The 2025 County Championship season begins on Friday with a full list of nine fixtures across the Divisions One and Two.

It will feature familiar names like Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes and Simon Harmer but also those trying to make their marks in the professional ranks.

Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are always on the lookout for the next big thing to come through the county game and this year will be no different. 

Here, Mail Sport introduces six young players to look out for over the coming weeks:

Ben McKinney (Durham)

It is not only his 6ft 7in frame that makes an opening batsman only recently out of his teens stand out.

Last winter, he struck 110 from as many deliveries for England Lions against Australia A, punishing anything loose, in what was very much an innings from the Bazball bible. 

With Zak Crawley's struggles certain to be in focus this summer, and England unafraid to blood young talent, it would not be the most outlandish claim to suggest McKinney has a chance to push for full international honours despite having only 11 first-class appearances to his name.

The former England Under 19s captain's ball-striking talent was recently recognised by Hundred franchise Manchester Originals, who secured him on a £78,500 deal - the same level as South Africa's premier short-format player Heinrich Klaasen.

James Wharton (Yorkshire)

Another brute of a batting talent, standing a couple of inches shy of McKinney.

At 24, Wharton is something of a late developer and if 2024 was his breakthrough season - cashing in on his promise by striking a mammoth 285 against Northamptonshire, the fifth-highest individual first-class score at Headingley - this one represents a quest for consistency.

With Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jonny Bairstow among those available during the first half of the summer, the competition for top-six places at Headingley will be fierce, but there is a feeling that Wharton is already on a similar career pathway to that trio. 

Indeed, it was a surprise when Yorkshire's former second XI captain was not selected for the England Lions on the back of 833 runs in nine Championship matches last year.

Archie Vaughan (Somerset)

The son of former England captain Michael Vaughan is certainly making things hard for himself in trying to prove he is a batsman who bowls.

Being a little less prolific with his off-spin might help. First, there was the brilliant 11-wicket haul that plunged champions Surrey to defeat in Taunton last September.

Then came second-innings figures of 16-5-19-6 to lead the England Under-19 team he captained to a 10-wicket victory in Cape Town and a series win over South Africa two months ago.

But his Somerset colleagues will tell you that batting remains his primary suit.

He is set to get a run of matches as an opener between now and the end of May in what will be the steepest learning curve of his fledgling career.

Farhan Ahmed (Nottinghamshire)

The 17-year-old younger brother of Leicestershire and England's leg-spinning prodigy Rehan Ahmed turns the ball the other way and has done so with aplomb in five first-class outings to date, belying his age with 25 wickets at under 24 runs apiece.

Rehan teases that such an approach is boring, but it is Farhan's control of his off-spin that sets him apart from his peers.

Nottinghamshire are clearly intent on providing opportunities for a player who has also shown with an innings of 90 against South Africa Under 19s in January that he might to be able to make some useful tail-end contributions in time.

Unlike Shoaib Bashir at Somerset, Ahmed does not have senior spinners blocking his path and so there is genuine scope for career progression at Trent Bridge.

Harry Moore (Derbyshire)

Like Ahmed, Moore is still 17, although you wouldn't think it from his physique.

A product of Repton School, where Harry Brook's mentor Martin Speight is now cricket master, hulking fast bowler Moore became the youngest player in Derbyshire's 155-year history in August 2023 aged just 16 years and 114 days.

Derbyshire head of cricket Mickey Arthur - who has coached South Africa, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - said Moore was 'hand on heart, the best 17-year-old I've ever coached,' and the club were 'excited to keep working with him for years to come,' after handing him a deal until 2027.

Having claimed the scalp of India Test opener Prithvi Shaw on his Championship debut seven months ago, it looks like his time is now at a club that does not have the depth of seam bowling resources of the majority of its rivals.

Sonny Baker (Hampshire)

The wannabe England star with a name that makes him sound like he ought to be chasing home runs in Major League Baseball has yet to make his Championship debut.

But Surrey fought Hampshire hard for his signature when he made the decision to leave Somerset last summer.

And England Lions coach Andrew Flintoff saw enough over the winter to advise the ECB hierarchy that they should be managing the 22-year-old's workload via a development contract after returning from the tour of Australia in the new year. 

Already clocked in excess of 90mph on the speed gun, but keen to be recognised for a commensurate level of skill, he is set for a seam-bowling education on the south coast as part of a pace cartel including prolific veterans Keith Barker and Kyle Abbott.