An Imaginary NFL Draft in English County Cricket

On Thursday night, in Chicago, the 2015 NFL draft will get underway.

The televised event, which now sees seven rounds of selections staggered across three days, offers the opportunity for all 32 professional teams to pick the cream of the college talent.

The order of the selections sees the franchise who posted the worst record in the previous season go first, while the two teams that contested the last Super Bowl occupy the final two slots. 

In theory, it is the opportunity for the weaker teams to improve their roster and build for long-term success.

The NFL draft offers the chance to take a player who could change the fortunes of a franchise for decades. On the flip side, a poor choice could set you back even further.

In British sport there is no need for a draft system. Many potential stars are already signed to clubs, or counties in the case of cricket, from a very young age.

But, what if we did have a draft in county cricket? What if every player currently playing in the English domestic game in 2015 was thrown into a pool and had to wait to be chosen by a team?

The idea opens up a real debate over who should go where. With that in mind, here's how I would see a fantasy county draft play out for the first round.

Before we begin the process of selecting players, there are some guidelines that need to be made clear.

There has to be a structure to the selection process for all 18 counties.

Firstly, no overseas players were considered. However, those registered on a Kolpak deal (as explained by Martin Williamson of ESPN Cricinfo) can be picked.

Obviously, unlike the NFL, county cricket has three different competitions—the LV= County Championship (four-day fixtures), the Royal London One-Day Cup (50 overs-a-side) and the NatWest T20 Blast.

While the Twenty20 stuff may be the most profitable in terms of gate receipts, the County Championship has been given the highest priority when it comes to drafting players.

That does not mean, though, that a talented limited-overs cricketer should be completely overlooked.

Age has to be taken into consideration too. Marcus Trescothick, for example, is still a fabulous player at the domestic level.

However, the Somerset batsman is now 39. Would you go for perhaps one more season from him, or opt for someone younger, who you could build around for the next seven or eight years?

International honours are great for individuals, but for counties they result in a long period without seeing one of their prized assets.

All England players were available to be selected, though obviously many have been left out due to the fact they would be away for such huge chunks of a summer.

The order was based on where the teams finished in the previous LV= County Championship season.

With the criteria now explained, it is time to get this draft underway.

Leicestershire, you are now on the clock...

It has been a tough time for Leicestershire in four-day action—they have not won a match in the County Championship in the past two seasons.

Now, with the first selection giving them the pick of every player in the English game, they can get someone to build their new-look team around.

The key to success in first-class cricket is 20 wickets. Batsmen set up matches, but bowlers get you over the line.

To that extent, the Foxes need a leader of their attack. Seamer Chris Rushworth may not be the obvious choice, but he has claimed 118 wickets over the last two seasons.

At 28, he still has plenty of miles left in the tank, plus it seems unlikely England will come calling for him. Rushworth—who has a first-class strike rate of 45.7—would be a safe choice for Leicestershire.

Jack Brooks has been a revelation since joining Yorkshire, taking 68 wickets in 2014 to help them win the Division One title.

The paceman is now 30, but that does likely mean that his chances of being picked for England may have come and gone.

Glamorgan would certainly be pleased to have the ever-willing Brooks—who started his career with Northamptonshire—as the spearhead of their bowling unit.

And selecting the bowler makes sure that the club shop in Cardiff could do a cracking line in headbands in the team's colours.

The run on seamers continues with the third pick, as Gloucestershire opt to take Lewis Gregory.

At just 22, the Plymouth-born bowler has quickly built a burgeoning reputation in the county game.

He picked up 43 Championship wickets in 2014 and has a career strike-rate of 45.4 in first-class cricket. It should not be overlooked that his batting would allow him add lower-order runs too.

The one drawback to selecting Gregory so high in the draft is his potential will not go unnoticed by England, who would sooner or later call him up.

At four, Kent decide to take the first batsman off the board.

There are plenty of candidates to be selected here, but Brendan Taylor gets the nod because of his international experience.

The former Zimbabwe skipper has Test and ODI averages of 34.72 and 34.82, respectively—impressive numbers considering he has been anchoring a struggling side for much of his career.

