Cricketers around the country are gearing up for the Vitality County Championship which gets under way on Friday.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at five players who could make their mark this season.

Josh Hull (Leicestershire)

A 6ft 7in left-arm seamer who has his sights set on being England’s version of Mitchell Starc. Hull may need to add a bit more pace to his weaponry but he can swing the ball and, at 19, has plenty of time on his side. Hull has made only 20 professional appearances but already shown an appetite for the big occasion after defending eight in the last over of the 2023 One-Day Cup final as Leicestershire upset Hampshire. Hull will miss the first couple of red-ball rounds this month because of injury but, fitness permitting, he can enhance a burgeoning reputation that has already attracted admiring glances from England director of men’s cricket Rob Key.

Gus Atkinson (Surrey)

The only individual included in every England squad this winter, Atkinson was sparingly used in the white-ball matches before Christmas and not at all in the 4-1 Test series defeat in India recently. Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum liked what they saw, though, and indicated the fast bowler will likely be given a go this summer. With England’s emphasis on those who can operate in the high 80mph bracket, Atkinson fits the bill. After withdrawing from the Indian Premier League, Atkinson can elbow his way into England’s plans with some starring roles for Surrey in the early part of the season.

Josh de Caires (Middlesex)

Started last season with designs on a top-order role before finishing the campaign as an off-spinning all-rounder. The son of former England captain Michael Atherton, De Caires followed up a seven-for against Hampshire with an eight-wicket haul versus Essex. It may be these two performances become outliers as the 21-year-old’s career progresses but England are always on the lookout for promising spinners, even if the cupboard appears to be more stocked than usual.

Tawanda Muyeye (Kent)

Arrived in the United Kingdom as an asylum seeker after he and his family fled their native Zimbabwe, Muyeye has one of county cricket’s more interesting backstories. He is also one of the most precocious and eye-catching talents on the circuit and a video of him batting on social media earned praise from Kevin Pietersen. With an attacking verve ready-made for Bazball – Muyeye has expressed an interest in playing for England – the 23-year-old may need to become more consistent to get his wish but he bolstered his reputation with a breakout 179 against Northamptonshire last June.

Ollie Robinson (Durham)

With scrutiny on whether Jonny Bairstow or Ben Foakes will take the gloves for England this summer, there is a very real possibility Robinson will swoop in and leave them both surplus to requirements. Robinson averaged 58.18 at a jaw-dropping strike-rate of 88.66 in Durham’s promotion last season and is more than adept behind the stumps. The 25-year-old made a couple of counter-attacking 80s in England Lions’ unofficial Tests against India A and higher honours may beckon this summer. It is therefore feasible England could have two Ollie Robinsons in their ranks – remarkably they share the same birthday although Durham’s wicketkeeper-batter is five years older than the 20-cap seam bowler.

Zak Crawley’s 158 inspired Kent to 387 for four on the opening day of their LV= County Championship Division One game with Nottinghamshire.

The 25-year-old needed just 153 balls before being caught and bowled by Calvin Harrison as second-bottom Kent gave their survival hopes a boost.

By then Crawley had helped Kent to 248 for two while Daniel Bell-Drummond also hit 60 and skipper Jack Leaning an unbeaten 54 to put them in control.

Tom Bailey’s three for 24 ensured Lancashire had Middlesex 132 for eight as Sam Robson’s gritty 56 from 173 balls – spanning more than four hours – spared them from further embarrassment.

The visitors had fallen to 83 for six in the face of Lancashire’s rampant attack, with Will Williams and Luke Wood also claiming two wickets each.

Emilio Gay made 77 and Karun Nair 78 as Northamptonshire frustrated Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Oliver Hannon-Dalby claimed three for 29 as rock-bottom Northamptonshire slipped to 24 for two but Gay and Nair helped them recover to 200 for five.

In Division Two, Yorkshire closed on 330 for three as Glamorgan’s slim promotion hopes took another dent.

Finlay Bean’s 93 and Shan Masood’s unbeaten 113 had Yorkshire firmly in charge.

Ollie Price’s career best 125 not out helped Gloucestershire to 333 for six against Derbyshire. He and captain Graeme van Buuren (78) put on a fifth-wicket stand of 157.

Sussex were all out for 262 against Leicestershire, with Fynn Hudson-Prentice top scoring with 65 as Matt Salisbury claimed five for 73.

In reply, Leicestershire lost Sol Budinger and Lewis Hill to finish the day on 68 for two, trailing by 194.

