2026 County Championship Prediction and Tips

Nottinghamshire brought Surrey's domination of the County Championship to an end last season with a dramatic victory, brought about with a late surge and a 20-run win at The Oval in the second-last game of the campaign.

Surrey are 7/4 favourites this time around, but there are a few challengers queuing up in behind, most notably the defending champions, with last year's top two meeting twice this season in tantalising clashes.

Glamorgan and Leicestershire ended long waits to return to the top-flight with promotion from Division Two, while Durham and Worcestershire will attempt to bounce back at the first time of asking after relegation to the second tier.

2026 County Championship Tips Summary

Best Bet - Nottinghamshire to win Division One @ 11/2
Alternative Bet - Durham to win Division Two @ 11/4
Alternative Bet - Derbyshire to win Division Two @ 5/1

2026 County Championship Prediction

Best Bet: Nottinghamshire to win Division One @ 11/2

A strong batting line-up led Nottinghamshire to a County Championship Division One title last season, with Peter Moores' men picking up the most batting points of any team, spearheaded by captain Haseeb Hameed.

Notts have retained their strong batting unit and have been handed a huge boost on the brink of the season with the news that England opener Ben Duckett has decided not to play in the IPL to work on his red-ball form.

Adding the explosive left-hander to what was already a quality top order should see them go close again this time around.

Seamer Mohammad Abbas' departure to Derbyshire is a blow, but Australian Fergus O'Neill was the top wicket-taker in the County Championship when departing after four games last time around and he should feature more prominently now.

Young spinner Farhan Ahmed should take a leap forward for the defending champions, while experienced Pakistan seamer Mohammad Ali will join for the back end of the campaign.

Surrey's stars are feared, particularly with Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson all likely to appear at some point with points to prove after recent England disappointments, but there is very little juice in their price.

Notts have retained the core of their team and should go close once again.

Alternative Bet: Durham to win Division Two @ 11/4

Durham suffered a disappointing relegation last season, with a late-season collapse encapsulated by their final-day defeat at Yorkshire when all they had to do was bat for the draw.

They have added West Indies veteran Kemar Roche to a bowling attack that should get more use out of Matthew Potts alongside workhorse Ben Raine and impressive youngsters Archie Bailey and James Minto.

Overseas star David Bedingham has stayed on and will spearhead a batting line-up also containing Alex Lees and England Lions stars Emilio Gay and Ben McKinney.

Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Brydon Carse may chip in with a game or two and such a talented squad looks set to bounce straight back from relegation with a bang.

Alternative Bet: Derbyshire to win Division Two @ 5/1

Derbyshire were unfortunate to finish third in Division Two last season and certainly should not be underestimated this time around after adding to their bowling attack with a pair of eye-catching signings.

Mohammad Abbas was a crucial part of Notts' Division One title win and drops down a division, while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir will have a point to prove after his England career stalled in Australia.

Wayne Madsen continues to roll back the years, while Luis Reece took 50 wickets last season, the most of any bowler in the division.

The return of exciting youngster Harry Moore and proactive Australian opener Caleb Jewell are both also worthy of note.

After plenty of false dawns under Mickey Arthur's stewardship, Derbys finally look to have a squad capable of achieving something.

Key Season Stats

• Nottinghamshire only lost one game in the whole of the 2025 season

• Surrey have won three of the last four Division One titles

• Durham were relegated by a single point as Hampshire survived

• Leicestershire won Division Two by a 48-point margin

• Derbyshire finished five points short of promotion as Glamorgan went up

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.