The Championship started at a frenetic, free-scoring pace and ended with low-scoring, wicket-winkling drama at Aigburth and Edgbaston. In this team, I have tried to consider the young saplings, the blossoming talents and the hardy perennials. One of the wonderful aspects of four-day county cricket is there is space for anyone of any age to grow if they have the necessary talent and application.

1 Tom Haines (Sussex)

Before the season, there was speculation that a batter might reach 1,000 Championship runs before May 31 for the first time since Graeme Hick in 1988. In the end, Haines won the race but it took him until September 9. He would end the season as the Championship’s top run-scorer on 1176. Not bad for a 22-year-old whose previous best summer saw him total just 319 runs.

2 Ricardo Vasconcelos (Northamptonshire)

In 2019, this diminutive wicketkeeper and opening batter was set to reach 1,000 Championship runs before an ankle injury ended his season. But Northamptonshire had seen enough to hand the South African-born Portuguese passport-holder a five-year contract. This season, he has hit 845 runs at 36.73, including two centuries and two fifties with a rapid strike-rate of 61. The highlight was surely a third-wicket stand of 239 with Rob Keogh as Northamptonshire chased down 355 in 72.4 overs against Glamorgan. Vasconcelos’ unbeaten 185 in that game is his highest first-class score to date.

3 David Bedingham (Durham)

At 60.52, Bedingham finished clear at the top of the averages for batters playing more than10 games and was one of only five reach to 1,000 runs. He hit three centuries and three fifties as Durham’s form shone at the start of the season before faltering late on. The 27-year-old South African was one of the four names on the shortlist for the PCA MVP award.

4 Josh Bohannon (Lancashire)

Bohannon ensured his breakout season by becoming the leading run-scorer for a Lancashire side who took the title race down to the wire. The right-hand batter hit two centuries and five 50s in a Championship season in which he amassed 853 runs at 53.31. His 170 against Warwickshire at Old Trafford was four runs shy of his highest first-class score. At 24, he has ample room for growth and can chip in with medium-pace if required.

5 Lewis Hill (Leicestershire)

Hill had struggled for runs over the past few seasons and, after Harry Swindells took over the wicketkeeping gloves, may have been concerned about retaining his place. However, the 30-year-old responded with 944 runs at 44.95 and was the standout player in a young, aspiring Leicestershire side. (Warwickshire won the title but, going into the last round of games, the individual stars were elsewhere. Rob Yates’s late push may have pushed out Hill and Vasconcelos would move down.)

6 Matt Critchley (Derbyshire)

Derbyshire sent out Critchley to open the batting on the final afternoon of the season at Hove with 23 required for victory. With a 4, 4 and 2, the 25-year-old both won the match and reached exactly 1000 runs for the campaign. The tall, leg-spinning all-rounder has been outstanding in a difficult campaign for Derbyshire. He was the county’s top run-scorer and, with 32 wickets at 38.43, finished just behind Ben Aitchison in the bowling charts. Unfortunately for smaller counties, eye-catching figures attract suitors. Reportedly, Glamorgan have shown an interest after Critchley’s spell at the Welsh Fire in The Hundred.

7 Ryan Higgins (Gloucestershire)

The continuing progress of Higgins makes the decision of Middlesex to let him go in 2017 more and more of a headscratcher. This year’s 51 wickets made him Gloucestershire’s leading bowler by some way and 376 runs at 20.88 represented their fifth-best contribution with the bat. At 5ft 8ins, his nagging medium-pace struggles to reach 80 mph but he can clear the ropes with the bat. That’s why he may take Darren Stevens’ mantle as an excellent county all-rounder who never quite achieves international recognition.

8 Darren Stevens (Kent)

Not that Stevo is done yet. In May, the 45-year-old hit 190 from 145 balls against Glamorgan to become the oldest Championship centurion in 35 years. While his age creates those headlines, it is impossible to ignore his cold, hard but very high numbers at Kent - 650 runs at 43.33 and 39 wickets at 18.58. He signed another one-year contract in June and you would not bet against him playing beyond that.

9 Simon Harmer (Essex)

Harmer had a tough start to the campaign. A combination of a cramped early-season schedule on April wickets and pitches prepared to nullify his abilities meant, for the first time in his four-year Essex career, he went wicketless in back-to-back games. However, by the end of the season, he had amassed 53 wickets at 23.26. He completed 100 more overs than any other bowler and took more wickets than any other spinner. According to the PCA rankings, the South African was the Most Valuable Player of the season and is shortlisted for their main award. Not bad for a supposedly quiet campaign.

10 Sam Cook (Essex)

Cook stormed to third place in the wicket-taking table by snaffling 10/41 in the final game of the season against Northamptonshire. The 24-year-old’s 58 scalps at 14.43 has seen him usurp Jamie Porter as the leading Essex paceman and Cook’s absence through rotation in the defeat at Trent Bridge was key to the 2020 champion’s failure to defend their title. He was nominated for the PCA’s Young player award.

11 Luke Fletcher (Nottinghamshire)

When Fletcher was cut from the Nottinghamshire academy in his youth, he reverted to Sunday social cricket where his preparations were "a couple of paracetamols and a double sausage and egg McMuffin". Phil de Freitas brought him back and, this season, the 32-year-old has fully repaid that faith by becoming the leading Championship wicket-taker with 66 scalps at 14.9. It was the first time he had passed 50. The affable 6ft 6ins medium-fast bowler is a throwback to a time when cricketers were local characters but he is deceptively fit and developed an extensive variety of skills. His career has been resurging ever since he suffered a bleed on the brain after being hit by a ferocious drive from Sam Hain in 2017. Few will begrudge any success for one of the most popular players on the county circuit.

* This article first appeared in The Cricket Paper, get it every Sunday or subscribe here

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