View source for County Championship

{{Short description|Cricket league in England}}
{{About|the county cricket championship}}
{{Redirect|Champion County|the Champion County match traditionally played by the winners of the Championship|Champion County match}}
{{use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox cricket tournament main
| name = County Championship
| image = County Championship cricket logo.svg
| imagesize = 
| country = England and Wales
| administrator = [[England and Wales Cricket Board]]
| cricket format = [[First-class cricket|First-class]]
| tournament format = Two divisions; <br /> home and away 4-day fixtures
| first = [[1890 County Championship|1890]]
| last = [[2025 County Championship|2025]]
| next = [[2026 County Championship|2026]]
| participants = 18
| champions = [[Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club|Nottinghamshire]]  (7 titles)
| most successful = [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]] (33 titles including 1 shared)
| most runs = [[Phil Mead]] (46,268)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/Series/County_Championship/Batting_Records/Most_Career_Runs.html|title=The Home of CricketArchive|website=cricketarchive.com|access-date=9 September 2017|archive-date=21 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221214617/http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/Series/County_Championship/Batting_Records/Most_Career_Runs.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| most wickets = [[Tich Freeman]] (3,151)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/Series/County_Championship/Bowling_Records/Most_Career_Wickets.html|title=The Home of CricketArchive|website=cricketarchive.com|access-date=9 September 2017|archive-date=21 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221214622/http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/Series/County_Championship/Bowling_Records/Most_Career_Wickets.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| current = [[2025 County Championship]]
|caption=}}

The '''County Championship''' 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=County championship |title=History of County Championship |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/a-brief-history-of-the-county-championship-259958?platform=amp}}</ref>  The tournament is contested by 18 clubs, representing 17 of the [[historic counties of England]] and one from [[Historic counties of Wales|Wales]]. The reigning champions are [[Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club|Nottinghamshire]].

The earliest known [[county cricket|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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brooke |first=Robert |date=1991 |title=A History of the County Cricket Championship |location=Enfield |publisher=Guinness Publishing |isbn=0851129196 |page=8}}</ref> The new competition began in the [[1890 English cricket season|1890 season]] and at first involved just the eight leading clubs: [[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]], [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]], [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]], [[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]], [[Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club|Nottinghamshire]], [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]], [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]] and [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]]. Subsequently, the championship has been expanded to 18 clubs by the additions at various times of [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]], [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]], [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]], [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]], [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]], [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]], [[Northamptonshire County Cricket Club|Northamptonshire]], [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]], [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] and [[Worcestershire County Cricket Club|Worcestershire]]. Counties [[National Counties of English and Welsh cricket|without first-class status]] compete in the [[National Counties Cricket Championship]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2024-07-11 |title=EXCLUSIVE: Rothesay ECB deal includes County Championship title rights |url=https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/exclusive-rothesay-ecb-deal-includes-county-championship-title-rights/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=SportBusiness |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==History==
===Origin of concept===
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 county cricket teams|Kent]] and [[Nottingham Cricket Club]] which for the purposes of that match was called Nottingham''shire''.<ref name=RB>{{cite book |last=Bowen |first=Rowland |author-link=Rowland Bowen |date=1970 |title=Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development throughout the World |location=London |publisher=Eyre & Spottiswood |isbn=0413278603}}</ref> 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 county cricket teams|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, 7th Baronet|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".<ref name=DC7>{{cite book |last=Waghorn |first=H. T. |author-link=H. T. Waghorn |date=1906 |title=The Dawn of Cricket |location=London |publisher=R. Tomsett & Co. |page=7}}</ref> 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".<ref name=DC7/> In 1730, a newspaper referred to the "Kentish champions".<ref>{{cite book |last=Buckley |first=G. B. |date=1935 |title=Fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket: A Collection of 1,000 New Cricket Notices from 1697 to 1800 A.D. |location=Birmingham |publisher=Cotterell & Co. |page=4}}</ref>

