County Championship

Cricket league in England

This article is about the county cricket championship. For other uses, see County Championship (disambiguation).

"Champion County" redirects here. For the Champion County match traditionally played by the winners of the Championship, see Champion County match.

Cricket tournament

County ChampionshipCountries| England and Wales

|

Administrator| England and Wales Cricket Board
Format| First-class
First edition| 1890
Latest edition| 2025
Next edition| 2026
Tournament format| Two divisions;
home and away 4-day fixtures
Number of teams| 18
Current champion| Surrey (23 titles including 1 shared)
Most successful| Yorkshire (33 titles including 1 shared)
Most runs| Phil Mead (46,268)[1]
Most wickets| Tich Freeman (3,151)[2]
2025 County Championship

The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship,[3] is a first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890 and organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), it is the world's first domestic cricket tournament. [4] The tournament is contested by 18 clubs, representing 17 of the historic counties of England and one from Wales. The reigning champions are Surrey.

The earliest known inter-county cricket match was played in 1709. Until 1889, the concept of an unofficial county championship existed, whereby various claims would be made by or on behalf of a particular club as the "Champion County", an archaic term which now has the specific meaning of a claimant for the unofficial title prior to 1890. In contrast, the term "County Champions" applies in common parlance to a team that has won the official title. The most usual means of claiming the unofficial title was by popular or press acclaim. In the majority of cases, the claim or proclamation was retrospective, often by cricket writers using reverse analysis via a study of known results. The unofficial title was not proclaimed in every season up to 1889, because in many cases there were not enough matches or there was simply no clear candidate. Having already been badly hit by the Seven Years' War, county cricket ceased altogether during the Napoleonic Wars and there was a period from 1797 to 1824 during which no inter-county matches took place. The concept of the unofficial title has been utilised ad hoc and relied on sufficient interest being shown.

The official County Championship was constituted on 16 December 1889, when secretaries of the major clubs gathered at Lord's to decide the following season's fixtures. Simultaneously, representatives of the eight leading counties met privately to determine how teams would be ranked.[5] The new competition began in the 1890 season and at first involved just the eight leading clubs: Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire. Subsequently, the championship has been expanded to 18 clubs by the additions at various times of Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Counties without first-class status compete in the National Counties Cricket Championship.

## History

[edit]

### Origin of concept

[edit]

It is difficult to know when the concept of a county championship originated. While early matches were often between teams named after counties, they were not the club teams the usage would imply today. Rowland Bowen states in his history that the earliest usage of the term "County Championship" occurred in 1837 re a match between Kent and Nottingham Cricket Club which for the purposes of that match was called Nottinghamshire.[6] That may be so re the actual terminology but closer examination of the sources does indicate a much earlier expression of the idea.

The earliest known inter-county match was in 1709 between Kent and Surrey but match results are unknown until the 1720s. The first time a source refers to the superiority of one county is in respect of a match between Edwin Stead's XI from Kent and Sir William Gage's XI from Sussex at Penshurst Park in August 1728. Stead's side won by an unknown margin and the source states that "this was the third time this summer that the Kent men have been too expert for those of Sussex".[7] The following year, Gage's team "turned the scales" and defeated Stead's side, prompting a source to remark that "(the scale of victory) for some years past has been generally on the Kentish side".[7] In 1730, a newspaper referred to the "Kentish champions".[8]

These statements indicate that inter-county matches had been played for many years previously and that there was keen rivalry with each team seeking ascendancy.

### Development of county cricket

[edit]

Inter-county cricket was popular throughout the 18th century although the best team, such as Kent in the 1740s or Hampshire in the days of the Hambledon Club, was usually acknowledged as such by being matched against an "All England" team. There were a number of contemporary allusions to the best county including some in verse, such as one by a Kent supporter celebrating a victory over Hampshire in terms of "(we shall) bring down the pride of the Hambledon Club".

Analysis of 18th century matches has identified a number of strong teams who actually or effectively proclaimed their temporal superiority. The most successful county teams were Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. But there was often a crossover between town and county with some strong local clubs tending at times to represent a whole county. Examples are London, which often played against county teams and was in some respects almost a county club in itself; Slindon, which was for a few years in the 1740s effectively representative of Sussex as a county; Dartford, often representative of Kent; and the Hambledon Club, certainly representative of Hampshire and also perhaps of Sussex. Other good county teams in the 18th century were Berkshire, Essex and Middlesex.