A total of 22 wickets fell on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One match between Warwickshire and Middlesex at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire were put into bat but were all out for just 60 runs – their lowest championship total since 1982 when they could only muster 43 against Sussex.

Middlesex were in scintillating form with the ball as Ethan Bamber took five for 20 and captain Toby Roland-Jones chipped in with three for 27, as the Middlesex attack made the most of the bowling conditions to remove Warwickshire with just 22.5 overs bowled.

The visitors had a lead of 139 after posting 199 in response. Ryan Higgins top-scored with 53 as bowlers Ed Barnard and Mir Hamza both took three for 49.

There was still time left for Warwickshire to start their second innings and they lost two wickets before stumps, reaching 53 for two at the end of a hectic day’s play.

Nottinghamshire opener Ben Slater notched his first ton since April last year to give his side a healthy advantage over Kent.

Slater put exactly 100 runs on the board before he nicked Jaskaran Singh straight into the hands of Harry Finch and while Haseeb Hameed, Will Young, Joe Clarke and Steven Mullaney all made starts, they failed to go on.

Kent took regular wickets to stop the hosts from going on to make a big partnership, but in the end it was wicketkeeper Tom Moores who frustrated the Kent attack, finishing unbeaten on 72 as Nottinghamshire closed on 275 for five.

Northamptonshire’s Emilio Gay posted three figures for the first time in nearly a year as their batters dominated against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Gay posted 144, one run short of his career-best total, and hit 14 boundaries in his 342-minute innings which helped his side post an impressive 302 for five at the close of play.

Aiming to haul themselves off the bottom of the table, the Northamptonshire opener put on 207 runs with captain Luke Procter for the fourth-wicket stand and earn just their second batting bonus point of the season.

Jamie Porter took five wickets as Essex landed the first blow over Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.

Pace bowler Porter conceded just 37 runs as the hosts could only manage 120 on a bowler-friendly pitch, with Simon Harmer chipping in with three for 26.

Batting also proved tricky for Essex, who replied by reaching 145 for six at the close, but more importantly take a 25-run lead into day two.

Surrey’s Tom Lawes destroyed the Somerset top order as they were bowled out for just 170 at Taunton.

The hosts were all out after just 56.3 overs, with 20-year-old seam bowler Lawes claiming wickets of three of the top four on his way to figures of four for 41, Tom Kohler-Cadmore top-scoring with 59 for Somerset.

Surrey replied with 138 for four, Tom Latham leading the way with 67 not out while his fellow countryman Matt Henry began his final appearance of a prolific spell in red and white-ball cricket for Somerset by taking three for 26.

Division Two leaders Durham endured a frustrating day at Scarborough after Yorkshire openers Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean shared a century stand as the hosts threw the first punch on a curtailed day’s play.

Lyth and Bean shared 113 inside 31 overs and went on to a score of 142 for two from 38 overs before Bean fell lbw to England Test pacer Matthew Potts.

Lyth led the way with 75 not out off 118 balls, but hail at lunch prevented an afternoon restart and when play looked to get under way at 2.30pm, rain fell again and it was not until 5.30pm when play resumed for nine overs before bad light cut short play for good.

Colin Ingram’s century put Glamorgan in the driving seat of their clash with Derbyshire.

Ingram notched his first century of the season and stood firm with a record second-wicket stand of 193 from 338 balls with Zain-ul-Hassan, who himself made 69 before being caught and bowled by George Scrimshaw.

After Ingram was bowled for 136 from 200 balls, Kiran Carlson and Billy Root hit half-centuries and shared a run-a-ball fifth-wicket stand of 107 as the visitors closed on 408 for six.

Jamie Smith plundered a century as LV= Insurance County Championship leaders Surrey made Middlesex toil at Lord’s.

Smith was still there at the close on 120 alongside Jordan Clark on 34, with the visitors having reached 312 for five despite losing opener Dom Sibley for just three.

Tom Helm’s three for 86 helped to peg back some ground, but Surrey left the field the happier.

Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook hit an unbeaten 64 as Essex closed to within 101 of Kent with 10 wickets in hand after an eventful opening day at Chelmsford.

Jamie Porter and Sam Cook took three wickets each as the visitors, who elected to bat, were skittled out for just 207 in 59 overs, with opener Ben Compton’s 47 the most notable contribution.

Cook and Nick Browne got Essex’s reply off to a strong start to reach the close at 106 without loss.

