BBC county cricket team of the season 2015

Alex Hales, Chris Rushworth, Tom Curran and Jonny Bairstow have all made significant impacts in 2015

This summer, BBC Sport has again broadcast live commentary on every day's play of every match in the county season.

It has been a summer that has seen Yorkshire retain the County Championship, their Roses rivals Lancashire lift the T20 Blast trophy for the first time and Gloucestershire roll back the years to their glory days of just over a decade ago by winning a thrilling One-Day Cup final.

We asked BBC local radio commentators to nominate players for the 2015 county Team of the Season.

Kent batsman Sam Northeast, Warwickshire pair Rikki Clarke and Jeetan Patel and Derbyshire paceman Mark Footitt were among those unlucky to miss out, but here is the final XI.

Let us know your choices for Team of the Season using the form on this page, or via Twitter, using #bbccricket.

1. Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)

"After making his name as a prodigious white-ball biffer, Alex Hales' determination to prove himself in the first-class arena has delivered rich dividends in 2015.

"Three scores over 180, including a career-best 236 against champions Yorkshire, have taken the 26-year-old beyond 1,000 runs in first-class cricket for the second season in a row, a staggering about-turn after a miserable 2013 which saw him dropped to the seconds with an average of just 13.

"His dedication to improve his all-round game has now been rewarded with a call-up to England's Test squad for the first time.

"On his day, there are few better players to watch and it's heartening to find both the international selectors and the county broadcasters arriving on the same page at the same time."

By BBC Radio Nottingham's Dave Bracegirdle

2. Michael Klinger (Gloucestershire)

"Michael Klinger has not only scored big runs in all formats, but his leadership as he moves forward a highly promising group has been superb.

"His strength at the crease centres around an ability to read the match situation and to adapt accordingly.

"He can play the audacious shots when necessary, but he likes nothing better than to build an innings and bat all day.

"And what an attitude - he commuted back from Western Australia to play in the One-Day Cup semi-final against Yorkshire when he needn't have done so and scored yet another match-winning century."

By BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Bob Hunt

3. Ashwell Prince (Lancashire)

"Ashwell Prince is a fierce competitor, a wonderful batsman and has played a significant role in helping Lancashire clinch promotion in the County Championship and win the T20 Blast trophy.

"To be the country's leading run-scorer in his final season as a cricketer speaks volumes for his skill, drive and determination to succeed even at the very end of his career.

"This season, Prince has shown all of his international class, which saw him capped 119 times across all formats by South Africa, with fight and flair in equal measure.

"His contribution has been as strong and as significant as in any of his previous five seasons at Old Trafford."

By BBC Radio Lancashire's Scott Read

4. James Hildreth (Somerset)

"James Hildreth is never less than a joy to watch - fluency personified, always looking to pierce the field or find the gaps with those steel-wired wrists and natural sense of timing.

"But this season it has been the volume of his runs as much as the style of them which has rightly earned him his place in this list.

"With the rest of the Somerset middle-order desperately short of runs, there have been times when he's seemed like the boy on the burning deck, with disaster all around.

"The only thing that divides opinion in Somerset is his beard, but after a season like this one, we'll forgive him even that."

By BBC Somerset's Anthony Gibson

5. Luke Wright (Sussex)

"Cricket fans across the globe will know about Luke Wright's record in white-ball cricket, be it in the IPL, the Big Bash or during his 100-plus appearances for England.

"Less well-known is that Wright also has a good record in red-ball cricket, in which he averages over 40.

"This season he has scored over 1,000 Championship runs for the first time, including a career-best 226, an innings in which he took 23 balls to get off the mark."

By BBC Sussex's Adrian Harms

6. Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)

"This has been a memorable season for Jonny Bairstow, who raced to 1,000 runs in the first-class game, averaging over 100.

"At one stage of the season he had contributed 25% of Yorkshire's overall runs, and when called up by England for the one-day decider against New Zealand at Durham, he produced a match-winning innings.

"Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie has had this to say about Bairstow: 'To use the phrase 'form of his life' is suitable to describe the season for JB.

"'He has come on really well as a wicketkeeper and with a series of stunning performances with the bat he has played a great part in helping us to back-to-back titles. He has proved this year that he is a special talent.'"

By BBC Radio Leeds' Dave Callaghan

7. Zafar Ansari (Surrey)

"Zafar Ansari's inclusion in the England Test squad for the winter series against Pakistan was richly deserved, although a thumb injury has cast doubt on his involvement.

"In taking more than 40 wickets with his left-arm spin, Ansari has bowled with great skill and control and has worked really well in tandem with Gareth Batty.

"With the bat, Ansari has scored more than 700 Championship runs at the top of the order, but he also averaged more than 40 in the T20 Blast.

"His bowling and batting were also a key component in Surrey's journey to Lord's for the One-Day Cup final, which sadly he missed because of his injury."

By BBC London 94.9's Mark Church

8. James Harris (Middlesex)

"The Middlesex pace bowler skittled Durham almost single-handedly at Lord's early in May, in a display which in one half-hour saw five wickets fall for just nine runs.

"Starting with a bang, Harris has been relentless all season, second only to Chris Rushworth in the total wickets tally in Division One, and his recent five-for against champions Yorkshire gave further evidence that he can mix with the best of them.

"It's a far cry from last year when he found himself unable to feature regularly in the Championship side, and was sent back on loan to his old club Glamorgan to get overs under his belt.

"At only 25, and with the ability to score crucial lower-order runs, if Harris continues to mature at the rate he currently is, further honours may well follow."

By BBC Sport's Isabelle Westbury

9. Tom Curran (Surrey)

"Tom Curran has been outstanding for Surrey this season. With more than 60 Championship wickets at an average of just 24, he has led the attack and delivered for the team on a consistent basis.

"At times he has simply destroyed top-order batsmen with his pace and movement, and with the white ball he has also shown tremendous skill and a very cool head for one so young.

"With the bat he has made valuable runs in all forms of the game and has shown he is a genuine all-rounder.

"Curran has only missed one game this season when he was rested for a T20 match and has bowled nearly 500 overs in Championship cricket. He qualifies for England at the end of October, so how he was not included in the Lions T20 squad for the winter is quite beyond me."

By BBC London 94.9's Mark Church

10. Jack Brooks (Yorkshire)

"This Rambo bandanaman, headhunted by Yorkshire in 2012, is a dead-cert consistent wicket-taker in first-class cricket and shows real class with the new ball.

"His pace is not in vogue with the England selectors, but his full-length attacking attitude and nagging accuracy should not be underestimated.

"After 68 Championship wickets last season, Brooks has also proved he is no one-season wonder and will again be a key figure as Yorkshire target a third successive title in 2016."

By BBC Sport's Isabelle Duncan

11. Chris Rushworth (Durham)

"Despite being overlooked for England at any level this season, Chris Rushworth has carried on regardless, doing what he does best, which is taking wickets.

"He goes from strength to strength year on year and has again bowled more overs than anyone else in the country - having done the same last year as well.

"He's difficult for batsmen to get away because of the way he moves the ball around. And those who think he only gets his wickets at home - think again.

"Of his 83 Championship wickets, 41 were taken at Chester-le-Street and 42 away. Those northern wickets, eh?"

By BBC Newcastle's Martin Emmerson

Compiled by Paul Grunill

*Statistics correct prior to final round of County Championship fixtures