County Championship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The County Championship is the domestic first class cricket competition in the United Kingdom, mainly in England. All but one of teams are named after, and were originally representative of, English counties (the exception being Glamorgan, which is a Welsh county.)
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[edit] History
The official County Championship began in 1890, before which unofficial championships were contested. The unofficial championships were decided not by any numerical method but rather by popular acclaim.
The first official championship in 1890 was competed for by Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire, where the sides were to play 14 matches (each other twice). The positions were based on number of wins minus the number of losses.
The following year Somerset also competed in the championship and in 1895 Derbyshire, Essex, Hampshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire also joined; the rules were changed so each side had to play at least 16 matches per season. Because, up until World War II, counties played differing numbers of matches, the points system was slightly modified so that the ratio of points to finished games (games minus draws) decided the Championship.
In 1910 the system was modified again so that the order was based on ratio of matches won to matches played, whilst 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 and up to 14 in 2004) and "bonus points", which are earned for scoring a certain number of runs or taking a certain number of wickets in the first 100 overs of each first innings. In an effort to prevent early finishes, points have been awarded for draws since 1996.
Of the current 18 sides in County Cricket the remaining joined at the following dates:
- Worcestershire in 1899
- Northamptonshire in 1905
- Glamorgan in 1921
- Durham in 1992.
More information about the history of the County Championship can be found here.
[edit] 2007 County Championship
The County Championship is currently sponsored by financial services company Liverpool Victoria. The teams competing in each division in 2007 are as follows:
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As of 2006, the bottom two teams in the first division at the end of the season are demoted to the second division for next season. Likewise, the two top finishers from the second division are promoted to the first division for next season, giving them a chance to win the county championship.
[edit] Standings
Liverpool Victoria County Championship - Final Standings for the 2006 Season
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Division One Table.
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Division Two Table.
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For live scores from all domestic cricket see here
[edit] The Points System
The county championship works on a points system, the winner being the team with most points in the first division. The points are awarded as follows:
Win: 14 points.
Tie: 7 points.
Draw: 4 points.
Loss: No points awarded.
Teams may also collect bonus points, for batting and bowling. These points can only be obtained from the first 130 overs of each team's first innings. The bonus points are retained regardless of the outcome of the match.
- Batting
- 200-249 runs: 1 point
- 250-299 runs: 2 points
- 300-349 runs: 3 points
- 350-399 runs: 4 points
- 400+ runs: 5 points
- Bowling
- 3-5 wickets taken: 1 point
- 6-8 wickets taken: 2 points
- 9-10 wickets taken: 3 points
[edit] Deductions
Occasionally, a team may have points deducted. These are normally small deductions, between 0.5 and 1 point. Deductions are most commonly handed out for slow over rates or poor pitches. However, in 2005, Surrey were awarded an 8 point penalty for ball tampering. At the end of the 2005 season, this massive deduction resulted in their relegation to the second division.
[edit] County champions
There have been two divisions since 2000.
| Year | County Champions | Relegated from 1st Division | 2nd Division Winners | Promoted from 2nd Division |
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| 2006 | Sussex | Nottinghamshire, Middlesex | Surrey | Worcestershire |
| 2005 | Nottinghamshire | Surrey, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan | Lancashire | Durham, Yorkshire |
| 2004 | Warwickshire | Worcestershire, Lancashire, Northamptonshire | Nottinghamshire | Hampshire, Glamorgan |
| 2003 | Sussex | Essex, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire | Worcestershire | Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire |
| 2002 | Surrey | Hampshire, Somerset, Yorkshire | Essex | Middlesex, Nottinghamshire |
| 2001 | Yorkshire | Northamptonshire, Glamorgan, Essex | Sussex | Hampshire, Warwickshire |
| 2000 | Surrey | Hampshire, Durham, Derbyshire | Northamptonshire | Essex, Glamorgan |
Before 2000 there was a single division.
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There was no official system for selecting the champion county before 1890. Cricinfo has lists of unofficial champions for 1864-89 [1] and for 1825-63 [2].
[edit] Number of wins by county 1890-2006
- Yorkshire 30 (plus 1 shared)
- Surrey 18 (plus 1 shared)
- Middlesex 10 (plus 2 shared)
- Lancashire 7 (plus 1 shared)
- Kent 6 (plus 1 shared)
- Essex 6
- Warwickshire 6
- Nottinghamshire 5
- Worcestershire 5
- Glamorgan 3
- Leicestershire 3
- Hampshire 2
- Sussex 2
- Derbyshire 1
The four current first class counties with no county championship titles are Durham, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Somerset.
[edit] See also
- Pro40 - the one day league for English first class counties.
- C&G Trophy - the one day knock out competition.
- Twenty20 Cup - the short-form competition.