Using the same sort of reverse analysis, it is possible to compile a list of the most competitive teams from the recommencement of county cricket in 1825. Rowland Bowen published his ideas about this in the 1960s when he was the editor of the Cricket Quarterly periodical.[6] He began by stating that Sussex was publicly acknowledged as the "best county" in the 1827 season when they played against All England in the roundarm trial matches, although the team's involvement in these matches had more to do with the fact that Sussex was the prime mover in the "roundarm revolution". Kent, which had a celebrated team at the time, has long been acknowledged as a champion county in most seasons of the 1840s but in other years there is no clear-cut contender.

### County clubs

[edit]

The middle years of the 19th century are the period of county club formation. So, when title "claims" were made on behalf of Sussex in 1826 and 1827, it was for the same loose association based on Brighton Cricket Club that had a successful season in 1792. But claims on behalf of Sussex from 1845 were by the Sussex county club, founded in 1839. A similar situation existed with both Kent and Surrey. Nottinghamshire is the only other claimant before the 1860s, starting in 1852, but all of its claims have been made by the county club which was founded in 1841.

As the popularity of organised cricket grew throughout England, more county clubs came into contention and, by the mid-1860s, they included the short-lived Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Lancashire, Middlesex and Yorkshire. At this time and into the 1870s, the press began to advocate some form of league system and various journals and individuals, including W. G. Grace, began publishing their views about who was the champion in a given season. Grace became interested after the Gloucestershire club was founded in 1870, with himself as captain, and laid several claims to the championship during the 1870s. In the 1870s, it became widely accepted that the side with fewest losses should be the champions. Various lists of unofficial champions began to be compiled by the contemporary press and others, but they are not usually in complete agreement.

### The unofficial titles

[edit]

All "titles" claimed before 1864 are strictly unofficial and are based on (a) contemporary claims made by or on behalf of a particular team and recorded at the time; (b) reverse analysis performed by a writer who was trying to establish the best team in a given season by reference to the known fixtures and results. It must be stressed that the purpose of such lists when published has never been to ascribe any kind of ruling but rather to provoke discussion. No real credibility can be attached to such claims except to acknowledge that a team was especially strong over a number of years: e.g., Kent in the 1720s; London in the 1730s; Hampshire in the 1770s and 1780s; Sussex in the 1820s; Kent in the 1840s; and Surrey in the 1850s.

From 1864 to 1889, the county championship title remained unofficial except that the idea was widely promoted by individuals in the contemporary press and that had not happened hitherto apart from occasional points of view. Each journalist tended to have his own ideas about the calculation method and the matches to be included, but there was a certain amount of consensus in the main, generally favouring the team with fewest defeats. The list below gives the champions quoted by the most prominent sources, including W. G. Grace (1864–1889), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1864–1889), John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (1865–1884), James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (1871–1889) and Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game (1882–1889).[9][10]

* 1864 – Surrey
* 1865 – Nottinghamshire
* 1866 – Middlesex
* 1867 – Yorkshire
* 1868 – Nottinghamshire (Wisden) & Yorkshire (Grace)
* 1869 – Nottinghamshire & Yorkshire (shared by consensus)
* 1870 – Yorkshire
* 1871 – Nottinghamshire
* 1872 – Nottinghamshire
* 1873 – Gloucestershire & Nottinghamshire (shared by consensus)
* 1874 – Gloucestershire
* 1875 – Nottinghamshire
* 1876 – Gloucestershire
* 1877 – Gloucestershire
* 1878 – undecided
* 1879 – Lancashire & Nottinghamshire (shared by consensus)
* 1880 – Nottinghamshire
* 1881 – Lancashire
* 1882 – Lancashire & Nottinghamshire (shared by consensus)
* 1883 – Nottinghamshire & Yorkshire (shared by consensus)
* 1884 – Nottinghamshire
* 1885 – Nottinghamshire
* 1886 – Nottinghamshire
* 1887 – Surrey
* 1888 – Surrey
* 1889 – Lancashire, Nottinghamshire & Surrey (shared by consensus)

The final tally over these 26 seasons was, therefore, Nottinghamshire (8 titles plus 7 shared); Gloucestershire (3/1); Surrey (3/1); Yorkshire (2/3); Lancashire (1/3); Middlesex (1/0).

