Ian Ward gives his verdict on the 18 counties chasing a £2.5m windfall in the Twenty20 Cup.
Ward looks ahead to the new Twenty20 Cup season
The Twenty20 Cup is back, and with two lucrative Champions League spots up for grabs for the first time, it promises to be more fiercely-contested than ever.
The two finalists at the Rose Bowl on July 26 will join the top Twenty20 teams from India, South Africa and Australia in the new Champions League in September, with the winners netting a cool £2.5m.
Former Surrey, Sussex and England batsman Ian Ward gives skysports.com his thoughts on this year's tournament - as well as a group-by-group guide.
It's getting serious
The players obviously realise how much the public enjoys Twenty20 - they're playing in front of packed houses. But now you throw in a potential £2.5m pot and it's got a lot more serious.
The sides need to play the same way with a smile on their face and enjoy it - if you take Twenty20 too seriously or too analytically, you can often come unstuck.
It is is a long process and all the sides have got to focus on getting to finals day. There's a lot of pressure this time around but hopefully the fun will remain!
Southern Division
KENT are very well led by Rob Key. He's got a good tactical cricket brain and he plays with a smile on his face - despite all the money that's washed around in Twenty20 cricket, that's the best way to be.
I think you play your best cricket when you're relaxed and enjoying it. They've got some very strong one-day players, plenty of all-rounders - Ryan McClaren, Azhar Mahmood, Yasir Arafat and of course Justin Kemp, the hard-hitting South African batsman.
No one's ever defended the Twenty20 title - Leicestershire have won it twice but not back to back - but I think Kent have a good opportunity to be the first to do that.
ESSEX have probably got the form player in the country, perhaps even the world, at the moment in Ravi Bopara. I watched Alistair Brown smash 268 against Glamorgan back in 2002 in a 50-over game and Ravi has played just as well as that, which I didn't think was possible so he just might be the little spark that Essex need to do well.
HAMPSHIRE are interesting. Nic Pothas, who played in the Indian Cricket League earlier this year, has threatened to take legal action if he's not allowed to play in the Champions League, should Hampshire qualify.
But I think they need to clear their heads and stop worrying about the Champions League. They've got to get out of the division before thinking about finals day, which for them would be at home at the Rose Bowl. They've got enough one-day quality to win pressure games but they need to concentrate on the cricket and make sure they qualify.
SURREY have a good history in this competition - they were the first winners in 2003. At that time - and I played in that side - it was about the enjoyment aspect but as it's got more serious and they've practiced a bit harder, they seem to have done worse and worse!
Unfortunately they've lost Nayan Doshi, the leading wicket-taker in the country in Twenty20 history, who has gone to Derby but with people like Mark Ramprakash, Alistair Brown and James Benning they've got the power-hitters to reach the boundary regularly - at the end of the day it's about lashing the ball out of the park in Twenty20.
SUSSEX have signed Dwayne Smith as cover for Luke Wright who is joining up with England's one-day squad. Mushtaq Ahmed is unfit so that's a big blow but they've got the form batsman in the country in terms of the Championship cricket in Matt Prior who's got a point to prove. Sussex historically haven't done awfully well, despite getting to the semis last year - they'll need some runs from Prior.
MIDDLESEX are going to struggle to qualify I think. I don't see Twenty20 as their forte. Tim Murtagh is a fine Twenty20 cricketer but they might not have enough power for this form of the game.
Northern Division
LEICESTERSHIRE are the most successful and consistent side in Twenty20 history. They were the first to really embrace it. They've got an enthusiastic captain and a very good player in Paul Nixon, as well as constantly evolving game plan - they're always contenders.
DURHAM will go well I think. With Pollock, Morkel, Onions, Harmison and Neil Killeen, they could do it just by taking wickets. They've got Mustard up the top of the order, Benkenstein is a very good player, and Collingwood will be around for their first game. They're probably the pick of the bowling attack around the country in Twenty20.
LANCASHIRE will be without Freddie Flintoff, which isn't a surprise as he's only played a few games. Mal Loye, if he can get going, is always dangerous. But they need to find something to kick-start their season because they've been struggling and Twenty20 might just give them the freedom to do that.
YORKSHIRE I'd like to see do well. It'd be nice to see Darren Gough get to some sort of final, whether it be in the Friends Provident Trophy or in the Twenty20 at the Rose Bowl in July - it'd be a fitting send-off for him. It'll be interesting to see if Vaughan plays. He hasn't played a lot of Twenty20 but with large sums of money being thrown around, he might want to get involved.
DERBYSHIRE have the biggest wicket-taker in the history of the competition in Nayan Doshi. With Ricky Clarke at the helm - he's a very good one-day cricketer - they could be a dark horse this year. Whether they've got the quality to go all the way is a different matter.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE are a very good one-day side full stop. Samit Patel's a very talented young player and although Graeme Swann will only be around for the first game due to international commitments, Chris Read is very good one-day player, very destructive in this form of the game. So Notts are a very good bet, certainly to qualify from the Northen Division.
Mid/West/Wales Division
GLAMORGAN have been struggling a little bit in the County Championship but there are signs that they're going in the right direction. Manager Matthew Maynard has only just got his feet under the desk. They've signed Hershelle Gibbs and Robert Croft and David Hemp are experienced campaigners. Can Gibbs provide enough of an X Factor to get them through? It's unlikely.
SOMERSET are going to go well - I'd definitely tip them to get through to the finals day. Their batting is so powerful with Trescothick, Hildreth, Blackwell, Langer, plus Kieswetter, the wicketkeeper - they're an explosive side. They need someone to take a few wickets as well but I would back them to get to the semi-finals and at least qualify from the division.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE are going horribly in the County Championship but you can never write them off in one-day cricket. I don't see them doing as well as last year when they lost in the final to Kent and you always write them off in one-day cricket at your peril but I'm not sure it's going to be their year this time around.
WARWICKSHIRE are top of the table in the County Championship but Twenty20 is completely different. They have Neil Carter and of course Mr Twenty20 - although he hates the tag - in Darren Maddy, who was instrumental in Leicestershire's success but it might be a year or two early for them to get out of the division.
WORCESTERSHIRE will have to play well to get out of the division but they play well at home. You can never write off Graeme Hick -
Sky Sports' Sixes League winner last year - he provides the power. Vikram Solanki has been playing nicely this year, Gareth Batty is a good all-round cricketer and Steven Davies is a talented batman. They're in with a shout, certainly of qualification, but I don't think they'll win it.
NORTHANTS have had a lot of criticism for the amount of Kolpak players they've got but it means they've got a lot of experience in pressure games - internationals like Nicky Boje the captain, Lance Klusener, Johan van der Wath, and even people like Niall O'Brien have played in ICL cricket. They're not going to be everyone's favourites because of the Kolpak situation but they will be dangerous because they've got good experienced, hard-hitting cricketers.
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