Cricket: County Championship Division Two betting & tips for the 2019 season

Lancashire had a miserable 2018 season which ended with relegation from Division One after they finished level on points with Nottinghamshire, who stayed up.

However, the Red Rose should be a cut above the rest in the second division and they look worthy favourites for the title.

Best bet
Lancashire 9-4
Lancashire earned more bowling bonus points than any other team in Division One with Tom Bailey and Graham Onions among the top five wicket-takers in the top flight.

England’s James Anderson should be available for plenty of county games before the Ashes start in August while leg-spinner Matt Parkinson is an exciting prospect.

Lancashire's batting, which derailed them regularly in 2018, should be reinforced by Australian overseas signings Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell.

Keaton Jennings has struggled with England but he averaged nearly 50 in ten Division One games last season, matching skipper Dane Vilas’s tally of three centuries.

Liam Livingstone and Haseeb Hameed need to rediscover their mojo against the red ball but Lancashire can respond positively to the blow of relegation.

Main dangers
Worcestershire’s relegation came as little surprise to bookmakers but they can be a threat in the second tier and are worth an each-way bet at 8-1 with three places on offer.

Joe Clarke became the latest talented youth product to leave for a bigger county, moving to Nottinghamshire, but New Road spectators will be looking forward to seeing the development of young fast bowlers Ed Barnard, Josh Tongue, Dillon Pennington and Pat Brown.

Barnard claimed four five-wicket hauls in 2018 while Tongue picked up 40 wickets and Joe Leach took 23 scalps in five matches before injury.

Daryl Mitchell fell just short of 1,000 Division One runs last season while Callum Ferguson could feature in the Championship after a superb limited-overs spell last summer.

And Moeen Ali, when not on England duty, is a matchwinner at county level – his three appearances last season yielded 18 wickets and 383 runs.

Middlesex have England’s Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan and Toby Roland-Jones available but they flopped as 2-1 ante-post favourites last year.

Sussex’s batting remains a concern – skipper Ben Brown (912 runs) had to bail out the top order on a regular basis in 2018 – and they may not see much of star bowler Jofra Archer due to IPL and England commitments.

Recommendations
Lancashire
3pts 9-4 Coral, Ladbrokes, Sky Bet
Worcestershire
1pt each-way 8-1 bet365

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