NCL Division One County Profiles:

Lancashire defend their Norwich Union NCL title with few pundits prepared to back against them. They finished a massive 16 points ahead of their nearest rivals last year, but there are arguably more genuine pretenders to the throne this time. Yorkshire could be the side best placed to challenge Lancashire's supremacy, while Kent have the nucleus of a title winning side, although they do not have the same depth in their squad as Lancashire and Yorkshire and last season's third place may well be their limit.

Gloucestershire's most successful season in over twenty years brought them the Benson and Hedges and Nat West Cups and a top four finish in the CGU Division One, so they cannot be ruled out.

Prize Money: Winning team £54,000; Runner-up £27,000

Ian Harvey (left)

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

(Champ 18th, NWT winners, B&H winners, NL1 4th).

Could find it difficult to match the success of last season when they won both knockout trophies. They finished bottom in the championship though and, despite the return of Australian all-rounder Ian Harvey, and the presence of Mike Smith, the only bowler to take more than 50 championship wickets last season, Gloucestershire have it all to do.

Rahul Dravid

KENT

(Champ 5th, NWT q/f, B&H -, NL1 3rd).

Pulled of something of a coup in recruiting India's Rahul Dravid, one of the finest players of spin in the world, as their overseas player as a replacement for Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. The arrival of wicketkeeper Paul Nixon should further strengthen a side who are traditionally among the challengers but have won only one trophy in the last 24 years. They will have to overcome the loss of seamer Dean Headley to England, but Mark Ealham failed to secure a contract and should be available to them for most of the summer.

Sourav Ganguly

LANCASHIRE

(Champ 2nd, NWT q/f, B&H q/f, NL1 1st).

The unlikely decision to go for Indian batsman Sourav Ganguly, their first batting overseas player since Clive Lloyd, make Lancashire a bit of a unsure bet despite last year's runners-up spot in the championship for the second successive season. Without Muttiah Muralitharan's presence - he claimed 67 wickets in seven matches last summer - their attack looks a little lightweight. Peter Martin, Glen Chapple and former South Australia seamer Joe Scuderi, who qualifies on an Italian passport, are expected to lead the attack. They have also lost both Michael Atherton and Andrew Flintoff to England.

Phil DeFreitas (right)

LEICESTERSHIRE

(Champ 3rd, NWT 4th rd, B&H q/f, NL1 6th).

The departure of Alan Mullally and Paul Nixon has been offset by the return of veteran all-rounder Phil DeFreitas and Kent batsman Trevor Ward, while Indian spinner Anil Kumble will add class to their attack. With other talents like Aftab Habib, Ben Smith and Darren Maddy and the recruitment of South African all-rounder Billy Stelling, who qualifies on a Dutch passport, they should not be underestimated.

Matthew Hayden

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

(Champ 13th, NWT q/f, B&H -, NL2 3rd).

Off-spinning all-rounder Graeme Swann and batsman David Sales carry the bulk of Northamptonshire's hopes on their young shoulders. The pair are both in England's thoughts, and if Australian captain Matthew Hayden can produce more consistent results from the rest of his squad they could challenge strongly for promotion. They have strengthened their batting line-up with Adrian Rollins from Derbyshire.

Andrew Caddick

SOMERSET

(Champ 4th, NWT r/up, B&H -, NL2 2nd).

Somerset face the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Andrew Caddick to England after he claimed 176 championship wickets in the last two seasons. Caddick's efforts helped Somerset reach fourth place with Australian captain Jamie Cox finishing fourth in the national batting averages with 1,617 runs. Repeating that success, which also included reaching the NatWest Trophy final, could prove impossible.

Michael Bevan

SUSSEX

(Champ 11th, NWT 4th rd, B&H s/f, NL2 1st).

After securing the talents of Australian all-rounder Michael Bevan for the coming season, Sussex should be in the running for at least one of the one-day trophies. They have emerging talents like James Kirtley, Jason Lewry and Robin Martin-Jenkins to call upon and are likely to be among the favourites to secure promotion from the championship's second division. With coach Chris Adams having been dropped by England, he will also have an extra incentive to enjoy a good season.

Steve Rhodes

WORCESTERSHIRE

(Champ 15th, NWT 4th rd, B&H -, NL1 2nd).

The loss of Graeme Hick to England could be significant. Steve Rhodes is vice-captain and will deputise in Hick's absence but Hickís consistent run-making will be sorely missed. Worcestershire, though, still have the brilliant Glenn McGrath to call upon, and his presence should help fellow seamer Alamgir Sheriyar's progress.

Darren Lehmann (centre)

YORKSHIRE

(Champ 6th, NWT s/f, B&H r/up, NL1 5th).

Have been hit harder than most by England's central contracts. They have lost Michael Vaughan, Craig White and Darren Gough. Vaughan's loss leaves them without an opener, while White's all-round play will also be difficult to replace. Australian Darren Lehmann returns, but his presence alone wonít be enough to fill the gap. Yorkshire reached the final of the Benson and Hedges Cup last season but the odds are against them being among the silverware this time.

Champ = championship,
NWT = NatWest Trophy,
B&H = Benson and Hedges Super Cup (only top eight finishers in 1998 championship were allowed entry),
NL1 or NL2 = National League division one or two.