### Qualification rules

[edit]

Prior to 1873, it was quite common for players to compete for both their county of birth and county of residence during a single season. Beginning in December 1872, three meetings were convened at which qualification rules were established, with the leading nine counties being represented either in writing or in person. At the last of these sessions, held at the Oval on 9 June 1873, it was decided:[11][12]

* "That no cricketer, whether amateur or professional, shall play for more than one county during the same season".
* "Every cricketer born in one county and residing in another shall be free to choose at the commencement of each season for which of those counties he will play, and shall, during that season, play for the one county only".
* "A cricketer shall be qualified to play for the county in which he is residing and has resided for the previous two years: or a cricketer may elect to play for the county in which his family home is, so long as it remains open to him as an occasional residence".
* "That should any question arise as to the residential qualification, the same shall be left to the decision of the Marylebone Cricket Club".

### Newspaper 'leagues'

[edit]

It was in the 1870s that newspapers began to print tables of inter-county results and then proclaim a champion on the basis of their chosen criteria. In Arthur Haygarth's Scores and Biographies, reference is often made to "least matches lost" as a means of deciding the champion. This was a method that, in a modified form, permeated through to the official championship when one point was awarded for a win but one was deducted for a defeat. It was discontinued after 1909 as it was deemed to be inherently unsatisfactory and a points per win method replaced it in 1910.

As Derek Birley describes, the papers did not use standard criteria and so there were several seasons in which any title must be considered "shared", as there was no universally recognised winner. With no consistency of approach, the issue inevitably led to argument, counter-arguments and confusion until the matter was taken in hand at the meeting of club secretaries in December 1889 where the official championship was constituted.[13]

In Roy Webber's The County Cricket Championship, he asserts that the championship "is generally accepted as starting in the 1873 season but that is a convenient date decided upon many years later"[14] because 1873 was "the first season in which rules of county qualification were in operation".[15] Webber acknowledges the difficulties posed from 1873 to 1890 by varying programmes with some county clubs playing many more matches than others. For example, in 1874 when Derbyshire was held by some to have won the title, they played only four matches while Yorkshire played twelve. A list of champions for the period would be subjective and in most seasons there would be strongly competing claims. In general, it may be asserted that Gloucestershire with all three Grace brothers were the strongest team in most of the 1870s; Nottinghamshire were in the ascendancy from about 1879 to 1886; and then Surrey from 1887 through the start of the official championship in 1890.[16]

### First official competition

[edit]

When the annual meeting of county club secretaries was held at Lord's on 10 December 1889, their purpose was to decide on a fixture programme for the 1890 season. As reported by Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game:[17]

> "While the secretaries were engaged in making the fixtures the representatives of the eight leading counties – Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Lancashire, Kent, Middlesex, Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, and Sussex – held a private meeting to discuss the method by which the county championship should in future be decided. The meeting was, we understand, not quite unanimous, but a majority were in favour of ignoring drawn games altogether and settling the question of championship by wins and losses. As it was agreed to abide by the views of the majority, this decision was accepted as final.
> Subsequently representatives of the following eight minor counties – Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Hampshire, Somersetshire, Staffordshire, Durham and Essex – held a similar meeting in private, and unanimously decided to apply the same rule to minor county cricket".

The first-ever official cricket County Championship match began on 12 May 1890: Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. James Cranston (Gloucestershire) scored the first century in the competition.[18] The final positions in 1890 were based on number of wins minus the number of losses. Later, a points system was introduced but it has been subject to several variations.