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===
Inter-county cricket was popular throughout the 18th century although the best team, such as Kent in the 1740s or [[Hampshire county cricket teams|Hampshire]] in the days of the [[Hambledon Club]], was usually acknowledged as such by being matched against an [[Non-international England cricket teams|"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 Cricket Club|London]], which often played against county teams and was in some respects almost a county club in itself; [[Slindon Cricket Club|Slindon]], which was for a few years in the 1740s effectively representative of Sussex as a county; [[Dartford Cricket Club|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 county cricket teams|Berkshire]], [[Essex county cricket teams|Essex]] and [[Middlesex county cricket teams|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.<ref name=RB/> He began by stating that Sussex was publicly acknowledged as the "best county" in the [[1827 English cricket season|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 bowling|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===
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 County Cricket Club|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===
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), ''[[The Guide to Cricketers|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).<ref name=WCA100>{{cite book |last=Wisden |title=Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 100th edition |edition=1963 |editor-last=Preston |editor-first=Norman |editor-link=Norman Preston |publisher=Sporting Handbooks Ltd |location=London |page=284}}</ref><ref name=CC6489>{{cite web |url=http://www.cricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/ENG/CHAMPIONSHIP/CC_WINNERS_1864-1889.html |title=County Champions 1864–1889 |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=24 June 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011010834/http://www.cricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/ENG/CHAMPIONSHIP/CC_WINNERS_1864-1889.html |archive-date=11 October 2008}}</ref>

* 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===

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 [[The Oval|Oval]] on 9 June 1873, it was decided:{{sfnp|Webber|1957|pp=12–13}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Martin-Jenkins |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Martin-Jenkins |date=1981 |title=The Wisden Book of County Cricket |location=London |publisher=Queen Anne Press |isbn=0362005451 |page=17}}</ref>

* "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'===
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.<ref name=DB>{{cite book |last=Burley |first=Derek |author-link=Derek Birley |date=1999 |title=A Social History of English Cricket |location=London |publisher=Aurum Press |isbn=1854106228}}</ref>

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"{{sfnp|Webber|1957|p=9}} because 1873 was "the first season in which rules of county qualification were in operation".{{sfnp|Webber|1957|p=11}} 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.{{sfnp|Webber|1957}}

===First official competition===
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]]'':<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stats.acscricket.com/Cricket/1889/index.html#523/z |title=Annual Meeting of County Secretaries – the programme for 1890 |work=[[Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game]] |publisher=[[Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians|ACS]] |year=1889 |pages=478–479 |access-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908020352/http://stats.acscricket.com/Cricket/1889/index.html#523/z |archive-date=8 September 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<blockquote>"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.<br />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".</blockquote>

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 (cricket)|century]] in the competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/3/3538.html|title=The Home of CricketArchive|website=cricketarchive.com|access-date=9 September 2017|archive-date=24 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524194650/https://cricketarchive.com/subscribe|url-status=live}}</ref> 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===
In the 1891 season, [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] competed in the championship and in 1895 [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]], [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]], Hampshire, [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]] and [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=County Championship history|url=http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/ENG/CHAMPIONSHIP/CC_HISTORY.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=4 July 2017|archive-date=10 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710024253/http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/ENG/CHAMPIONSHIP/CC_HISTORY.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

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

* [[Worcestershire County Cricket Club|Worcestershire]] in 1899 (did not play in 1919)
* [[Northamptonshire County Cricket Club|Northamptonshire]] in 1905
* [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]] in 1921
* [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] in 1992

