The 2025 County Championship reached its conclusion today (September 27), almost six months after it began. The final throes of action rounded off another year which has seen several new faces shine across the season.
Nottinghamshire were crowned Division One Champions for the first time since 2010 on the penultimate day of the season, ending Surrey's three-year winning streak. While Leicestershire and Glamorgan had both already secured promotion ahead of the final round, the battle as to who would drop down into Division Two raged to the bitter end.
Amid the familiar stalwarts grinding out returns across the competition, several newer faces established themselves as breakout stars over the 126 matches played. Here's a few of them.
Sonny Baker
Baker's breakout season started well before the Championship started, when he was given an England development contract after impressing with the Lions in Australia over the winter. It was clear early in the season why he'd been put in the fast-lane of development. He dismissed Jonny Bairstow twice on Hampshire debut, before impressing at The Oval the following week. Most notable were the two five-fors he took with the Kookaburra ball, as others up and down the country bowled into the dirt during those rounds. While he only played six Championship matches over the season, his 19 wickets were enough to further his case for England selection – although when the call came it didn't exactly go as planned.
James Coles
Twenty-one-year-old batting all-rounder Coles translated the runs he scored in Division Two last year to a stellar first showing in Division One. He crossed the 1,000 mark for the season in Sussex's final match, scoring a pivotal first-innings hundred against Worcestershire as any fears of a last-minute drop into the relegation zone were vanquished. That was his fourth hundred of the season, which followed an astonishing run in June and July where he scored 148*, 53, 150 and 108 in consecutive innings. Coles also took 20 wickets across the season, including taking three wickets in nine balls against Yorkshire when the new ball was thrown his way in the penultimate round of the season.
Saif Zaib
It's testament to the extraordinary summer Saif Zaib had that a player, who made his Championship debut a decade ago, is one of its breakout stars this year. Of his nine career hundreds, six were scored this summer, as he finished leading the run charts in Division Two with 1,425 – almost double that of any of his Northants teammates. His effort was, for the most part, as a lone crusade, with Northants finishing second from bottom of Division Two. Before this season, Zaib's average from 60 first-class games was 26, this year, his average was a whopping 64.77.
Rehan Ahmed
It seems slightly disingenuous to be proclaiming a player who earned their Test debut three years ago as having a 'breakout' summer. But that's only fitting way to describe Rehan's red-ball season this year. His move up the order brought five centuries across the season, and his storyline from lower-order leg-spinning all-rounder to batting powerhouse became one of the most prominent storylines of the summer.
He also took 23 wickets at 19.00 apiece, including becoming the first English player since Ian Botham to score a century and take 13 wickets in the same game. For a promotion-hunting Leicestershire, his transformation was integral to securing them the Division Two title. Calls of a Test recall for Rehan gathered pace ahead of the Ashes squad announcement, but he was overlooked in favour of Will Jacks when it came to it. Nevertheless, he will almost certainly be on the Lions tour in Australia, ready and waiting in the wings.
Ajeet Singh Dale
Gloucestershire quick Dale has carved out a reputation for himself as one of the quicker bowlers on the county circuit, reaping his rewards this season with 40 wickets. His efforts this year, which featured two five-fors – including a career-best nine-for against Kent – in spite of an underwhelming season for Gloucestershire, drew eyes to him from other counties, with Lancashire eventually winning the race to draw him away from Bristol.
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