### Expansion and points systems

[edit]

In the 1891 season, Somerset competed in the championship and in 1895 Derbyshire, Essex, Hampshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire all joined; the rules were changed so each side had to play at least 16 matches per season. Until World War II, counties played differing numbers of matches, except that all counties were required to play 28 matches in each season from 1929 to 1932 inclusive. When the championship resumed in 1946, teams played 26 matches per season, and the pattern of a fixed number of matches has continued since then, although the number has varied, but again there was an exception. From 1960 to 1962 inclusive, counties could choose whether to play 28 or 32 matches.

The original points system was simply wins minus losses but with the expansion in 1895 the points system was modified so that the ratio of points to finished games (games minus draws) decided the final positions.

In 1910 the system was modified again so that the order was based on ratio of matches won to matches played, while from 1911 to 1967 a variety of systems were used that generally relied on points for wins and for first innings leads in games left unfinished. Since 1968, the basis has been wins (increased from 10 points in 1968, to 12 in 1976, to 16 in 1981, then back down to 12 in 1999, up to 14 in 2004 and currently 16) and "bonus points", which are earned for scoring a certain number of runs or taking a certain number of wickets in the first 110 overs of each first innings (the number of overs has changed at various times, but has been 110 since 2010). In an effort to prevent early finishes, points have been awarded for draws since 1996. From 1974 to 1981 there was a limit of 200 overs for the first two innings; the team batting first were restricted to 100 overs and any unused overs were added to those allowed to the team batting second.[19]

Of the current 18 sides in County Cricket the remaining four joined at the following dates:

* Worcestershire in 1899 (did not play in 1919)
* Northamptonshire in 1905
* Glamorgan in 1921
* Durham in 1992

An invitation in 1921 to Buckinghamshire was declined, due to lack of proper playing facilities, and an application by Devon in 1948 to join was rejected.

In the 21st century, questions have been raised about the future of the County Championship in the light of the shaky financial structure of many counties, poor attendances and the rise of Twenty20 cricket. Doubts have been raised over many decades concerning the competition's viability, yet it still survives. The Changing Face of Cricket (1966) by Sir Learie Constantine and Denzil Batchelor, made negative predictions about county cricket.

### Recent developments

[edit]

All matches before 1988 were scheduled for three days, normally of a nominal six hours each plus intervals, but often with the first two days lengthened by up to an hour and the final day shortened, so that teams with fixtures elsewhere on the following day could travel at sensible hours. The exception to this was the 1919 season, when there was an experiment with two-day matches played over longer hours, up to nine o'clock in the evening in mid-summer. This experiment was not repeated. From 1988 to 1992 some matches were played over four days, with each county playing six four-day and sixteen three-day games.[20] From 1993 onwards, all matches have been scheduled for four days. In 2000, the championship adopted a two-divisional format with promotion and relegation each season. The ECB announced that, from 2017, Division One would contain eight teams and Division Two ten teams, with only one team being promoted from Division Two in 2016. The two-up, two-down arrangement applied for 2017 and 2018, but it was then decided to reverse the sizes of the divisions with effect from 2020, with three teams to be promoted and only one relegated at the end of the 2019 season.[21]

From 2016 to 2019 there was no mandatory toss, with the away side having the option to bowl first. If the away side declined to bowl first, the toss still took place.[22] This regulation was introduced on an experimental basis for the 2016 season but retained from 2017 to 2019 after being judged a success in its objectives of making games last longer and encouraging spin bowling.[23] The mandatory toss was reinstated from the 2020 season with the ECB taking the view that increased pitch penalties and changes to the seam of the ball would improve the balance between batting and bowling.[24]

The competition was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, being replaced by an abbreviated competition called the Bob Willis Trophy.

In 2021 for one season only, there was a revised Championship format, with the aim of mitigating the impact of COVID-19. This consisted of three seeded groups of six teams playing home and away, after which the final three divisions were allocated, and the teams played the four teams they had not already played in their new division home and away. The top team in the top division at the end of the season were crowned Champions, with the top two teams in the top division going on to play for the Bob Willis Trophy in a five-day final at Lords.[25]

## Teams

[edit]

### Stadiums and locations

[edit]