An invitation in 1921 to [[Buckinghamshire County Cricket Club|Buckinghamshire]] was declined, due to lack of proper playing facilities, and an application by [[Devon County Cricket Club|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===
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.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Wright|editor1-first=Graeme|title=Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1989|date=1989|publisher=John Wisden & Co Ltd|isbn=094776612X|page=339}}</ref> 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 [[England and Wales Cricket Board|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/46047594|title=County Championship and One-Day Cup changes agreed for 2020 season|date=31 October 2018|publisher=BBC|access-date=31 October 2018|archive-date=31 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031194356/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/46047594|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 2016 to 2019 there was no mandatory [[toss (cricket)|toss]], with the away side having the option to bowl first. If the away side declined to bowl first, the toss still took place.<ref>{{cite web |title=No mandatory toss in the County Championship |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/no-mandatory-toss-in-the-county-championship-944565 |access-date=26 November 2015 |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615093806/https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/no-mandatory-toss-in-the-county-championship-944565 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Visiting County Championship captains retain bowl-first option for 2017 season|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/18/county-championship-cricket-first-division-second-division|website=The Guardian|date=18 October 2016|access-date=26 February 2018|archive-date=24 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524194633/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/18/county-championship-cricket-first-division-second-division|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Hundred: New batters on strike even if pair in the middle cross |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/50852859 |website=BBC Sport |date=19 December 2019 |access-date=22 December 2019 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222170404/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/50852859 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 [[2021 County Championship|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/1862765/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-2021-county-championship|title=All you need to know about the 2021 LV= Insurance County Championship|access-date=29 April 2021|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420191735/https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/1862765/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-2021-county-championship|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Teams==
=== Stadiums and locations ===
{{Location map+|England
 |width=300
 |float=right
 |caption=Locations of current County Championship teams
 |places=
 {{Location map~|England|lat=52.927486|long=-1.461136|label={{nowrap|[[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=left|label_size=90}}
 {{location map~|England|lat=54.849545|long=-1.560826|label={{nowrap|[[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=51.731597|long=0.469035|label={{nowrap|[[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=51.487310|long=-3.191360|label={{nowrap|[[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=left|label_size=90}}
 {{location map~|England|lat=51.477168|long=-2.584073|label={{nowrap|[[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=bottom|label_size=90}}
 {{location map~|England|lat=50.924144|long=-1.322078|label={{nowrap|[[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=bottom|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=51.267474|long=1.091711|label={{nowrap|[[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=bottom|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=53.456342|long=-2.286851|label={{nowrap|[[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=52.607830|long=-1.142667|label={{nowrap|[[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=52.248186|long=-0.871001|label={{nowrap|[[Northamptonshire County Cricket Club|Northamptonshire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=52.936895|long=-1.132139|label={{nowrap|[[Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club|Nottinghamshire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=51.018910|long=-3.100798|label={{nowrap|[[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=left|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=50.830970|long=-0.163500|label={{nowrap|[[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=52.455838|long=-1.902572|label={{nowrap|[[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=left|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=52.189279|long=-2.226737|label={{nowrap|[[Worcestershire County Cricket Club|Worcestershire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=left|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|England|lat=53.817673|long=-1.582000|label={{nowrap|[[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{location map~|England|lat=51.5319080|long=-0.0394060|label={{nowrap|[[London]]}}|mark=Blue pog.svg|position=bottom|label_size=90}}

{{Location map~|England|mark=TransparentPlaceholder.png|marksize=1|lat=50.3|long=-0.6|label_size=80|label={{nowrap|'''[[London]] teams:'''}}<br />
[[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]]<br/>
[[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]]
|position=right}}
}}

