England are watching the County Championship more closely than ever this season – these are the six breakout stars they should have their eyes on, from Yorkshire’s next big-hitter to the Warwickshire quick coaches are raving about

The County Championship makes the earliest start in its 136-year history this week when the opening round begins on Good Friday, with Nottinghamshire starting their title defence in Taunton against Somerset.

Assurances from England managing director Rob Key that the national team will listen more to domestic performances in April and May this year will surely heap pressure on those who currently hold a place in the Test setup and inspire those pressing to break into it.

With the likes of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith having endured painful winters Down Under in the Ashes, the race is on for England selection ahead of the first Test series of the summer, a three-match set against New Zealand that begins on June 4 at Lord’s.

Meanwhile, others will be looking to either build on impressive starts to their county careers or make good initial impressions.

Here, Daily Mail Sport identifies six potential breakout stars to keep an eye on this summer.

1. Asa Tribe (Glamorgan)

The most talked about uncapped player since the end of the Ashes, partly down to his defiant, unbeaten hundred for England Lions against Australia A in Brisbane last December, and also due to the lingering uncertainty around Crawley.

Observers of his best work – including new Lancashire captain Jimmy Anderson in a Championship fixture at the end of last season – have been impressed with his temperament and technique, but there is an attacking aspect to his game too, which contributed to him being snapped up for the SA20.

He averages 44 from his 16 first-class matches, with three centuries, and will now be able to test himself against the best the county game has to offer after Glamorgan won promotion back to Division One for the first time in 20 years. 

The one question mark against the 22-year-old Jersey batsman is how he copes with failure – something he is yet to experience in just 18 months as a first-class player.

2. James Coles (Sussex)

Daily Mail Sport identified the spinning all-rounder as a potential call-up for England’s white-ball teams a year ago, but his form since has him challenging across all formats.

Seventh in the top-flight run charts in 2025, with 1,032, he also chipped in with 20 wickets from his slow left-arm spin at a respectable average of 33 as Sussex finished fourth.

Until recently, Coles – who turns 22 on Thursday – was best known as the youngest first-class cricketer in Sussex’s 187-year history, and another career landmark was reached last month when a Hundred bidding war led to London Spirit signing him for an auction high of £390,000.

3. Will Luxton (Yorkshire)

Last year Luxton made just three Championship appearances, but he has something of the ball-striking ability about him that has made players like Jonny Bairstow stand out at Headingley and a game that transfers between long- and short-form cricket.

He is recently returned from captaining Greenvale Kangaroos in Victorian Premier grade cricket, where he became one of only a dozen players in the competition’s history to hit three consecutive centuries.

His potential lit up the televised Roses game in last year’s T20 Blast – an unbeaten 90 in Manchester coming during a huge stand with Bairstow. Dawid Malan’s departure to join Gloucestershire on a T20-only deal should mean an opening position becomes his permanently.

4. Matthew Fisher (Surrey)

A precocious talent at Yorkshire, debuting for the first team at 15, Fisher has arguably never been in better shape than he is at the start of this season.

The right-arm quick adapted well to a new bowling plan at Surrey and seemingly put years of doubts about the robustness of his body behind him via a full winter with England Lions.

His first year at the Oval in 2025 saw him take a career-high 31 first-class wickets, including a superb September display of 11 for 134 against champions Nottinghamshire.

Now 28, he appears to be in position to challenge for further full England honours, having won his sole Test cap four years ago in the series in the Caribbean that preceded the Bazball era.

5. Michael Booth (Warwickshire)

Ask people at Edgbaston which of the club’s young players they are excited about and Booth’s name is the one they bring up most.

Booth’s dream is to follow house-mate Jacob Bethell into the England team, but the Zimbabwe-born pace bowler does not qualify until the autumn and will therefore spend another summer on overseas terms with the Bears.

Able to generate high-end pace from a strong shoulder action, he worked Harry Brook over in Warwickshire’s win over Yorkshire at Headingley in 2025, consistently beating the outside edge before trapping England’s Test vice-captain leg before wicket – one of 24 Division One victims at 28 runs apiece.

With Warwickshire well stocked in the seam department – they can also count on Chris Woakes, Olly Hannon-Dalby, Ethan Bamber, Ed Barnard, new signings Keith Barker, Jordan Thompson and Nathan Gilchrist, Australia all-rounder Beau Webster, and youngsters Ben Blakemore and Che Simmons – his role should be to bowl fast in concentrated spells.

6. Shafiqullah Ghafari (Durham)

A former Afghanistan Under-19 international who settled in the North East while making a successful asylum claim, he was selected as an overseas player at the end of last season, taking four wickets in Durham’s relegation-confirming defeat to Yorkshire, and returns as a local player in 2026.

The 24-year-old’s English is limited but his determination to make things work professionally here has driven him through barriers, saying ‘the past three years have been filled with challenges, sacrifices and moments that tested my spirit.’

His leg-spin proved more than a test for opponents in the North Yorkshire and South Durham League. How he adapts bowling exclusively to first-class batters will be intriguing.