When England won the Ashes, the county circuit understandably allowed itself a period of self-congratulation. Often condemned for soft cricket, the counties could claim to have helped to deliver a disciplined England Test team, which had beaten the Australians in their own backyard.
Two divisions, greater intensity, better pitches – all were trotted out as proof of how England's domestic game should be seen in a new light. And yet it is impossible to approach the new season without a sense of foreboding. The emphasis will not be on betterment but on survival.
It is always possible to be optimistic. The county circuit survives despite unending predictions of its demise, its subtle and understated rhythms knitting the summer together for millions in a low-burn sort of way.
Ravi Bopara, Essex's vice-captain, turns out at Chelmsford on the opening day of the County Championship after shunning a £100,000 offer from Rajasthan Royals to replace Paul Collingwood in the Indian Premier League, a sign that India's financial inducements have not entirely taken hold of an England cricketer's soul.
Interest was also stirred by last year's memorable finish to the championship, with three counties still in contention at the start of the final day. The prospect that a young Yorkshire side, skippered by a young man, Andrew Gale, whose faith in the importance of county cricket is unquestionable, could again press Somerset deep into September as the Cidermen seek to break their championship duck is one to relish. An England & Wales Cricket Board poll suggests 29% of county supporters expect Yorkshire to prevail.
But the backdrop is bleak. Surely there has never been a worse set of financial figures than the latest produced by the 18 first-class counties? Only three counties managed a profit – a piddling profit, too – whereas the Test match counties revealed large losses. The overall picture is of a domestic game churning out match after match in a failing attempt to maximise revenue and alienating spectators and exhausting players in the process.
These horrific balance sheets should come as no surprise. Last summer a report by the consultancy firm Deloitte emphasised some unpalatable facts. The ECB's policy of competitive tendering between counties for the right to stage Tests had encouraged many to overstretch themselves in their desperation to stage the international matches on which they depend. The combined debt of the nine Test grounds last summer was £91m and rising. Ground improvement plans had been funded by excessive borrowing and the economic downturn is exposing every dodgy decision. India's presence in England this summer will bring the counties short-term help, adding maybe £800,000 to their annual ECB grant of about £1.5m, but relief will be shortlived.
One of the first signs of spring is the assertion by Steve Harmison, Durham's former England fast bowler, that the counties play too much cricket. His argument has never sounded more convincing. Many counties have cut playing staffs but those slimmed-down staffs will still have to play day in, day out until mid-September. If you fall asleep in the crowd at Grace Road, where Leicestershire's first-team squad numbers 16 full-timers, you may well wake up to find yourself fielding at third man.
"Less is more" is a theory the counties have never cared for, although next summer the fixture list will be trimmed, with Twenty20 matches reduced from 16 to 10 for fear of overkill. "It's a start," Harmison says. The championship remains at 16 four-day matches, while the unloved CB40 drones on to little purpose, while the counties still waver on whether to mirror ODIs, play it over 50 overs and begin to address England's World Cup failings.
So let the slog begin. Yorkshire will pip Somerset for the title, Surrey will take Division Two and Somerset will beat Durham in the final of Twenty20. And by Christmas, unless the ECB steps in to help, a county may well go into administration.
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