{{Location map+|Greater London
 |width=300
 |float=right
 |caption=County Championship clubs in [[Greater London]]
 |alt=County Championship clubs in [[Greater London]]
 |places = 
 {{Location map~|Greater London|lat=51.529416|long=-0.172818|label={{nowrap|[[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
 {{Location map~|Greater London|lat=51.483728|long=-0.114955|label={{nowrap|[[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]]}}|mark=Red pog.svg|position=right|label_size=90}}
}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!County Club
!Ground
!Location
!First season in<br> Championship
!First title
!Last title
!Titles
|-
| [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]] || [[County Cricket Ground, Derby|County Ground]] || [[Derby]] || 1895 || 1936 || 1936 || 1
|-
| [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] || [[Riverside Ground]] || [[Chester-le-Street]] || 1992 || 2008 || 2013 || 3
|-
| [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]] || [[County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford|County Ground]] || [[Chelmsford]] || 1895 || 1979 || 2019 || 8
|-
| [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]] || [[Sophia Gardens (cricket ground)|Sophia Gardens]] || [[Cardiff]] || 1921 || 1948 || 1997 || 3
|-
| [[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]] || [[Bristol County Ground|County Ground]] || [[Bristol]] || 1890 || – || – || 0
|-
| [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]] || [[Rose Bowl (cricket ground)|Rose Bowl]] || [[Southampton]] || 1895 || 1961 || 1973 || 2
|-
| [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]] || [[St Lawrence Ground]] || [[Canterbury]] || 1890 || 1906 || 1978 || {{sort|7|7 (1 shared)}}
|-
| [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] || [[Old Trafford Cricket Ground|Old Trafford]] || [[Manchester]] || 1890 || 1897 || 2011 || {{sort|9|9 (1 shared)}}
|-
| [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]] || [[Grace Road]] || [[Leicester]] || 1895 || 1975 || 1998 || 3
|-
| [[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]] || [[Lord's]] || [[London]] || 1890 || 1903 || 2016 || {{sort|13|13 (2 shared)}}
|-
| [[Northamptonshire County Cricket Club|Northamptonshire]] || [[County Cricket Ground, Northampton|County Ground]] || [[Northampton]] || 1905 || – || – || 0
|-
| [[Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club|Nottinghamshire]] || [[Trent Bridge]] || [[Nottingham]] || 1890 || 1907 || 2025 || 7
|-
| [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] || [[County Ground, Taunton|County Ground]] || [[Taunton]] || 1891 || – || – || 0
|-
| [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] || [[The Oval]] || London || 1890 || 1890 || 2024 || {{sort|23|23 (1 shared)}}
|-
| [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]] || [[County Cricket Ground, Hove|County Ground]] || [[Hove]] || 1890 || 2003 || 2007 || 3
|-
| [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] || [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]] || [[Birmingham]] || 1895 || 1911 || 2021 || 8
|-
| [[Worcestershire County Cricket Club|Worcestershire]] || [[New Road, Worcester|New Road]] || [[Worcester, England|Worcester]] || 1899 || 1964 || 1989 || 5
|-
| [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]] || [[Headingley Cricket Ground|Headingley]] || [[Leeds]] || 1890 || 1893 || 2015 || {{sort|33|33 (1 shared)}}
|}

==Competition format==

===Points system===
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<ref>{{cite web |title=County Championship 2024: Champions Surrey to start season against Lancashire |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/67501078 |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=23 November 2023 |date=23 November 2023 |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123110610/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/67501078 |url-status=live }}</ref> after a reduction to 5 points in 2023:<ref name="CI-10Feb2023">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=10 February 2023 |title=County Championship points system tweaked to encourage aggressive batting |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/county-championship-2023-points-system-tweaks-kookaburra-balls-for-two-rounds-among-changes-for-2023-season-1358256 |website=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=22 February 2023}}</ref>

'''Win''': 16 points + bonus points<br /> 
'''[[Result (cricket)#Tie|Tie]]''':  8 points + bonus points<br />               
'''[[Result (cricket)#Draw|Draw]]''': 8 points + bonus points<br />
'''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.<ref name="CI-10Feb2023"/>

{| style="text-align: center;" class="wikitable"
|+Bonus points awarded
! scope="col" style="padding-left: 0.5em; padding-right: 0.5em;" | Runs scored
! scope="col" style="padding-left: 0.5em; padding-right: 0.5em;" | Wickets taken
! scope="col" style="padding-left: 0.5em; padding-right: 0.5em;" | Points
|-
| 250–299 || 3–5 || {{strong|1}}
|-
| 300–349 || 6–8 || {{strong|2}}
|-
| 350–399 || 9–10 || {{strong|3}}
|-
| 400–449 || style="background-color: darkgrey"; | || {{strong|4}}
|-
| 450 or more || style="background-color: darkgrey"; | || {{strong|5}}
|}

