England is finally bathed in glorious sunshine and the welcome change in the weather has ushered in another exciting season of county cricket. Last year newly promoted Essex finished the season unbeaten for the first time in their history and romped to the title in sensational style.

Pundits had tipped them to be relegated and they were forced to eat their words as Chris Silverwood’s men dazzled with both bat and ball. Silverwood has now been snapped up by England as fast bowling coach, leaving Anthony McGrath to take the reins. He is bullish about their chances of defending their crown, but do Essex still have the strongest squad in the County Championship?

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The bookmakers certainly seem to think so: McGrath’s men are favourites in the fixed odds markets and they lead the way at https://www.sportingindex.com/spread-betting/cricket. Their opening game was a washout, but the weather has since improved and happier times should lie ahead for Essex. They retain an intriguing blend of youth and experience, the addition of Matt Coles looks interesting and if Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter can repeat last year’s heroics they will be the team to beat. But repeat success is never guaranteed: Middlesex won the title in 2016 and they were relegated the following year.

England star James Vince thinks his Hampshire team can do something special and challenge for the title this season. Their recruiting drive has certainly captured the imagination, and Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and Sam Northeast should ensure that Hampshire challenge for glory.

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Many pundits are touting Lancashire as potential winners after raiding Durham for Keaton Jennings and Graham Onions. Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Haseeb Hameed, Alex Davies, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Saqib Mahmood are all part of a strong squad, while James Anderson could play a part. Newly promoted Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire are bidding to follow in Essex’s footsteps by seizing glory, and Notts made a great start to the season, with Jake Ball and Harry Gurney impressing.

But the team with the strongest squad in the County Championship right now is Surrey, and they look like very strong contenders this season. They are bidding to win their first title since 2002 and they made a statement signing of their own by capturing Morne Morkel, one of South Africa’s top five wicket takers of all time, on a two-year Kolpak contract. “He is a player that will add enormous strength and experience to our squad,” said director of cricket Alec Stewart. “He sets exceedingly high standards for himself, and for our young bowlers to have the opportunity to train and play alongside Morne can only help to develop their own games.”

They could generate even more excitement if – as expected – they sign Indian superstar Virat Kohli on a short-term contract. India will tour England later this year and the legendary King Kohli is keen to get some county cricket experience under his belt in a bid to acclimatise to conditions before the series. He said it will help him improve his game and Stewart has already expressed an interest in signing him. Surrey must deal with the loss of Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 1,491 runs in 16 innings in 2017 before retiring, and Kohli could help plug the gap. They have also opened the door to signing banned Aussie duo Steve Smith and David Warner, which would be positively sensational.

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But beyond big name imports from overseas, Surrey are blessed with a very strong squad and that should stand them in good stead over the course of the season. Coach Michael Di Venuto has a wealth of talent at his disposal, and that goes beyond Australia star Mitch Marsh, who will be devastating when he returns from injury, South African Tom Curran and England batsmen Mark Stoneman and Jason Roy.

Rory Burns looks a solid choice as the new skipper, Dean Elgar will slot in nicely and the squad is peppered with talent and versatility, providing Di Venuto with tremendous strength in depth. That should see them through the long campaign, when injuries set in, stars depart for international duties and the IPL rages on, so Surrey look a good option right now to end their 16-year title drought. They just need to force enough results at the batsman-friendly Oval as too many draws could hold them back.