Jo Harman-McGowan presents Wisden’s 2025 Championship team of the season.
The Panel: Lawrence Booth, Ben Gardner, Jo Harman-McGowan, Adam Hopkins, Yas Rana, Dan Senior, Phil Walker, Katya Witney
1. Haseeb Hameed (c) – Nottinghamshire
14 matches, 1,258 runs at 66.21, 4 hundreds, 6 fifties
100% of our panel voted for him
A triumphant season for Hameed, who guided Notts to their first Championship title since 2010 and enjoyed the best campaign of his career with the bat. He effectively sealed the deal with his fourth ton of the summer in Notts' victory over Warwickshire, which finally prised the trophy from Surrey’s grasp.
Still only 28 and hopeful of adding to his 10 Test caps, Hameed has been a player reborn since moving to Trent Bridge ahead of the 2020 season. He has flourished under the guidance of Peter Moores – who describes working with Hameed as “like finding a soulmate” – and put together an impressive body of work for Notts, for whom he averages 47.35 across 72 matches.
If England do come calling for a third time, they will find a more fluent and adaptable player who’s not so risk-averse. Of the nine players who made 1,000 runs in Division One this summer, only James Rew had a higher strike-rate.
2. Dom Sibley – Surrey
14 matches, 1,274 runs at 60.66, 4 hundreds, 5 fifties
38% of our panel voted for him
Another discarded England opener thriving on the domestic scene, Sibley edges out Worcestershire’s Jake Libby and Lancashire’s Marcus Harris after making 1,000 runs in a season for the first time since 2019, aided by a career-best 305 at The Oval against Durham.
Speaking to Wisden this summer, Sibley confessed his form had deserted him to such an extent that he was “praying for rain in the last few Tests I played,” but since returning to the county circuit he has simplified his technique and rediscovered his love of batting. No one scored more runs or faced more deliveries in the Championship’s top tier.
3. Rehan Ahmed – Leicestershire
10 matches, 760 runs at 50.66, 5 hundreds, 1 fifty
23 wickets at 19.00, 2 five-fors, 1 ten-wicket match
88% of our panel voted for him
“In red-ball cricket, he’s definitely a batsman,” James Taylor, Leicestershire’s assistant coach, told Wisden earlier this year when discussing Rehan’s conversion to a top-order dasher. “I know he’s had some really good conversations with Rooty and he’s a lot more mature as a player.”
It was a role he embraced fully, Rehan adding flair to an immensely resourceful Leicestershire side which ended their 23-year wait to return to the Championship’s top tier. He passed 50 on six occasions, cruising through to a century in all but one of those innings, while more than 60 per cent of his total runs came in boundaries.
Rehan may have added maturity to his game but it’s the flicks and flourishes which made him the most watchable batter of the summer, while his 13-wicket haul in a crucial win over Derbyshire, having made a first-innings hundred, ranks as the all-round performance of the season and served as a reminder of his talent with the ball.
4. James Coles – Sussex
14 matches, 1,032 runs at 46.90, 4 hundreds, 4 fifties
20 wickets at 33.25, 1 five-for
75% of our panel voted for him
The Sussex strokemaker had been ticking along nicely for the last couple of seasons, showing glimpses of his talent, but this summer, given his first taste of Division One cricket, Coles blossomed.
The 21-year-old notched three centuries in as many matches in a mid-summer purple patch and made a fourth in Sussex’s final fixture at Worcester to round off an eye-catching campaign, also picking up 20 wickets with his improving left-arm spin – a development which has caught the attention of the England selectors.
A surprising omission from the Lions tour party to Australia this winter, Sussex explained that he was unavailable due to his still-to-be-confirmed franchise commitments, with the ECB reportedly happy for Coles to prioritise the development of his white-ball game.
5. Saif Zaib – Northamptonshire
14 matches, 1,425 runs at 64.77, 6 hundreds, 7 fifties
13 wickets at 25.53
88% of our panel voted for him
You’d have got long odds on Zaib finishing top of the Championship’s run-scoring charts, the mercurial left-hander never having made more than a single ton in a campaign before this summer. But his run-making was relentless across a watershed season that brought him six centuries.
Having made his first-team debut for Northants aged just 15, making him the youngest player to do so in the club’s history, Zaib’s talent has always been evident. But, by his own admission, his lack of application in those early years stunted his progress.
Now 27, and with a broader perspective on life since becoming a father, he says Darren Lehmann’s arrival at Wantage Road has brought out the best in him, adding focus and discipline to his silky strokeplay. “He doesn’t want me to be content just getting to 100,” Zaib told Wisden this summer. “He reminds us how many double and triple hundreds he’s got! That’s something to aspire to.”
The results were spectacular, Zaib shining in a side which finished one off the bottom in the second tier. He can consider himself unfortunate to miss out on Lions selection this winter.