===Deductions===
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 [[Cricket pitch|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<ref>{{cite web |title=Somerset's 12-point deduction for 'poor' pitch delayed until 2021 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/53609453 |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=25 November 2020 |date=31 July 2020 |archive-date=17 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117002241/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/53609453 |url-status=live }}</ref> and 12 were suspended for the 2022 competition, for a poor pitch in their title-deciding game with Essex.<ref>{{cite web |title=Somerset docked 24 points for poor pitch in title decider against Essex |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/18/somerset-docked-points-poor-pitch-essex |website=The Guardian |date=18 November 2019 |access-date=18 November 2019 |archive-date=24 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524194634/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/nov/18/somerset-docked-points-poor-pitch-essex |url-status=live }}</ref>
*'''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."<ref>{{cite web |title=Leicestershire fear wooden spoon after 16-point deduction |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/leicestershire-fear-wooden-spoon-after-16-point-deduction-909665 |access-date=2017-07-13 |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |archive-date=21 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221103022/https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/leicestershire-fear-wooden-spoon-after-16-point-deduction-909665 |url-status=live }}</ref> Leicestershire were fined 16 points in 2017 after a further five offences in the previous 12 months.<ref>{{cite news|title=Leicestershire deducted 16 County Championship points|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39521424|access-date=13 July 2017|archive-date=8 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608193156/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/39521424|url-status=live}}</ref>
*'''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.<ref name="Durham">{{cite news|title=Durham relegated to Division Two after financial issues as Hampshire are reinstated|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/37541136|access-date=13 July 2017|archive-date=6 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506105809/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/37541136|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Middlesex hit by ECB sanction for breaches of financial regulations |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66778649#:~:text=The%20decision%20comes%20following%20an,the%20ECB%20will%20be%20reduced. |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=11 September 2023 |date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912095851/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66778649#:~:text=The%20decision%20comes%20following%20an,the%20ECB%20will%20be%20reduced. |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''Non-regulation equipment:''' In 2024, Essex had 12 points deducted because [[Feroze Khushi]] used an oversize bat in a game against Nottinghamshire.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=11 September 2024 |title=Essex docked 12 points over use of 'wide bat' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/ce8d9l25zz0o |website=BBC Sport |location=London |access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref>
*'''Other:''' Yorkshire were deducted 48 points in 2023 by the Cricket Discipline Commission for their handling of the [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club racism scandal]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Yorkshire issued points deduction and £400,000 fine over racism scandal |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66339035 |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=11 September 2023 |date=28 July 2023 |archive-date=10 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910182334/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66339035 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Tie-breakers===

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Playing Conditions – The Specsavers County Championship, Other First Class Matches and Non First Class MCC University Matches against Counties |url=https://www.ecb.co.uk/governance/regulations/first-class-county-regulations |publisher=European Central Bank |access-date=21 December 2019 |quote=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. |archive-date=13 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413043716/https://www.ecb.co.uk/governance/regulations/first-class-county-regulations |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Results==

===Official county champions===
{{Main|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===
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 Bob Willis Trophy|2020]] and [[2021 County Championship|2021]] seasons, there was no promotion or relegation due to the revised formats brought around by the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Year
! Relegated from Division 1
! Promoted from Division 2
|-
|[[2000 County Championship|2000]]||Hampshire, Durham, Derbyshire||Northamptonshire, Essex, Glamorgan
|-
|[[2001 County Championship|2001]]||Northamptonshire, Glamorgan, Essex||Sussex, Hampshire, Warwickshire
|-
|[[2002 County Championship|2002]]||Hampshire, Somerset, Yorkshire||Essex, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire
|-
|[[2003 County Championship|2003]]||Essex, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire||Worcestershire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire
|-
|[[2004 County Championship|2004]]||Worcestershire, Lancashire, Northamptonshire||Nottinghamshire, Hampshire, Glamorgan
|-
|[[2005 County Championship|2005]]||Surrey, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan||Lancashire, Durham, Yorkshire               
|-
|[[2006 County Championship|2006]]||Nottinghamshire, Middlesex||Surrey, Worcestershire
|-
|[[2007 County Championship|2007]]||Warwickshire, Worcestershire||Somerset, Nottinghamshire
|-
|[[2008 County Championship|2008]]||Kent, Surrey||Warwickshire, Worcestershire
|-
|[[2009 County Championship|2009]]||Sussex, Worcestershire||Kent, Essex
|-
|[[2010 County Championship|2010]]||Essex, Kent||Sussex, Worcestershire
|-
|[[2011 County Championship|2011]]||Hampshire, Yorkshire||Middlesex, Surrey
|-
|[[2012 County Championship|2012]]||Lancashire, Worcestershire||Derbyshire, Yorkshire
|-
|[[2013 County Championship|2013]]||Derbyshire, Surrey ||Lancashire, Northamptonshire
|-
|[[2014 County Championship|2014]]||Northamptonshire, Lancashire||Hampshire, Worcestershire
|-
|[[2015 County Championship|2015]]||Worcestershire, Sussex||Surrey, Lancashire
|-
|[[2016 County Championship|2016]]||Durham{{ref label|2016|a|a}}, Nottinghamshire||Essex
|-
|[[2017 County Championship|2017]]||Middlesex, Warwickshire||Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire
|-
|[[2018 County Championship|2018]]||Lancashire, Worcestershire || Kent, Warwickshire
|-
|[[2019 County Championship|2019]]||Nottinghamshire ||Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire
|-
|[[2022 County Championship|2022]]||Yorkshire, Gloucestershire ||Nottinghamshire, Middlesex
|-
||[[2023 County Championship|2023]]||Middlesex, Northamptonshire ||Durham, Worcestershire
|-
|[[2024 County Championship|2024]]||Kent, Lancashire ||Sussex, Yorkshire
|-
|[[2025 County Championship|2025]]|| Worcestershire, Durham ||Leicestershire, Glamorgan
|}
{{note label|2016|a|a}} Durham finished fourth in 2016 but were relegated as a penalty by the ECB over financial issues, replacing Hampshire who finished eighth.<ref name="Durham" />

