Joe Clarke

Granted, it wasn’t a happy Round 1 for many batsmen, but with scores of 20 and 15 against Hampshire, Clarke did his growing case for England inclusion little good on an Ageas Bowl strip that provided a fairly even contest between bat and ball. That said, he did get starts against an internationally seasoned bowling attack and his second-innings dismissal – lbw to a nip-backer from Kyle Abbott – could have been a bit high. Will surely remain firmly on the radar after his performances in the North-South series, but will need significant first division runs if he’s to force his way in by May.

Neither quite one thing nor the other in his England career so far, Stoneman has not yet had a chance either to rack up runs or notch up noughts on the domestic circuit. He and Surrey will get their Championship campaign underway against Hampshire at The Oval on Friday and, after the signing of Dean Elgar as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh as overseas player, he might have his work cut out just to get into his favoured position for his county side. One of Elgar, Stoneman and new Surrey captain Rory Burns, specialist openers all, will have to bat at No.3. Either way, after his examination by fast, short-pitched bowling down under over the winter, it’ll be fascinating to see how Stoneman fares in more familiar, if equally challenging, conditions.

Olly Stone

While Harry Gurney and Jake Ball ripped through Lancashire to win Nottinghamshire’s game at Old Trafford, the most eye-catching bowling performance of the opening round came from Warwickshire’s Olly Stone. The 24-year-old paceman joined the county for 2016 but injury has kept his contribution limited until now. Against Sussex at Edgbaston he showed genuine pace the like of which is rarely seen in county cricket. While seamers throughout the land were nibbling it about off a length at medium-pace, Stone was running in hard and troubling batsmen against the short ball as part of a sensational 8-80.

While Stone still needs to prove himself on a consistent basis, he has been on England’s radar in the past and seems just the sort of bowler they were missing throughout their troubled winter. Keep an eye on him.

Sam Hain

The 24-year old scored just 8 in his one innings during Warwickshire’s rain-affected draw with Sussex. Has a way to go to become anything other than an outside shot after a disappointing 2017 in red-ball cricket.

Josh Tongue

The 20-year-old tearaway Josh Tongue took two in each innings for Worcestershire in Southampton. While he didn’t enjoy the wicket-taking success of other competitors for England’s attention, the youngster didn’t look out of place at any stage against a batting line-up boasting a host of internationals including Hashim Amla, whom he dismissed lbw in the first innings.

We’ll be monitoring the progress of an array of England hopefuls throughout the opening weeks of the county season in England Watch.

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