County cricket is back this week and with it the opportunity for scores to be settled and claims to be staked for a place in the next iteration of England’s Test side.
Seven rounds of the County Championship will be played before Ben Stokes leads out his side in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's in June and the early-season exchanges could provide a platform for some future names to show their worth.
But that will also be a side-plot to the bigger picture as the 10 Division One sides begin their quest to lift the Lord's Taverners Trophy come late September.
Will Surrey get back on the horse and win a fourth title in five seasons? Can Nottinghamshire repeat their success from last summer? Are Sussex destined for a return to Division Two after a winter of financial struggles and a points deduction?
We try to predict who might be contenders and who else could be battling for survival…
Expect both Nottinghamshire and Surrey to again be up at the business end of the table for most of the season.
Holders Notts will be boosted by the prospect of having Ben Duckett available for some of the early-season games following the England opener's decision to in a bid to regain some form.
Another who will be looking to find a flurry of runs from the off will be
He lost his England place during the Ashes defeat and will wonder how he can force his way back into contention after Jacob Bethell's eye-catching performances in all formats across the winter.
In addition, both sides will be packed with match-winners.
Haseeb Hameed won plaudits for his captaincy of Notts last season as well as his weight of runs, next-gen Aussie quick Fergus O'Neill will be one of their early-season overseas players plus England pair Olly Stone and Josh Tongue should play their fair share of games.
Surrey welcome back Sean Abbott for the first part of the Championship season to help bolster their seam bowling where Gus Atkinson will hope to maintain his form of recent years and show why he should lead England's Test attack this summer.
Prediction: Surrey to bounce back from last season's disappointment and regain their title. Just.
Alongside them pushing for honours should be Somerset.
Opener and spinner Archie Vaughan will hope his career keeps moving in an upwards trajectory after a winter playing grade cricket in Australia.
The county will also be boosted by James Rew, who was called up as cover for an England Test squad early last season, extending his contract. His younger brother Thomas will also be a key asset having already caught the eye both as England under-19s captain and on the Lions tour to Australia in the winter.
There is little to pick from away from those three, but then that wouldn't be much of a prediction would it?!
Essex will look to make up for a sluggish display last season that left them flirting with relegation before an encouraging finish.
New-ball bowler Sam Cook will bid to force his way into England's Test plans after his debut against Zimbabwe last season. The signings of Mitchell Killeen from Durham and Zaman Akhter from Gloucestershire have added to the seam ranks should he get the call-up.
Wiaan Mulder, the man who less than a year ago, is an exciting early-season overseas addition alongside compatriot and Essex stalwart Simon Harmer.
Jordan Cox, when available away from franchise league commitments, could also be a potential wildcard England pick as a top-order batter who can keep wicket.
Hampshire always pack a punch in all departments despite their reprieve last season from the drop by a solitary point due to Durham's last-day collapse. They possess an exciting batting line-up and the presence of Liam Dawson's all-round skills.
After seeing attempts to bring in Australia's Michael Neser and West Indies' Jayden Seales as overseas signings scuppered, they have instead picked up South African Codi Yusuf.
Aside from that, expect a lot of eyes to be on Sonny Baker who had a baptism of fire on his international debut against South Africa last summer in white-ball cricket, but is very much seen as one for the future with his ability to bowl fast.
Warwickshire's title hopes may have been dented by an 11th-hour change in captaincy from Alex Davies to Ed Barnard, but with the hopeful presence of Chris Woakes for a whole season now his England career has ended, they should win more than they lose.
There will be a lot of excitement around Glamorgan being in the top division for the first time since 2005.
Asa Tribe is expected to be a name on many people's lips in the build-up to that first England Test in June.
The Jersey-born opener is seen as part of the next generation having weighed in with crucial runs in his county's promotion push last summer, a big century for England Lions against Australia A in the winter and some notable performances in the SA20 for Paarl Royals.
Should Glamorgan lose Tribe to national commitments later in the season, they should still have enough experience in the shape of Sean Dickson and Colin Ingram with the bat to steer them clear of danger.
Also back in a top tier after a 22-year absence are Leicestershire.
Rehan Ahmed chipped in with runs and plenty of them in their march to the Division Two title and he should once again be key with both bat and ball before potentially another crack at making it as England's front-line Test spinner.
The Foxes have brought in some experienced campaigners to bolster both their batting and bowling, including Stevie Eskinazi from Middlesex and Josh Davey from Somerset.
Australian Peter Handscomb will not return this year due to personal commitments, with his compatriot Jake Weatherald, who played in the Ashes over the winter, signed in his place for the opening block of fixtures.
New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel will also be around for the whole campaign.
Expect the Foxes to have enough to maintain momentum and stay up, but only just…
Yorkshire have a job to do to build on a stuttering campaign last season and to replace the loss of experienced players such as Dawid Malan and Jordan Thompson.
They will hope Australian quick bowlers Jhye Richardson and Will Sutherland can both stay fit and make an impact during their respective overseas stints but if they don't come off, it could be a tricky season ahead even with the potential early availability of both Harry Brook and Joe Root.
Definitely starting on the back foot will be Sussex, on -12 points to be exact after for financial issues during the winter.
It is a blow to Paul Farbrace's young squad who impressed in their first season back in the top flight in 2025 to finish fourth, but there remains a huge amount of long-term uncertainty.
The big-earner from the The Hundred auction, James Coles, could also be unavailable for long periods if he finds himself called into England action in both red and white-ball squads, but can Ollie Robinson take on the responsibility of captaincy to inspire a great escape for the seasiders?
All matches begin 11am, Friday April 3:
Cardiff: Glamorgan vs Yorkshire
Southampton: Hampshire vs Essex
Leicester: Leicestershire vs Sussex
Taunton: Somerset vs Nottinghamshire
Edgbaston: Warwickshire vs Surrey