Derbyshire

Durham

Essex

Glamorgan

Gloucestershire

Hampshire

Kent

Lancashire

Leicestershire

Northamptonshire

Nottinghamshire

Somerset

Sussex

Warwickshire

Worcestershire

Yorkshire

London

London teams:
Middlesex
Surrey

class=notpageimage|

Locations of current County Championship teams

Middlesex

Surrey

class=notpageimage|

County Championship clubs in Greater London

County Club  | Ground  | Location  | First season in
Championship  | First title  | Last title  | Titles

|
|
|
|
|
|

Derbyshire | County Ground | Derby | 1895 | 1936 | 1936 | 1
Durham | Riverside Ground | Chester-le-Street | 1992 | 2008 | 2013 | 3
Essex | County Ground | Chelmsford | 1895 | 1979 | 2019 | 8
Glamorgan | Sophia Gardens | Cardiff | 1921 | 1948 | 1997 | 3
Gloucestershire | County Ground | Bristol | 1890 | – | – | 0
Hampshire | Rose Bowl | Southampton | 1895 | 1961 | 1973 | 2
Kent | St Lawrence Ground | Canterbury | 1890 | 1906 | 1978 | 7 (1 shared)
Lancashire | Old Trafford | Manchester | 1890 | 1897 | 2011 | 9 (1 shared)
Leicestershire | Grace Road | Leicester | 1895 | 1975 | 1998 | 3
Middlesex | Lord's | London | 1890 | 1903 | 2016 | 13 (2 shared)
Northamptonshire | County Ground | Northampton | 1905 | – | – | 0
Nottinghamshire | Trent Bridge | Nottingham | 1890 | 1907 | 2010 | 6
Somerset | County Ground | Taunton | 1891 | – | – | 0
Surrey | The Oval | London | 1890 | 1890 | 2024 | 23 (1 shared)
Sussex | County Ground | Hove | 1890 | 2003 | 2007 | 3
Warwickshire | Edgbaston | Birmingham | 1895 | 1911 | 2021 | 8
Worcestershire | New Road | Worcester | 1899 | 1964 | 1989 | 5
Yorkshire | Headingley | Leeds | 1890 | 1893 | 2015 | 33 (1 shared)

## Competition format

[edit]

### Points system

[edit]

The County Championship works on a points system, with the winner being the team with most points in the first division. The points are currently awarded as follows, with a draw being increased to 8 points from 2024[26] after a reduction to 5 points in 2023:[27]

Win: 16 points + bonus points
Tie: 8 points + bonus points
Draw: 8 points + bonus points
Loss: Bonus points

Bonus points may be earned during the initial 110 overs of each team's first innings, and are retained whatever the match outcome. The minimum number of runs required to earn batting points was increased from 200 to 250 in 2023.[27]

Bonus points awarded  Runs scored  | Wickets taken  | Points

|
|

250–299 | 3–5 | 1
300–349 | 6–8 | 2
350–399 | 9–10 | 3
400–449 |  | 4
450 or more |  | 5

### Deductions

[edit]

Occasionally, a team may have points deducted. Reasons for points deductions are as follows:

* Fielding an unregistered player: Points were deducted from Lancashire and Sussex in 1978, and Middlesex in 1981. In each case, the county had played an unregistered player in one match, and all points awarded in that match were deducted.
* Poor pitches: Penalties for poor pitches were initially introduced at 25 points (one more than the points for a win with maximum bonus points at the time). The first team to lose points for a poor pitch were Essex in 1989, a deduction which cost them first place in the championship. In later years, smaller penalties were introduced. In 2011, Warwickshire, Hampshire and Kent were all docked 8 points for poor pitches at Edgbaston, the Rose Bowl and Canterbury respectively. In 2019 Somerset were deducted 24 points, of which 12 were applied in the 2021 competition[28] and 12 were suspended for the 2022 competition, for a poor pitch in their title-deciding game with Essex.[29]
* Slow over rates: Deductions for a slow over rate were introduced in 2001, units of 0.25 points per over short of the target number in any match. The penalty was increased to 0.5 points per over in 2004, and to 1 point per over in 2008.
* Ball-tampering: Surrey lost 8 points for ball-tampering in 2005 and were relegated at the end of that season.
* Breach of salary cap: Durham were subject to a 2.5-point penalty in the 2013 County Championship, as well as penalties in the limited over competitions, for breach of the salary cap in 2012. Despite this penalty, Durham still won the County Championship in 2013.
* Discipline: Leicestershire were fined 16 points in 2015 "in respect of five or more separate occasions when their players committed fixed penalty offences in a 12-month period."[30] Leicestershire were fined 16 points in 2017 after a further five offences in the previous 12 months.[31]
* Financial issues: As well as being demoted from Division One, Durham were subject to a 48-point penalty in Division Two in the 2017 County Championship and penalties in the limited over competitions. This was for requiring financial assistance from the ECB.[32] Middlesex had a points deduction imposed in each county competition equal to one win imposed in September 2023, suspended until 31 October 2025, for breaching ECB financial regulations.[33]
* Non-regulation equipment: In 2024, Essex had 12 points deducted because Feroze Khushi used an oversize bat in a game against Nottinghamshire.[34]
* Other: Yorkshire were deducted 48 points in 2023 by the Cricket Discipline Commission for their handling of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club racism scandal.[35]