He should fill his boots in Division Two and can also keep wicket for his new employers. Kent would welcome having a player of Taylor's calibre in their middle order.

Surrey may surprise a few here but, considering the nature of the Oval pitch, Scott Borthwick makes sense.

A leg-spinning all-rounder who has plenty of experience but is still only 25, Borthwick has long-term potential.

In the past two seasons, he has scored over 1,000 first-class runs having been pushed up the batting order.

His bowling can still improve, but he already picks up a wicket every 53 balls. Borthwick will be determined not to become a one-Test wonder for England, which would benefit Surrey's cause too.

Mark Footitt returns to Derbyshire with the sixth pick, having played his cricket for the county since joining them from Nottinghamshire in 2010.

The left-arm paceman was outstanding last season, taking over 100 wickets in all competitions during the course of the summer.

In an interview with Peter Miller for All Out Cricket, Footitt said: “I can still bowl at 90mph, but there are times when you use that pace."

The 29-year-old has a career first-class strike-rate of 45.1 and is sharp enough to keep any top-flight batsman honest.

In selecting Alex Lees, Essex are looking to add a cornerstone of their squad for many, many years to come.

The opening batsman has already scored seven first-class hundreds at the age of 22, including a career-best 275 not out.

He has formed a tremendous opening partnership at Yorkshire with Adam Lyth, with the duo underpinning the county's march to the Division One title in 2014.

Lees looks a future England player in the making—Essex know all about promising left-handed openers too, having launched Alastair Cook's career.

New Road can be friendly to seamers, so Worcestershire wisely choose to take a bowling all-rounder in David Willey.

The left-armer was bothered by a back problem in 2014, but it should not be forgotten that he played a starring role in Northamptonshire's Twenty20 success the previous summer.

At 25, he still has plenty of time to develop; he could yet follow in the footsteps of his father, Peter, by playing for England.

Willey has a batting average of 28.88 in first-class cricket, making him a versatile performer that the Pears could rely on for runs and wickets.

Hampshire stick with what they know, bringing the familiar face of James Vince back to the Ageas Bowl.

The right-handed batsman was the leading scorer in Division Two of the LV= County Championship last year, finishing up with 1,525 runs.

Vince—who has a first-class average of 42.70—has also impressed in limited-overs action and has played for England Lions.

The 24-year-old has been named Hampshire's captain in one-day and Twenty20 cricket for 2015.

The second Yorkshire batsman is chosen when Northamptonshire reveal the name of opener Adam Lyth with the 10th pick.

The leading scorer in Division One of the County Championship in 2014, Lyth finished last year with an impressive tally of 1,489 runs.

He hit six centuries in the title-winning campaign and earned a call-up to England's squad for the Test tour to the Caribbean, though he has yet to make his debut.

Jonathan Trott has been given the nod ahead of him so far against West Indies, so Lyth may have to wait a little longer for his chance in international cricket. That would definitely be a boost to Northants.

Lancashire were relegated from Division One at the end of 2014, so the Red Rose county will want a quick return to the top tier.

To that extent, rather than opt for an up-and-coming player, they go for Jim Allenby, an all-rounder who has had plenty of experience in English domestic cricket.

Born in Australia, the 32-year-old's first-class batting average is a healthy 40.76. His medium-pace bowling, meanwhile, has accounted for over 250 opposing players during his career.

Allenby was the third highest scorer in the NatWest T20 Blast last year, so Lancashire can expect plenty of runs from him in all formats of the game.

Bowling at Lord's can be tricky to master considering the slope, so Middlesex's selection of someone who has plenty of experience playing there makes sense.

Steven Finn has slipped down the pecking order for England, in terms of Test cricket at least, so his county would benefit from having him available for much of the summer.

The 26-year-old has a first-class strike-rate of 49.2 and picked up 48 Division One wickets in 2014.

He has suffered setbacks in his career, not least returning home early from an Ashes tour, but Middlesex know how to get him firing on all cylinders.