===Wooden spoons===
Since the expansion of the Championship from 9 counties to 14 in 1895, the [[Wooden spoon (award)|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.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! 'Wins' !! County
|-
!scope=row|15
|Derbyshire
|-
!scope=row|12
|Somerset
|-
!scope=row|11
|Northamptonshire
|-
!scope=row rowspan=2|10
|Glamorgan
|-
|Leicestershire
|-
!scope=row|9
|Gloucestershire
|-
!scope=row rowspan=2|8
|Nottinghamshire
|-
|Sussex
|-
!scope=row rowspan=|6
|Worcestershire
|-
!scope=row rowspan=2|5
|Durham
|-
|Hampshire
|-
!scope=row rowspan=|3
|Warwickshire
|-
!scope=row rowspan=2|2
|Essex
|-
|Kent
|-
!scope=row rowspan=|1
|Yorkshire
|}

==Records==
Records can be found at [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/Series/County_Championship/index.html Cricket Archive – County Championship Records].{{subscription required}}

===Highest team scores===
A team has scored 800 or more runs in the County Championship on eight occasions, with [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]] holding the record for the highest score of 887 all out against [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] in 1896.
{| align="center" | class="wikitable" width="60%"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! align="center" | Total
! align="center" | For and against
! align="center" | Venue
! align="center" | Season
|-
| align="center" | 887
| align="center" | [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]] v. [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]]
| align="center" | [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]]
| align="center" | [[1896 County Championship|1896]]
|-
| align="center" | 863
| align="center" | [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] v. [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]]
| align="center" | [[The Oval]]
| align="center" | [[1990 County Championship|1990]]
|-
| align="center" | 850/7d
| align="center" | [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] v. [[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]]
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Taunton|Taunton]]
| align="center" | [[2007 County Championship|2007]]
|-
| align="center" | 820/9d
| align="center" | [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] v. [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]]
| align="center" | [[The Oval]]
| align="center" | [[2025 County Championship|2025]]
|-
| align="center" | 811
| align="center" | [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] v. [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]]
| align="center" | [[The Oval]]
| align="center" | [[1899 County Championship|1899]]
|-
| align="center" | 810/4d
| align="center" | [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] v. [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]]
| align="center" | [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]]
| align="center" | [[1994 County Championship|1994]]
|-
| align="center" | 803/4d
| align="center" | [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]] v. [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]]
| align="center" | [[Old County Ground, Brentwood|Brentwood]]
| align="center" | [[1934 County Championship|1934]]
|-
| align="center" | 801/8d
| align="center" | [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]] v. [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]]
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Taunton|Taunton]]
| align="center" | [[2007 County Championship|2007]]
|-
|}

