County Championship: Division One guide

Durham will face a stern challenge defending their Division One title, while the Roses rivalry will resume following Lancashire's promotion from the second tier. Team-by-team previews and Bob Willis' expert view below...

LANCASHIRE

Captain: Glen Chapple
Head coach: Peter Moores
Ins: Jos Buttler (Somerset)
Outs: Stephen Moore (Derbyshire), Gareth Cross (released)
Overseas: TBC Lancashire returned to Division One at the first time of asking in 2013 and their mission this season will be to stay there. The bowling attack is solid, with Glen Chapple, Kyle Hogg and Simon Kerrigan all taking more than 50 wickets last season. This year they will also have former Zimbabwe international Kyle Jarvis alongside them, and the fast bowler is a useful addition, particularly as a death bowler in one-day cricket. Much depends on veteran Chapple's creaking legs. His shrewd captaincy and control with the ball is vital to Lancashire's chances of thriving in the top flight. It is just as well the bowling is so potent, because the batting looks a little vulnerable. Simon Katich and Ashwell Prince were the rocks last season, but the former has departed, and Lancashire do not yet have a replacement as overseas player. There is youthful promise in Luis Reece after he scored 722 runs in 10 matches last season - can he cut it in the top flight? But Lancashire's batting order will not be giving Division One bowling line-ups sleepless nights, particularly as the one man who can cause kittens - their eye-catching summer signing Jos Buttler - may not be seen much if England's selectors see him as their long-term Test wicketkeeper. There is unlikely to be back-to-back four-day titles to celebrate, but Lancashire do look increasingly dangerous in one-day cricket and silverware is not an unrealistic ambition there. Last summer they reached the last eight of the Twenty20 Cup and finished second in their CB40 group. There is real firepower there with bat and ball, particularly if Buttler is available and Kiwi fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan returns for the T20 Blast. Key man: Kyle Hogg One of the most under-rated bowlers in county cricket, he took 60 wickets at 18.42 last season. He was virtually ever-present last year and can score useful runs down the order too. He has to stay fit. Bob says: "Lancashire have a good squad and Peter Moores, who did an excellent job with them last year, will be expecting more of the same, although I don't know how much longer they can patch Glenn Chapple up with sticky tape! You always suspect that they might be short of runs but the younger players from the Academy have responded well. Weather will always affect Lancashire's chances of progressing in the top flight but I like the look of them. There's an outside chance that they might lose Jos Buttler straight away if he has a better start to the season that Matt Prior." One to watch: Luis Reece "I was asked on the Verdict show over the winter to name my England side for the first Test in 2015 against the Aussies and I included Mr Reece because he's a spectacular prospect. He's got a very cool head on young shoulders, a little bit like Joe Root. Most Test cricket is played between the ears and I think he's got a very good temperament and I expect him to have a prolific season."

MIDDLESEX

Captain: Chris Rogers
Head coach: Richard Scott
Ins: Harry Podmore
Outs: Tom Smith (Gloucestershire), Corey Collymore, Adam London, Josh Davey (all released)
Overseas: Chris Rogers
Fraser encouraged by Finn form
Robson ready for England Frustration was the order of the day at Lord's last season when a series of promising performances, most notably in the four-day game, ended with a total of zero trophies in the cabinet. Sam Robson's emergence as a true England contender was the undoubted highlight, but apart from him and Australia opener Chris Rogers, there were few positives to take from their batting displays. Players with undoubted talent - Joe Denly, Neil Dexter, Dawid Malan and John Simpson - all averaged 31 or less and with Eoin Morgan barely playing a Division One game is there much cause for extra optimism this season? On the bowling side of things, injuries were the big problem, with James Harris - not for the first time in his career - and Toby Roland-Jones managing 10 and eight games respectively. They both had success in bursts but that wasn't enough with runs in short supply. Tim Murtagh was his usual reliable self, taking 60 wickets, and Ollie Rayner emerged as a true spin threat, including a brilliant best of 15-118 against local rivals Surrey, much to the delight of the handful of visiting fans at the Kia Oval. And then there is Steven Finn. Once England's up-and-coming fast bowler, then a laughing stock for knocking the bails off in his delivery stride and now trying to rebuild his career after leaving the Ashes squad in Australia 'for his own good'. Add him to Murtagh, Roland-Jones and Harris and you have the makings of a fine seam attack. Question marks on all of them make it tough to be too confident but it appears they are well set if, and it's a big if, their batsmen score enough runs. Key Player: Sam Robson The opener s key in so many ways. He finished third in total Division One runs last season with 1,180 and those runs would be almost impossible to replace if he gets into the England Test squad. The Australia-born right-handed bat scored three centuries for the England Lions in Sri Lanka over the winter and is sure to be in the mix to face Sri Lanka and India. With that go Middlesex's hopes. Bob says: "England won't recall Steven Finn straight away although they will be desperate to find a paceman after what Mitchell Johnson did to them in the winter. It would be an amazing transformation to go from 'unselectable' (in Ashley Giles' words) to being an automatic pick for England again. Finn and Toby Roland-Jones, plus Ollie Rayner, make a pretty good attack and there's also James Harris to factor in if he can stay fit." One to watch: Eoin Morgan "I'm a big fan of what Gus Fraser is doing as Managing Director of Cricket at Middlesex. Clearly Chris Rogers has been a tremendous asset for them and with Eoin Morgan busting a gut to get back into the Test team I think Middlesex will go well."