Our team share their fantasy cricket tips ahead of the new county season

We've joined forces with top management game The Cricket Draft for 2025

This summer, we’re teaming up with fantasy cricket game The Cricket Draft to bring even more excitement to what promises to be an amazing summer of county cricket.

Our award-winning team will be bringing you their tips and picks for each round of the County Championship on The Cricketer’s County Conversation podcast, helping you to stay ahead of the competition making sure you’re playing the right players each week.

All episodes will be available on The Cricketer’s YouTube channel – and you can stay even bettern informed by subscribing to our award-winning digital coverage here.

Here, some of our team talk us through the selections for their Cricket Draft squads.

Make sure you sign up now to make the most of this season with The Cricket Draft.

Nick Friend (TCCC)

As ever, one of the central challenges with a County Championship fantasy game comes in understanding the availability of big-ticket overseas players.

Cameron Bancroft, for example, won't arrive in time for Gloucestershire's opener, nor do Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner and others. So, keep an eye out on your overseas recruits.

Sam Cook is the obvious pick, while the likes of Keaton Jennings – back in Division Two – feel worth a look, particularly with the sun out and April's recent record as a run-scoring haven.

Geoff Barton (Kobayashi Maru)

I started with the allrounders, and have four of the five top-scorers from last year in the side. Both Ryan Higgins and Liam Dawson are certain to score heavily and are captain and vice-captain.

Kane Williamson is an expensive pick, but seems sure to collect a bucket of runs in Division Two. I’ve gone for Michael Pepper as keeper… Jordan Cox is unable to start behind the stumps for Essex, and Pepper had some decent form last year.

I also have a lot of spinners in the squad – Jack Carson, Dawson, Jack Leach, Farhan Ahmed and Fateh Singh. It might seem strange for April, but I’m hoping it pays off later in the season. And for now the weather is good – let’s hope it stays that way throughout the summer!

David Sharman (Disgrace Road CC)

Having listened to our preview on The Cricketer’s County Conversation, I was pleased to see players from my squad including Daniel Bell-Drummond, Sam Cook, Liam Dawson and Dillon Pennington get a mention when it came to discussing good Cricket Draft picks.

As an unashamed member of the Ben Foakes Fan Club, I also had to make sure my team was built around him.

One player who I hope is in for a big season is Leicestershire’s Tom Scriven, who could be the difference between the Grace Road outfit mounting a serious promotion challenge or not. He stepped up in Chris Wright’s absence last year and will need to do so again in 2025, given how frequently their inability to take 20 wickets cost them. His increasing ability to contribute with the bat, I feel, makes him a good bargain selection.