2023 County Championship Tips – Round 5
Below you can find picks for Round 5 of the County Championship season from The Stats Zone's top Cricket tipsters. All times given are based on UK start times.
Thursday, May 4
Division One
Essex vs Surrey – 11:00am BST
Hampshire vs Warwickshire – 11:00am BST
Nottinghamshire vs Lancashire – 11:00am BST
Somerset vs Northamptonshire – 11:00am BST
Division Two
Derbyshire vs Leicestershire – 11:00am BST
Worcestershire vs Sussex – 11:00am BST
Yorkshire vs Glamorgan – 11:00am BST
Hampshire vs Warwickshire – 11:00am BST
Following a crushing innings victory over Northamptonshire, Hampshire will be expected to back that up against a Warwickshire side beaten in their most recent game at home to Surrey. There are question marks over the fragility of the Bears’ batting and any deficiencies will be ruthlessly exposed by Hampshire’s stacked bowling attack, just as they were by Surrey at Edgbaston. Back a home win in this one.
Prediction: Hampshire draw no bet
Essex vs Surrey – 11:00am BST
For Surrey to have gained a draw and two wins from their opening three games when taking into account the difficulty of the three fixtures looks very ominous for the rest of the division. If the reigning champions can get past Essex at Chelmsford, then folk can be forgiven for already deeming Division One a foregone conclusion. Essex may boast a world class spin-bowler, but the last red ball fixture at Chelmsford didn’t prove susceptible to spin and Surrey contain more depth in both the batting and pace bowling departments, so back an away victory.
Prediction: Surrey draw no bet
Worcestershire vs Sussex – 11:00am BST
All eyes will be on New Road come round five of the County Championship as Australian overseas batter Steve Smith makes his debut for Sussex. A genuine international superstar, Smith’s presence in county cricket serves as a big boost for the competition and for a Sussex side already stocked in the batting department. Worcestershire were beaten by Durham and fortunate to get a draw against Gloucestershire, with rain saving them from a likely defeat. Sussex will look to put significant scoreboard pressure on them via weight of runs and with England international Ollie Robinson among their bowling attack, they are more than capable of taking 20 wickets in Worcester.
Prediction: Sussex draw no bet