===Lowest team scores===
{| align="center" | class="wikitable" width="60%"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! align="center" | Total
! align="center" | For and against
! align="center" | Venue
! align="center" | Season
|-
| align="center" | 12
| align="center" | [[Northamptonshire County Cricket Club|Northamptonshire]] v. [[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]]
| align="center" | [[Spa Ground]], [[Gloucester]]
| align="center" | [[1907 County Championship|1907]]
|-
| align="center" | 13
| align="center" | [[Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club|Nottinghamshire]] v. [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]]
| align="center" | [[Trent Bridge]]
| align="center" | [[1901 County Championship|1901]]
|-
| align="center" | 14
| align="center" | [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] v. [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]]
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford|Chelmsford]]
| align="center" | [[1983 County Championship|1983]]
|-
| align="center" | 15
| align="center" | [[Hampshire County Cricket Club|Hampshire]] v. [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]]<br />''(Hampshire recovered to win the match)''
| align="center" | [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]]
| align="center" | [[1922 County Championship|1922]]
|-
| align="center" | 16
| align="center" | [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] v. [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]]
| align="center" | [[Angel Ground]], [[Tonbridge]]
| align="center" | [[1913 County Championship|1913]]
|-
| align="center" | 20
| align="center" | [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]] v. [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]]
| align="center" | [[The Circle, Kingston upon Hull]]
| align="center" | [[1922 County Championship|1922]]
|-
| align="center" | 20
| align="center" | [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]] v. [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]]
| align="center" | [[Bramall Lane]], [[Sheffield]]
| align="center" | [[1939 County Championship|1939]]
|-
| align="center" | 20
| align="center" | [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]] v. [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]]
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Chelmsford|Chelmsford]]
| align="center" | [[2013 County Championship|2013]]
|-
|}

===Most runs in an innings===
{| align="center" | class="wikitable" width="60%"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! align="center" | Total
! align="center" | Batsman
! align="center" | For and against
! align="center" | Venue
! align="center" | Season
|-
| align="center" | 501[[not out|*]] 
| align="center" | [[Brian Lara]] 
| align="center" | [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]] v. [[Durham County Cricket Club|Durham]] 
| align="center" | [[Edgbaston Cricket Ground|Edgbaston]] 
| align="center" | [[1994 County Championship|1994]]
|-
| align="center" | 424 
| align="center" | [[Archie MacLaren]]
| align="center" | [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] v. [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] 
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Taunton|Taunton]] 
| align="center" | [[1895 County Championship|1895]]
|-
| align="center" | 410* 
| align="center" | [[Sam Northeast]]
| align="center" | [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]] v. [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]] 
| align="center" | [[Grace Road|Leicester]] 
| align="center" | [[2022 County Championship|2022]]
|-
| align="center" | 405* 
| align="center" | [[Graeme Hick]]
| align="center" | [[Worcestershire County Cricket Club|Worcestershire]] v. [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] 
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Taunton|Taunton]] 
| align="center" | [[1988 County Championship|1988]]
|-
| align="center" | 371 
| align="center" | [[Tom Banton]]
| align="center" | [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]] v. [[Worcestershire County Cricket Club|Worcestershire]]
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Taunton|Taunton]] 
| align="center" | [[2025 County Championship|2025]]
|-
| align="center" | 366 
| align="center" | [[Neil Fairbrother]]
| align="center" | [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]] v. [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] 
| align="center" | [[The Oval]] 
| align="center" | [[1990 County Championship|1990]]
|-
| align="center" | 357[[not out|*]] 
| align="center" | [[Bobby Abel]] 
| align="center" | [[Surrey County Cricket Club|Surrey]] v. [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]]
| align="center" | [[The Oval]] 
| align="center" | [[1899 County Championship|1899]]
|}