George Balderson and Tom Bailey mounted a rearguard action against Warwickshire to edge Lancashire towards 300 with an unbeaten eighth-wicket partnership of 145.

Number seven Balderson reached stumps six runs short of a century with number nine Bailey 75 not out to help the visitors to 295 for seven.

Nottinghamshire will resume against Hampshire trailing by 79 runs with five wickets in hand after an eventful day at Trent Bridge.

Brett Hutton, Dane Paterson and Lyndon James each took three wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 166.

However, Ian Holland claimed four for 19 in eight overs to reduce Nottinghamshire to 87 for five.

Northamptonshire seamer Jack White’s five-wicket haul could not prevent Somerset reaching the 350 mark.

White claimed five for 77 at the County Ground as the visitors were eventually dismissed for 351 with opener Sean Dickson top-scoring with 70 and George Bartlett making 55.

In Division Two, Derbyshire wicketkeeper Brooke Guest frustrated leaders Durham with a career-best 145 not out as the home side ended day one 317 for six after being put in.

Number three Guest hit 22 fours in an unbeaten 257-ball stay and put on 118 for the third wicket with Wayne Madsen, who made 62, before Durham skipper Scott Borthwick took two late wickets to edge his side back into it.

England spinner Rehan Ahmed provided some much-needed resistance as Leicestershire attempted to avoid a significant first-innings deficit against Worcestershire at Oakham.

Ahmed made 25 not out as the home side slumped to 88 for eight in response to the visitors’ total of just 178.

Matt Salisbury and Wiaan Mulder both took three Worcestershire wickets, but Dillon Pennington matched the feat at a cost of just 24 runs as the hosts crumbled.

Yorkshire’s Matthew Fisher took four for 53 as Sussex were reduced to 120 for six on a rain-affected day at Headingley.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Nathan McAndrew ended a day on which only 42 overs were bowled unbeaten on 29 and 25 respectively.

Middlesex’s first century of the season courtesy of Sam Robson was not quite enough to secure victory after their LV= Insurance County Championship Division One match at home to Northamptonshire finished in a scores-level draw.

The top-flight’s bottom two served up a thriller as Robson’s 126 not out, sharing a fourth-wicket stand of 150 with John Simpson (75), saw the hosts close in on their 323 target.

Ten was required from the last over and three from the last ball but Robson could only scramble a two to the on-side and the draw did little for either struggling side’s prospects.

At the other end of the table leaders Surrey’s draw at home to Nottinghamshire was less dramatic with proceedings called to a halt with the visitors 118 for one in their pursuit of 297 in 52 overs.

Brett Hutton’s fifth five-wicket haul of the season was the highlight as the Nottinghamshire seamer took his Championship tally to 41, level with Durham’s Chris Rushworth at the top of the wicket-taking standings.

Leg-spinner Calvin Harrison chipped in with three for 99 to bowl out the hosts for 340 40 minutes after lunch but there was not enough time left in the day for either side to fashion a victory.

Essex moved into second place with a 46-run win at Lancashire as Rob Jones’ 111 proved in vain for the hosts, who were bowled out for 383 with 11 balls remaining in pursuit of what would have been the county’s record run-chase of 430 to win.

Luke Wells (75) and Josh Bohannon (68) contributed half-centuries after the visitors’ overnight declaration on 292 for eight but Matt Critchley and Doug Bracewell both claimed three wickets apiece.

Nick Gubbins’ four-hour defensive masterclass earned Hampshire an unlikely draw after they had slipped to 115 for seven still needing needing 55 to avoid an innings defeat against Somerset at Taunton.

Gubbins scored 50 not out off 241 balls and shared in a match-saving stand of 100 with Liam Dawson (68no) either side of tea, Hampshire closing on 215 for seven.

In Division Two, Derbyshire captain Leus du Plooy made a magnificent 128 but the bottom side came up 19 runs short as they came agonisingly close to chasing down a target of 380 in 58 overs against Sussex.

Du Plooy’s third hundred of the campaign makes him the division’s leading scorer with 979 runs but when he was caught in the deep Derbyshire still needed 54 from 41 balls, and when the eighth wicket fell with 11 balls remaining the hosts settled for the draw.

A total of 552 runs were scored in the day at Hove as 19-year-old James Coles was last out for a career-best 180 as Sussex declared 25 minutes after lunch on 384 for nine.

