The County Championship is the prestigious First-Class domestic tournament in England. The country’s governing body, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), organises the First-Class tournament every year during England’s summer season.
It is the point of attraction of England’s peak summer, with as many as 18 counties in the fray to claim the silverware. So that leaves us wondering about the format of the competition.
Here, we’ll glance at the format of the County Championship, along with the points system. But before that, let’s see the counties that participate in the tournament.
Which counties participate in the County Championship?
A total of 18 counties are in contention to win the championship. 17 counties are spread across England, while Glamorgan hails from Wales.
Here are the major county cricket clubs that feature in the County Championship:
Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire.
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What is the format of the County Championship?
As of 2024, the County Championship uses a 2-division structure — Division One and Division Two. The 18 teams are split across the 2 divisions, with the toppers of each division adjudged winners.
Division One
Division One features 10 counties, with each playing 14 First-Class matches per season. Each county plays 7 home games and 7 away games. Each county meets 4 teams once and 5 teams twice.
The county that finishes at the top of the points table at the end of the season lifts the County Championship Division One trophy.
The bottom 2 teams, however, face relegation to Division Two for the next season.
Division Two
Division Two sees 8 teams in action, with counties playing the same number as that of Division One. But here, each county plays against one another twice in 7 home and 7 away fixtures.
The topper of Division Two claims the County Championship Division Two title. Apart from that, they gain promotion to Division One along with the No. 2 team on the points table.
What is the points system in the County Championship?
Counties play against each other in 4-day First-Class matches. The winning team secures 16 points and bonus points per match. If the match ends in a tie or a draw, both teams stand to get 8 points plus bonus points.
Teams earn 8 points each if the match gets abandoned without a ball being bowled. If the match is abandoned because of an unfit pitch, the visiting county bags 8 points and bonus points if any, while the home county gets 0 points.
Counties also earn bonus points based on their batting and bowling performances in the first 110 overs in their first innings of the match.
Bonus Batting Points:
250 to 299 runs: 1 point
300 to 349 runs: 2 points
350 to 399 runs: 3 points
400 to 449 runs: 4 points
450 runs or more: 5 points
Bonus Bowling Points:
3 to 5 wickets taken: 1 point
6 to 8 wickets taken: 2 points
9 to 10 wickets taken: 3 points
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