Despite losing more times than any other side last time around, Darlington firmly believe that they are on course for a much better season following the signing of Indian Navdeer Sidhu.
They struggled to bowl sides out last season and see in Sidhu a saviour for the club. He bowls left-arm spin and will bat in the middle order and spokesman John Edwardson confidently predicts that better times are on the horizon at Feethams.
"We really struggled last summer in the field as evidenced by the fact that our leading bowler was down at 21 in the League averages,'' he said.
"We knew we had to improve the attack and feel we have found the right man in Sidhu who should take a lot of wickets.''
Neil Pratt has also moved to Feethams from Mainsforth and besides adding strength the batting and to the bowling, will also coach. On the down side, however, Darren Hickey has moved to Bishop Auckland and former Durham County pair John Glendenen and Andrew Fothergill have retired.
Mark Stainsby has taken over as captain from Gary Moody, who will be his deputy. "Gary felt he had done all he could and decided it was time to hand over the reins but obviously we are delighted that he will be number two to Mark and continue to play a pivotal role at the club," added Edwardson.
Saltburn, who clinched the championship by only three points from Redcar, will be the side to beat. Their strength lay in the bowling department and it is hardly surprising that they have re-engaged Mauhtashim Rashid for a second year.
He topped the averages with 75 wickets at 12.5 and number two was his colleague Adil Ditta whose 46 wickets cost just 13.5 runs apiece. Tony Bell top-performed with the bat, hitting almost 500 runs averaging 34.9 and he will again lead a squad which is unchanged.
Redcar have turned to Sri Lankan Sama Weera, another spinner and opening bat who has five Tests under his belt but they will surely miss young Mark Cosgrove who was a revelation when he arrived on a holiday from Australia. His 60 wickets haul will take some emulating and Redcar will be hoping that Weera is the man to help them to the title.
Hartlepool have also changed their professional after having a couple last summer. They have moved for Bishop Auckland's Steve Chapman who finished fifth in the averages at 38.7 scoring 581 runs.
Just as impressively he gained 54 wickets for 13.8 to end third from top and Pool anticipate that he can lead them to a more respectable position.
"It's no secret that we have tried to lure Steve to Park Drive for a number of years and I am delighted that at long last we have got our man," said skipper Gary Tebbitt.
"There has been a real buzz about the place since Steve signed and with Billy Hornby back in the fold from Blackhall, I am confident that we are on the road to better times," enthused Tebbitt.
Middlesbrough believe that they can go all the way after losing out to Saltburn by just 20 points last season. "We did not have the best of luck with the weather and really 20 points in our league is not a lot so there is no reason why we should not mount another strong championship challenge," asserted skipper Danny Evans. Boro have brought in Pakistani off-spinner and batsman Tahir Rashid who plays first class for Habib Bank and he is joined by his brother Umar, the medium pacer and batsman who has been professional with a number of clubs, more latterly Richmondshire.
Bishop Auckland suffered the ignominy of finishing bottom last season after lifintg the title 12 months earlier - but were saved from relegation because the facilities of Division One champions Barnard Castle were not up to Premier Division criteria.
They have signed Pakistani Aaley Haider, who as stand-in professional with Hartlepool last year averaged 33.4 with the bat and took 19 wickets bowling 141.5 overs.
He is joined at Kingsway by former junior Darren Hickey who has returned from Darlington but a blow is the decision of Andrew Bowman to join the North-East Premier League club Stockton. Keith Stones will again skipper the side and must be hoping that a number of junior players have profited from the experience they gained last year.
Blackhall have replaced last year's professional Michael Foster with Imran Jan, a 21-year old spinner from Trinidad but Stuart Morgan has departed for Lanchester.
Marske, who produced some sterling end-of-season performances against the better sides, will want to start where they left off. Suwanji Madanayake, a leg-spinner and middle-order batsman who played for Sri Lanka Under-19s is their new pro but the departed Ricky Clayton (Seaton Carew) and Stewart Hutton (Gateshead Fell) will take some replacing as will Adam Patterson, who is in Australia at present.
The Coverdale brothers, Neil and Ian have both signed from Normanby Hall and overall, Marske look well-placed to make an impact.
All-rounder David Towse has returned to Guisborough who will be looking for another productive season from Graham Shaw who topped the averages when he was the only player to reach four figures scoring 1114 runs at a hugely impressive 85.7.
Left-arm spinner Steve Broderick has returned to the area but veteran Dave Pennock has gone back to his roots with Great Ayton.
Richmondshire captain Andy Mollett is hopeful of better times after his side ended second bottom last season. Australian David Fitzgerald, an opening batsman who played for his country's A team last year, is the new professional but Chris Whitton, an opening batsman has gone in the opposition direction.
"It is a blow to lose Chris who is having some time in Australia but having signed Jim Headman, Pat Legge and David Mathias, I feel we have more experience in the side and we should be able to cope much better," claimed skipper Andy Mollett.
There is little change at Northallerton who will have Ian Gill as captain for the fourth year and the ever-reliable Jonathan Barnes is back as professional following another very successful season when he averaged 33.3 and claimed 50 wickets at a respectable 14.5 runs each. Ian Place has dropped down to captain the Second XI after being a first team regular and John Gregory is expected to replace him at senior level.
Apart from losing the Coverdale brothers, there is little change at Normanby Hall who have Neil Russell returning as professional and Brian Leach as captain while Thornaby, too, have the same pro in Geoff Love and Neil Marsden as skipper. They have signed Matt Dex, a batsman from Norman and left-arm spinner Ian Still has returned to the club after a spell with Stockton.
Darlington RA have signed three newcomers, two of them from neighbours Darlington. Kevin Roddy and Peter Mellor have made the short move while James Hornby has joined after playing in the Scarborough area. Paul Haig has returned to Blackpool and Robert Chismon has linked-up with Mainsforth but with Aussie Paul Thomas back for a second spell, Peter Eckles must be hopeful that he can maintain the momentum a little longer than last season.
In the early weeks, RA were the surprise side before their form fell away - but they can heart from that fact that they played much better than in previous seasons.
l Newcastle-based bookmaker Bryan Hazell has made Saltburn favourites for the championship with odds of 11/4. Anyone wishing to place a bet can do so with Middlesbrough captain Danny Evans, who can be contacted on (01642) 292179 or by e-mail - evans.danny Saltburn 11/4, Guisborough, Middlesbrough 3/1, Blackhall, Darlington 8/1, Redcar 10/1, Hartlepool, Marske 12/1, Northallerton, Richmondshire 25/1, Bishop Auckland, Darlington RA, Normanby Hall, Thornaby 40/1.
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