### Tie-breakers

[edit]

If any sides have equal points, tie-breakers are applied in the following order: most wins, fewest losses, team achieving most points in contests between teams level on points, most wickets taken, most runs scored.[36]

## Results

[edit]

### Official county champions

[edit]

Main article: List of official County Championship winners

Yorkshire have won the most County Championships with 32 outright titles and one shared. Three current first-class counties (Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Somerset) have never won the official title, although Gloucestershire had claim to three unofficial titles in the 1870s.

### Promoted and relegated

[edit]

Since 2000, there have been two divisions, and promotion and relegation between them. Every county has experienced both divisions at some stage. For the 2020 and 2021 seasons, there was no promotion or relegation due to the revised formats brought around by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Year  | Relegated from Division 1  | Promoted from Division 2

|
|

2000 | Hampshire, Durham, Derbyshire | Northamptonshire, Essex, Glamorgan
2001 | Northamptonshire, Glamorgan, Essex | Sussex, Hampshire, Warwickshire
2002 | Hampshire, Somerset, Yorkshire | Essex, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire
2003 | Essex, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire | Worcestershire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire
2004 | Worcestershire, Lancashire, Northamptonshire | Nottinghamshire, Hampshire, Glamorgan
2005 | Surrey, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan | Lancashire, Durham, Yorkshire
2006 | Nottinghamshire, Middlesex | Surrey, Worcestershire
2007 | Warwickshire, Worcestershire | Somerset, Nottinghamshire
2008 | Kent, Surrey | Warwickshire, Worcestershire
2009 | Sussex, Worcestershire | Kent, Essex
2010 | Essex, Kent | Sussex, Worcestershire
2011 | Hampshire, Yorkshire | Middlesex, Surrey
2012 | Lancashire, Worcestershire | Derbyshire, Yorkshire
2013 | Derbyshire, Surrey | Lancashire, Northamptonshire
2014 | Northamptonshire, Lancashire | Hampshire, Worcestershire
2015 | Worcestershire, Sussex | Surrey, Lancashire
2016 | Durham[a], Nottinghamshire | Essex
2017 | Middlesex, Warwickshire | Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire
2018 | Lancashire, Worcestershire | Kent, Warwickshire
2019 | Nottinghamshire | Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire
2022 | Yorkshire, Gloucestershire | Nottinghamshire, Middlesex
2023 | Middlesex, Northamptonshire | Durham, Worcestershire
2024 | Kent, Lancashire | Sussex, Yorkshire

a Durham finished fourth in 2016 but were relegated as a penalty by the ECB over financial issues, replacing Hampshire who finished eighth.[32]

### Wooden spoons

[edit]

Since the expansion of the Championship from 9 counties to 14 in 1895, the wooden spoon for finishing bottom has been 'won' by the teams shown in the table below. Lancashire, Middlesex, and Surrey have never finished bottom. Leicestershire have shared last place twice, with Hampshire and Somerset.

