defreitas' ar- rival from Lancashire will be a big plus. Ian Bishop and Devon Malcolm in tandem could be quite a force but if Dev's injury problems clear up he could miss some games through England com- mitments. Colin Wells has also joined them but the weak link is their lack of spinners which could be crucial. They will miss Johnny Morris and all the runs he gets for them but I could see them having a big chance in the one day competitions. Durham are quite a young side who are trying to build up their team and are always going to struggle. They have lost Ian Botham and a few others but their batting line up will be considerably strenghthened by the signing of Johnny Morris. Anderson Cummins is once again their overseas player. He is a good bowler but hasn't really managed to break into the West Indies side. They may upset the odd side in the one day games but they are still going through the learning process and I can't see them doing anything Essex have signed young Australian Michael Kasprowicz in prefer- ence to keeping on compatriot Mark Waugh. He has not yet proven himself as a world class bowler but could help fill the huge gap left by Derek Pringle and Neil Foster. Graham Gooch has two good spinners in John Childs and Peter Such and with spin being a very important factor in the four day games they could well be up among the leaders. A lot depends on whether Such Gooch and Nasser Hussain are taken away by England. Glamorgan will miss the great Viv Richards but they have signed West Indian all rounder Otis Gibson who is not a bad replacement. He may find the English wickets quite a bit different to what he's used to though from what I've seen he's quite a bang in bowler. They will rely primarily on Matthew Maynard and Hugh Morris for runs while Steve Watkin proved himself as a class bowler last season. They won the Sunday League title last year and I think their best chance will again be in one dayers. Gloucestershire had a miserable season in 1993 and I really can't see things getting any better. Once again they will rely heavily on captain Courtney Walsh to get the wickets and boost team spir- it. Walsh has had a good series in the Caribbean but Gloucestershire don't have enough quality players to make a seri- ous challenge. Chris Broad is a proven batsman and they obvious- ly have a world class have not signed any new players and are go- ing to find it hard work. Hampshire should benefit hugely from new overseas signing Winston Benjamin a very good bowler. They have a strong spin attack in Darren Flint Rajesh Maru and Shaun Udal and brought in Norman Cowans and Matthew Keech following Kevin Shine's departure to Middlesex. They are a batter light after David Gower's decision to retire. Gower will be a big loss and they will be hoping Robin Smith has a good year. If Smithy is away with England they are going to struggle and their best chance lies in one day cricket Kent success could depend greatly on the fitness of West Indies all rounder Carl Hooper who can turn games with both bat and ball. I also rate the left arm spinner Minal Patel very highly and those two could work well together. Martin McCague Alan Ig- glesden and Duncan Spencer complete a strong attack and the only weak link I can see is their batting line up. If Hooper has a good season Mark Benson's side must have a very good chance in the County Championship and the one day competitions. Lancashire are a side who haven't played to the best of their ability in the past but I can see them doing very well in the one dayers. They have a crop of talented players in Mike Ather- ton Neil Fairbrother and John Crawley who impressed me on the recent 'A' Tour They will miss Phil DeFreitas but have a match winner in Wasim Akram a great player and Graeme Lloyd and Warren Hegg always do well. Having Mike Watkinson as captain is another plus. In my view Atherton was right to turn the job down. Leicestershire have two great bowlers in David Millns and Alan Mullally but as a county I can't see them competing for honours. There was a bit of unhappiness among the players last year and I understand a few of them wanted to get away from Grace Road. They'll miss the menace of Winston Benjamin who has gone to Hampshire but his replacement Phil Simmons should do well with the bat. All rounder Vince Wells needs to have a good season but I don't think they'll pose a threat. Northants have a good all round side and I think our best bet will be in the one day competitions. A lot depends on our spinners Nick Cook Andy Roberts and Andrew Cottam who came from Somerset with four day cricket being more condusive to spin than anything. Curtly Ambrose is our trump card in all competi- tions and it would be nice if he got 70 80 wickets. Overall we've got a good all round side and if we play to anything like our potential we could be in with a shout of the Championship. Notts have secured the services of West Indian Jimmy Adams who I think will prove to be a great asset. Adams is a superb wicket keeper bowls a bit of left