County cricket may be watched only by the retired, unemployed and unemployable but console yourself by the fact that while the bloke in the deckchair next door is getting kicks from keeping the score with a multitude of different coloured inks, you are there for valuable betting research.

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One of the least fashionable summer pursuits the respective Division One and Two competitions may be, but they offer the punter tremendous value. Here is our guide to the warm orders for glory in Divisions One and Two respectively.

Division One
Yorkshire
Have probably the best balanced squad in the section. Michael Vaughan boosts a formidable batting line-up while Naved-ul-Hasan, Darren Gough, Tim Bresnan, Matthew Hoggard, (stick with me) Adil Rashid and Deon Kruis is as strong a bowling line-up as you'll see. Yorkshire's credentials are there for all to see – no side has won the title more times (30) than the Yorkies.

Kent
Kent have never been out of the top division and although they have declined – seventh and fifth in the last two years – their batting is comfortably good enough for a top three finish, which makes them worth following each-way. Their bowling is a slight worry, although Ryan McLaren is a class act and Amjad Khan's return from injury boosts them further.

Hampshire
Don't touch them with someone else's money. They have lost a total of five of their bowlers – 142 first-class wickets from last term – including Shane Warne and replaced them with just one, Shane Bond. When fit, Bond is one of the best bowlers in the world but it would be a miracle if he was able to stay fit for what is an arduous season. Relegation fodder.

Division Two
Leicestershire
If you subscribe to the view that it is the ability to take 20 wickets which makes a side successful – and you should – then Leicestershire are worth following to finish in the top three. Garnett Kruger, Dillon du Preez and Jermaine Lawson are of international standard given they hail from South Africa and West Indies respectively. Lawson once terrorised Australia's finest. Batsmen in Division Two should be easier targets.

Glamorgan
The biggest outsider at prices up to 50/1 may not be quite as bad as some of the layers reckon. The Welsh county have made some shrewd signings in the close-season. Jason Gillespie, Matthew Wood and Jamie Dalrymple should improve them beyond recognition from the team which finished bottom last time. Gillespie boosts the wicket-taking ability, Wood is a classy opener and Dalrymple's all-round ability strengthens them all over. The trio should give confidence to Glamorgan's plethora of talented youngsters, including all-rounder James Harris.

Before having a bet it is worth knowing how teams actually gain points to win the Championship or be promoted (only the top two from the bottom rung go up). Sides receive 14 points for a win, seven for a tie, four for a draw and none for a loss plus bonus points for batting and bowling.

These are awarded (first innings only before 130 overs) as follows – batting: 200-249 runs = one point, 250-299 runs = two points, 300-349 runs = three points, 350-399 runs = four points, 400 runs or more = five points. Bowling: three to five wkts = one point, six to eight wickets = two points, nine wickets = three points.

The importance of this for punters is so they can look at last year's table and work out the respective batting and bowling strengths of each side, and then cross-reference that with their new signings to check they have strengthened the right areas.

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