'Wins' | County

|

15  | Derbyshire
12  | Somerset
11  | Northamptonshire
10  | Glamorgan
Leicestershire
9  | Gloucestershire
8  | Nottinghamshire
Sussex
6  | Worcestershire
5  | Durham
Hampshire
3  | Warwickshire
2  | Essex
Kent
1  | Yorkshire

## Records

[edit]

Records can be found at Cricket Archive – County Championship Records.(subscription required)

### Highest team scores

[edit]

A team has scored 800 or more runs in the County Championship on eight occasions, with Yorkshire holding the record for the highest score of 887 all out against Warwickshire in 1896.

Total  | For and against  | Venue  | Season

|
|
|

887  | Yorkshire v. Warwickshire | Edgbaston | 1896
863  | Lancashire v. Surrey | The Oval | 1990
850/7d  | Somerset v. Middlesex | Taunton | 2007
820/9d  | Surrey v. Durham | The Oval | 2025
811  | Surrey v. Somerset | The Oval | 1899
810/4d  | Warwickshire v. Durham | Edgbaston | 1994
803/4d  | Kent v. Essex | Brentwood | 1934
801/8d  | Derbyshire v. Somerset | Taunton | 2007

### Lowest team scores

[edit]

Total  | For and against  | Venue  | Season

|
|
|

12  | Northamptonshire v. Gloucestershire | Spa Ground, Gloucester | 1907
13  | Nottinghamshire v. Yorkshire | Trent Bridge | 1901
14  | Surrey v. Essex | Chelmsford | 1983
15  | Hampshire v. Warwickshire
(Hampshire recovered to win the match) | Edgbaston | 1922
16  | Warwickshire v. Kent | Angel Ground, Tonbridge | 1913
20  | Sussex v. Yorkshire | The Circle, Kingston upon Hull | 1922
20  | Derbyshire v. Yorkshire | Bramall Lane, Sheffield | 1939
20  | Essex v. Lancashire | Chelmsford | 2013

### Most runs in an innings

[edit]

Total  | Batsman  | For and against  | Venue  | Season

|
|
|
|

501* | Brian Lara | Warwickshire v. Durham | Edgbaston | 1994
424  | Archie MacLaren | Lancashire v. Somerset | Taunton | 1895
410*  | Sam Northeast | Glamorgan v. Leicestershire | Leicester | 2022
405*  | Graeme Hick | Worcestershire v. Somerset | Taunton | 1988
371  | Tom Banton | Somerset v. Worcestershire | Taunton | 2025
366  | Neil Fairbrother | Lancashire v. Surrey | The Oval | 1990
357* | Bobby Abel | Surrey v. Somerset | The Oval | 1899

### Best bowling in an innings

[edit]

Total  | Bowler  | For and against  | Venue  | Season

|
|
|
|

10/10  | Hedley Verity | Yorkshire v. Nottinghamshire | Headingley | 1932
10/18  | George Geary | Leicestershire v. Glamorgan | Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd | 1929
10/30  | Colin Blythe | Kent v. Northamptonshire | Northampton | 1907
10/32  | Harry Pickett | Essex v. Leicestershire | Leyton | 1895
10/35  | Alonzo Drake | Yorkshire v. Somerset | Clarence Park, Weston-super-Mare | 1914
10/36  | Hedley Verity | Yorkshire v. Warwickshire | Headingley | 1931
10/40  | George Dennett | Gloucestershire v. Essex | Bristol | 1906
10/40  | Billy Bestwick | Derbyshire v. Glamorgan | Cardiff Arms Park | 1921
10/40  | Gubby Allen | Middlesex v. Lancashire | Lord's | 1929

## Sponsors

[edit]

The County Championship has been sponsored since 2025 by Rothesay and titled the Rothesay County Championship.[3]

The competition has been sponsored since 1977, as follows;

* 1977–1983 Schweppes
* 1984–1998 Britannic Assurance
* 1999–2000 AXA ppp Healthcare
* 2001 Cricinfo
* 2002–2005 Frizzell
* 2006–2015 Liverpool Victoria (now branded as "LV=")
* 2016–2019 Specsavers
* 2021–2023 LV= Insurance
* 2024 Vitality Health and Life Insurance
* 2025 Rothesay

## See also

[edit]