Taunton is a paradise for batsmen. Therefore, Somerset goes for one of the most explosive players in English cricket—Alex Hales.

He has developed a big reputation for his one-day exploits and is the only player to have scored a Twenty20 hundred for England.

However, the right-hander is not just a limited-overs specialist. He had success in first-class cricket last year, making 954 runs for Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire (who signed him on loan).

Hales would relish the chance to play his home games at a ground where the pitches, as well as the fast outfield, are often perfect for scoring runs.

Chester-le-Street has been a successful place for seam bowlers in the past, so no shock to see Durham decide to go for Chris Woakes.

It is something of a gamble though, considering the bowling all-rounder has been heavily involved with England of late.

However, Woakes is by no means a certainty for selection by England (in Test cricket at least).

With a batting average of 37.87 and 346 first-class wickets to his name, the 26-year-old's statistics are simply too good to ignore so deep into the first round.

He should find the surfaces to his liking at Durham Emirates ICG, provided he is not away too often on international duty.

Another player who ends up returning to familiar surroundings is Nottinghamshire's James Taylor.

The diminutive batsman moved to Trent Bridge from Leicestershire at the end of the 2011 season.

He has scored 18 first-class centuries and is also an excellent limited-overs player. He has captained his county in the shorter formats of the game, as well as the England Lions team.

He has played 50-over cricket recently for England, including at the Cricket World Cup, but that would still not rule him out for too many fixtures in a long and hectic domestic season.

Just as it seems Warwickshire might get to bring back Varun Chopra at 17, Sussex swoop in just ahead of them to take the batsman.

The right-hander scored 1,069 runs in LV= County Championship action in 2013.

Although he wasn't quite so successful in the same format last year, he did still plunder plenty of runs in limited-overs cricket.

A former England captain at youth level, Chopra started out at Essex before moving to Edgbaston.

He is a solid opener who should enjoy making runs down by the seaside at Hove. At 27, he will also know big scores will push his claims for a first Test cap.

Perhaps with one eye also on limited-overs cricket, Warwickshire choose to take Luke Wright with the penultimate pick of the first round.

However, the all-rounder is more than just a one-day specialist, even if he has been signed by teams in both Australia's Big Bash competition and the Indian Premier League.

Last season he scored 933 first-class runs for Sussex and he boasts an overall career average of 40.19.

Wright has made exactly 50 ODI appearances for England, as well as featuring in 51 Twenty20 games for his country, but the Bears will be banking on having him available for all of the summer.

With the 18th and final pick of the first round, Yorkshire select Jonny Bairstow.

The wicketkeeper-batsman is currently behind Jos Buttler in the battle to wear the gloves England, so his home county would hope to have him available for selection for much of the season.

Bairstow, 25, has a first-class average of 42.61 and has made four half-centuries in 14 Test appearances to date.

The right-hander would be a strong addition to any county middle-order, while he is a dangerous one-day player capable of scoring all around the wicket.

There were a lot (and I mean a lot) of players who came into consideration for first-round picks.

On the bowling front, Keith Barker, Harry Gurney, Jack Shantry and James Tomlinson were a quartet of left-armers who missed out.

Age went against Tim Murtagh, Graham Onions and Ryan Sidebottom, as well as consistent all-rounders Peter Trego and Darren Stevens.

As for the batsmen who were not selected; Nick Compton, Steven Davies and Riki Wessels can feel aggrieved to not be mentioned previously.

Kolpak players Mark Cosgrove, Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Prince were close to getting their name called too, along with domestic stalwarts Ed Joyce and Marcus Trescothick.

A batsman by the name of Kevin Pietersen was considered. In the end, however, no county decided to take a chance on KP.

Some of the bright young talents coming through the county game were absent from the list of selections, such as the Overton twins, Craig and Jamie, and the Surrey duo of Zafar Ansari and Jason Roy.

There are a number of individuals not even discussed in the honourable mentions who probably deserved a place. In the end, however, there were only 18 spots available.

If you disagree strongly enough, have your say in the comments section.

All stats used in the article were from ESPN Cricinfo or ECB.co.uk