===Best bowling in an innings===
{| align="center" | class="wikitable" width="60%"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! align="center" | Total
! align="center" | Bowler
! align="center" | For and against
! align="center" | Venue
! align="center" | Season
|-
| align="center" | 10/10
| align="center" | [[Hedley Verity]]
| align="center" | [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]] v. [[Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club|Nottinghamshire]]
| align="center" | [[Headingley Cricket Ground|Headingley]]
| align="center" | [[1932 County Championship|1932]]
|-
| align="center" | 10/18
| align="center" | [[George Geary]]
| align="center" | [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]] v. [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]]
| align="center" | [[Ynysangharad Park]], [[Pontypridd]]
| align="center" | [[1929 County Championship|1929]]
|-
| align="center" | 10/30
| align="center" | [[Colin Blythe]]
| align="center" | [[Kent County Cricket Club|Kent]] v. [[Northamptonshire County Cricket Club|Northamptonshire]]
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Northampton|Northampton]]
| align="center" | [[1907 County Championship|1907]]
|-
| align="center" | 10/32
| align="center" | [[Harry Pickett]]
| align="center" | [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]] v. [[Leicestershire County Cricket Club|Leicestershire]]
| align="center" | [[Leyton Cricket Ground|Leyton]]
| align="center" | [[1895 County Championship|1895]]
|-
| align="center" | 10/35
| align="center" | [[Alonzo Drake]]
| align="center" | [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]] v. [[Somerset County Cricket Club|Somerset]]
| align="center" | [[Clarence Park, Weston-super-Mare]]
| align="center" | [[1914 County Championship|1914]]
|-
| align="center" | 10/36
| align="center" | [[Hedley Verity]]
| align="center" | [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]] v. [[Warwickshire County Cricket Club|Warwickshire]]
| align="center" | [[Headingley Cricket Ground|Headingley]]
| align="center" | [[1931 County Championship|1931]]
|-
| align="center" | 10/40
| align="center" | [[George Dennett]]
| align="center" | [[Gloucestershire County Cricket Club|Gloucestershire]] v. [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]]
| align="center" | [[County Cricket Ground, Bristol|Bristol]]
| align="center" | [[1906 County Championship|1906]]
|-
| align="center" | 10/40
| align="center" | [[Billy Bestwick]]
| align="center" | [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]] v. [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan]]
| align="center" | [[Cardiff Arms Park#Cricket|Cardiff Arms Park]]
| align="center" | [[1921 County Championship|1921]]
|-
| align="center" | 10/40
| align="center" | [[Gubby Allen]]
| align="center" | [[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]] v. [[Lancashire County Cricket Club|Lancashire]]
| align="center" | [[Lord's]]
| align="center" | [[1929 County Championship|1929]]
|-
|}

==Sponsors==
The County Championship has been sponsored since 2025 by [[Rothesay (insurer)|Rothesay]] and titled the Rothesay County Championship.<ref name=":0" />

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 [[Liverpool Victoria|Frizzell]]
*2006–2015 [[Liverpool Victoria]] (now branded as "LV=")
*2016–2019 [[Specsavers]]
*2021–2023 [[Liverpool Victoria|LV= Insurance]]
*2024 [[Vitality Health and Life Insurance]]
*2025 [[Rothesay (insurer)|Rothesay]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Cricket}}
*[[Pro40]]
*[[Friends Provident Trophy]]
*[[Twenty20 Cup|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==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |last=Webber |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Webber |date=1957 |title=The County Cricket Championship: A History of the Competition from 1873 |location=London |publisher=Phoenix Sports Books}}

==Further reading==
* [[Stephen Chalke]], ''Summer's Crown: The Story of Cricket's County Championship'', Fairfield Books, Bath, 2015

==External links==
* [https://www.ecb.co.uk/county-championship  Official County Championship Website]
* [http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/ENG/CHAMPIONSHIP/CC_HISTORY.html The County Championship: Timeline 1890–present] from [[ESPNcricinfo]]

{{County Championship seasons}}
{{Cricket in England}}
{{English first-class cricket clubs}}
{{First-class Cricket Domestic Competitions}}

[[Category:County Championship| ]]
[[Category:English domestic cricket competitions]]
[[Category:English cricket in the 19th century]]
[[Category:English cricket in the 20th century]]
[[Category:English cricket in the 21st century]]
[[Category:1890 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:First-class cricket competitions]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1890]]
[[Category:Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom]]