* Cricket portal

* Pro40
* Friends Provident Trophy
* T20 Blast
* One-Day Cup (England)
* National Counties of English and Welsh cricket \- Minor counties cricket
* National Counties Cricket Championship \- Minor counties cricket competetion
* List of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
2. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
3. ^ a b "EXCLUSIVE: Rothesay ECB deal includes County Championship title rights". SportBusiness. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
4. ^ County championship. "History of County Championship".
5. ^ Brooke, Robert (1991). A History of the County Cricket Championship. Enfield: Guinness Publishing. p. 8\. ISBN 0851129196.
6. ^ a b Bowen, Rowland (1970). Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development throughout the World. London: Eyre & Spottiswood. ISBN 0413278603.
7. ^ a b Waghorn, H. T. (1906). The Dawn of Cricket. London: R. Tomsett & Co. p. 7.
8. ^ Buckley, G. B. (1935). Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket: A Collection of 1,000 New Cricket Notices from 1697 to 1800 A.D. Birmingham: Cotterell & Co. p. 4.
9. ^ Wisden. Preston, Norman (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 100th edition (1963 ed.). London: Sporting Handbooks Ltd. p. 284.
10. ^ "County Champions 1864–1889". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2017.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
11. ^ Webber (1957), pp. 12–13.
12. ^ Martin-Jenkins, Christopher (1981). The Wisden Book of County Cricket. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 17\. ISBN 0362005451.
13. ^ Burley, Derek (1999). A Social History of English Cricket. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1854106228.
14. ^ Webber (1957), p. 9.
15. ^ Webber (1957), p. 11.
16. ^ Webber (1957).
17. ^ "Annual Meeting of County Secretaries – the programme for 1890". Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game. ACS. 1889. pp. 478–479\. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
18. ^ "The Home of CricketArchive". cricketarchive.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
19. ^ "County Championship history". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
20. ^ Wright, Graeme, ed. (1989). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1989. John Wisden & Co Ltd. p. 339\. ISBN 094776612X.
21. ^ "County Championship and One-Day Cup changes agreed for 2020 season". BBC. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
22. ^ "No mandatory toss in the County Championship". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
23. ^ "Visiting County Championship captains retain bowl-first option for 2017 season". The Guardian. 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
24. ^ "The Hundred: New batters on strike even if pair in the middle cross". BBC Sport. 19 December 2019. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
25. ^ "All you need to know about the 2021 LV= Insurance County Championship". Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
26. ^ "County Championship 2024: Champions Surrey to start season against Lancashire". BBC Sport. 23 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
27. ^ a b "County Championship points system tweaked to encourage aggressive batting". ESPNcricinfo. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
28. ^ "Somerset's 12-point deduction for 'poor' pitch delayed until 2021". BBC Sport. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
29. ^ "Somerset docked 24 points for poor pitch in title decider against Essex". The Guardian. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
30. ^ "Leicestershire fear wooden spoon after 16-point deduction". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
31. ^ "Leicestershire deducted 16 County Championship points". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 8 June 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
32. ^ a b "Durham relegated to Division Two after financial issues as Hampshire are reinstated". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
33. ^ "Middlesex hit by ECB sanction for breaches of financial regulations". BBC Sport. 11 September 2023. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
34. ^ "Essex docked 12 points over use of 'wide bat'". BBC Sport. London. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
35. ^ "Yorkshire issued points deduction and £400,000 fine over racism scandal". BBC Sport. 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
36. ^ "Playing Conditions – The Specsavers County Championship, Other First Class Matches and Non First Class MCC University Matches against Counties". European Central Bank. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2019. "16.2.8 The side which has the highest aggregate of points gained at the end of the season shall be the Champion County of their respective Division. Should any sides in the Championship table be equal on points, the following tie-breakers will be applied in the order stated: most wins, fewest losses, team achieving most points in contests between teams level on points, most wickets taken, most runs scored."

### Sources

[edit]

* Webber, Roy (1957). The County Cricket Championship: A History of the Competition from 1873. London: Phoenix Sports Books.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Stephen Chalke, Summer's Crown: The Story of Cricket's County Championship, Fairfield Books, Bath, 2015

## External links

[edit]

* Official County Championship Website
* The County Championship: Timeline 1890–present from ESPNcricinfo

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