Yorkshire’s victory push was thwarted by the weather and Worcestershire’s third-wicket pair of Jake Libby (64no) and Gareth Roderick (34no) at New Road.

The home side began the day on 22 without loss in their second innings and had been reduced to 49 for two – still 116 runs short of avoiding an innings defeat – when play was halted for bad light and then rain.

Play resumed three hours later when the Libby and Roderick put on an unbroken stand of 110.

Rishi Patel scored his fourth century of the summer – a career-best 179 – but his Leicestershire side had to settle for a draw in a heavily-curtailed game of just two innings at Glamorgan.

Leicestershire, starting the day 28 for none, posted 451 for six in reply to their hosts’ 403 for nine.

Ollie Price produced a telling performance with both bat and ball to guide Gloucestershire to an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Middlesex in a match which saw umpire Sue Redfern make Vitality Blast history.

Redfern became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in a Blast fixture as she stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium, where all-rounder Price led the way for the home side.

The 21-year-old top scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as Gloucestershire chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second win in three days.

Middlesex have struggled to post big totals in the short format this season and this match was no exception, the visitors struggling to build meaningful partnerships and coming up short on 139 for nine after being put into bat.

Jack Davies hit a defiant unbeaten 46 and Max Holden contributed a valuable 34 for Middlesex, but veteran left-arm seamer David Payne claimed two for 21 and off-spinner Price two for 18 as Gloucestershire took wickets at regular intervals to keep a lid on things.

Victorious in three of their last four outings, improving Gloucestershire kept alive their hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages, but Middlesex already look down and out, consigned to the foot of the South Group after losing their opening six games.

Ben Charlesworth, promoted to open the Gloucestershire innings on the back of his record-breaking 19-ball 50 against Essex last week, was stumped off the bowling of Josh de Caires for 12 as the hosts lost their first wicket with 24 on the board in the fourth over.

Also pushed up the order, Hammond made a better fist of things as he scored a patient 34 to help guide his side to 84 for one alongside Price before the opener squirted a catch to extra cover off the bowling of Luke Hollman.

Price and Zafar continued to push Gloucestershire towards victory but, with just four more runs needed to seal the win and also record his maiden T20 50, Price attempted to achieve both with a single blow off Thilan Walallawita, only to over-balance and fall to a sharp stumping by Davies.

Left to finish things off, Zafar remained unbeaten on 37 from 22 balls, with a six and three fours, while skipper Jack Taylor hit the winning run.

Gloucestershire performed at the top of their game to reduce Surrey to 29 for four in the powerplay at Bristol 48 hours earlier, and although they unable to emulate that feat on this occasion, they began well enough after sending Middlesex in.

Payne had Stephen Eskinazi caught for one and the visitors slumped to 20 for two when Joe Cracknell hoisted Danny Lamb to square leg.

Holden made the most of a let-off, put down at point by Matt Taylor off Zafar with the score on 26, to join forces with Pieter Malan and take Middlesex to 45 for two at the end of the six-over powerplay.

But Gloucestershire continued to press hard and Price had Malan caught at long-on for a 19-ball 21 and Zafar bowled former team-mate Ryan Higgins for one as Middlesex, struggling to contend with spin from both ends, were reduced to 52 for four.

Holden’s dismissal at the hands of Price in the 11th over made it 76 for five and although Davies struck a rapid 46 not out, Middlesex were unable to reach 150.

An excellent all-round display from Trinidadian Sunil Narine propelled Surrey to a seven-wicket win over Middlesex in their Vitality Blast South Group fixture at the Oval on Friday.

Surrey won the toss and elected to field first, restricting Middlesex to 155-8 off their 20 overs.

Luke Hollman (31), captain Stephen Eskinazi (25), and wicketkeeper/batsman John Simpson (25) were the chief scorers against Narine (2-27 off four overs) and Barbados-born England all-rounder Chris Jordan (2-27 off four overs).

Narine then top-scored with 51 not out off just 29 balls, including two fours and four sixes, while engaging in a match-winning 73-run fourth-wicket partnership with England test batsman Ollie Pope (37 not out).

Opener Will Jacks earlier smashed a 20-ball 43 for Surrey who easily reached 158-3 off just 15.1 overs to secure victory.

Surrey, also the team of former West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard, now lead the South Group with 15 points from eight games after seven wins and one no result.

West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach ended his five-game stint in the English County Championship on a high on Saturday taking nine wickets in Surrey’s drawn match with Middlesex.