6. Ben Kellaway – Glamorgan
11 matches, 813 runs at 54.20, 2 hundreds, 4 fifties
25 wickets at 32.12,2 five-fors
38% of our panel voted for him
Another breakthrough star of the season, Kellaway first attracted attention due to his ability to bowl spin with either arm, but that unusual quirk is only a small part of well-rounded game which made him a key component in Glamorgan’s promotion charge
Punchy strokemaking from the middle-order is Kellaway’s primary function in red-ball cricket, and the 21-year-old performed that role superbly, his maiden first-class hundred (181* from 228 balls) propelling his side to a thumping win over Kent in May which kickstarted their season, culminating in their return to the top tier after a 21-year absence.
Kellaway also chipped in with useful wickets, claiming a brace of five-fors with his off-spin, and was rewarded with selection – alongside teammate Asa Tribe – for the Lions tour of Australia.
7. John Simpson (wk) – Sussex
14 matches, 1,086 runs at 60.33, 4 hundreds, 4 fifties
53 catches, 1 stumping
88% of our panel voted for him
The solitary player to retain their place from our selection last year – with James Bracey the only other keeper to earn a vote – Simpson topped 1,000 runs for third time in four years and led by example as he skippered Sussex to an impressive fourth-place finish on their return to Division One.
The ice to head coach Paul Farbrace’s fire, Simpson’s late-career batting renaissance continued as he registered four hundreds – taking his tally to nine across the last two seasons – while his keeping was as accomplished as ever.
8. George Hill – Yorkshire
13 matches, 420 runs at 22.10, 4 fifties
51 wickets at 16.72, 3 five-fors
100% of our panel voted for him
One of only two unanimous picks, Hill’s outstanding efforts helped drag Yorkshire away from the relegation mire. Considered a batting all-rounder as he progressed through the age groups at Headingley, the 24-year-old has become a real handful with the ball, adding an extra yard of pace and consistently troubling top batters.
While his batting fell away this summer, Hill boasted comfortably the best average among the Championship’s leading wicket-takers and he showed his class in both disciplines during the crucial encounter with Durham to conclude the campaign, making a season-high 88 from No.7 before taking 4-14 in the fourth innings to send their opponents down.
9. Kyle Abbott – Hampshire
14 matches, 296 runs at 18.50, 1 fifty
56 wickets at 20.69, 4 five-fors
63% of our panel voted for him
Hampshire may have fallen well short of their usual standards, only avoiding the drop after Durham’s final-day capitulation at Headingley, but Abbott was at his relentless best, taking 50 wickets in an English summer for a sixth time.
His 56 scalps were 21 clear of his nearest teammate and, despite turning 38 in June, he ploughed through 447 overs – among Division One seamers, only Warwickshire’s Ethan Bamber bowled more.
The club will be relieved to have secured his services for another summer, the South African signing a one-year contract extension last month, taking him through to a 10th season at Southampton.
10. Tom Taylor – Worcestershire
14 matches, 335 runs at 16.75, 1 fifty
58 wickets at 22.87, 2 five-fors
88% of our panel voted for him
Taylor was something of an unsung hero in Worcestershire’s 2024 campaign when the club defied pre-season expectations to finish an impressive sixth. Injury restricted the journeyman seamer to just six appearances, but those outings included all three of the Pears’ victories, Taylor finishing with a haul of 27 at 21.48.
It summed up a career which has promised much but been hampered by injury. Since making his debut in 2014, he’d managed only 70 first-class appearances across 11 seasons heading into this summer. Those years had taken him from Derbyshire to Leicestershire to Northants, before his move to New Road last year, with coach Alan Richardson describing his signing at the time as a “quite a coup”.
This summer, Taylor was ever-present in the Championship and finally had the opportunity to put together a season of real substance. He didn’t disappoint, finishing top of the wicket-taking charts across both divisions and burnishing his reputation by consistently getting top players out, proving particularly venomous against left-handers; this in a team which finished 41 points adrift at the foot of Division One.
His performances will no doubt have attracted the attention of other counties but the good news for Pears fans is that Taylor still has two seasons on his contract to run and should still be at New Road to lead their promotion bid next summer.
11. Jack Leach – Somerset
14 matches, 114 runs at 11.40
52 wickets at 22.78, 3 five-fors
88% of our panel voted for him
Out of favour with England but irrepressible at county level, Leach was comfortably the premier spin bowler of the Championship season, claiming 12 wickets more than his nearest rival, Simon Harmer, and steering Somerset to a third-place finish.
The left-arm twirler’s mammoth performance against Hampshire in Somerset’s final home match summed up his efforts, returning match figures of 74.2-42-109-9, and it looks as though he’ll be around to spearhead a title challenge next summer with the Test team looking at younger models.
Wisden's 2025 County Championship team of the tournament
- Haseeb Hameed
- Dom Sibley
- Rehan Ahmed
- James Coles
- Saif Zaib
- Ben Kellaway
- John Simpson
- George Hill
- Kyle Abbott
- Tom Taylor
- Jack Leach
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