arm and can do just about everything really! Chris Lewis again is a very talented cricketer but he tends to blow hot and cold. A lot depends on his consistency and whether he is required to play for England. Notts are obviously going to be affected by the loss of the experienced Derek Randall but could be a force in one day competitions. Somerset could have another good season in the County Champion- ship that is their best bet for honours. Harvey Trump is their off spinner and with a fine "leggie" like Mushtaq Ahmed in their side you would always fancy their chances. Andy Caddick has come good on the Caribbean tour but Mark Lathwell had a poor time in South Africa. They will be hoping Lathwell rediscovers his touch because they don't have the strongest of batting line ups and will rely on Richard Harden and Andy Hayhurst to chip in Surrey will be handicapped by the loss of match winner Waqar Younis who has had an appendix operation and then goes on tour with Pakistan His replacement Cameron Cuffy is a bit of an unk- nown quantity to me. He has been called the new Curtly Ambrose and he if he is anything like Curtly he will cause problems! On paper they're not a bad side and should compete in all competi- tions. Anthony Pigott has been signed from Sussex to help with the bowling but losing Alec Stewart and Graham Thorpe to England will be a blow. Sussex have lost Colin Wells to Derbyshire and Tony Pigott to Surrey but the arrival of Paul Jarvis will boost their bowling. They are becoming a bit more of a talented side and their trump cards will be Ian Salisbury Allan Wells and Franklyn Stephenson. Salisbury and Eddie Hemmings are fine exponents of spin and Wells did well on the England 'A' tour. Barring injuries and England calls for Wells and Salisbury they could do very well in both the County Championship and the one day games. Warwickshire are going to be a force to be reckoned with after signing the brilliant Brian Lara. I've always felt they needed a good middle order batter. He is a world class player now immor- talised after that fantastic 375 to break Gary Sobers' long standing record. Their attack will be weakened by the absence of Allan Donald but they've got Tim Munton Gladstone Small Dermot Reeve and Paul Smith. Neil Smith is their only good spinner which could be crucial but they should do quite well. Worcestershire are a highly underrated side who should do well in all competitions this season. They had a late run last year to finish second behind Middlesex in the County Championship and with a couple of lucky breaks they could go one better this sea- son. Tom Moody has returned to shore up the team after the departure of Kenny Benjamin who did very well for them in the matches he played. Graeme Hick's record speaks for itself and with Tim Curtis at the helm they will be a major force. Yorkshire's player to watch this year is undoubtedly the highly talented Darren Gough. He proved himself last season with 55 wickets and then had a great tour with the 'A' team in South Africa in the winter. Richie Richardson starts his second season at Headingley. He is a master of his craft and should be in the runs along with Martyn Moxon They have lost Paul Jarvis to Sussex which is a big blow and also Phil Carrick and I can't really see them making a major impact. PLAYERS TO WATCH: Overseas: Brian Lara Warwickshie Wasim Akram Lancashire Winston Benjamin Hampshire Curtly Ambrose Northants Carl Hooper Kent Jimmy Adams Notts Youngsters: Darren Gough Yorkshire John Crawley Lancashire Glen Chapple Lancashire Mal Loye Northants England have had an up and down tour of the West Indies but they finally came good in Barbados. Alec Stewart has been by far the best of the batsman after being relieved of his wicket keeping duties and hammered those two memorable centuries in the 4th Test Angus Fraser bowled magnificently well in the same match but the telling factor for me was that they didn't drop any chances. Ro- bin Smith's form has been very disappointing but it was good to see him in the runs at St Johns. Mike Atherton will do well as captain of England in my opinion and could have the job for a long time to come. He may be young but he has got an old head on his shoulders and the Caribbean tour will have given him vital experience. He is still going through the learning process at the moment but does not get easi- ly ruffled. I think he made the right decision in not taking the Lancashire captaincy an added responsibility he could do without. As far as my own England career is concerned I have to be real- istic and admit that its probably over. I have certainly not re- tired from Test cricket and if they asked me to play I would but I can't see myself being picked because of the selectors' youth policy. I would love to have a crack at South Africa but if they changed their policy now they would be left with egg on their faces. Graham Gooch could also miss out which would be wrong. I believe you should always pick your best side. Contributed by goo-chie (jdw5@*.ukc.ac.uk)