The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It became an official title in 1890. The competition consists of eighteen clubs named after, and representing historic counties, seventeen from England and one from Wales.
The 2005 English cricket season was the 106th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. Before it began, a resurgent England cricket team had won four Test series in a row, going unbeaten through the 2004 calendar year. The start of the international season saw England defeat Bangladesh 2–0 in their two-match series, winning both Tests by an innings. This was followed by a tri-nations one-day tournament that also featured Australia. Australia still started the Test series as favourites but most fans expected England to put up a challenge.
The Friends Provident Trophy was a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom.
1900 was the 11th season of County Championship cricket in England. Yorkshire finished the season unbeaten to take the championship title and were the first unbeaten champions since the official competition began in 1890. Defending champions Surrey finished seventh. Lancashire were second, and the matches between the two top teams both ended in draws; Yorkshire made 230 in the first innings of the first game, compared to Lancashire's 96, but still could not force a victory, and in the second, with a crowd of over 44,000 present over three days at Old Trafford, Yorkshire took a lead of seven runs on first innings, but as only two and a half hours of play had been possible on the second day, the game was drawn. Sussex, who finished third with 18 of 24 matches drawn, enjoyed 2,000 runs from Ranjitsinhji for the second season running, as he bettered the record for most runs in a Championship season to 2,563. There were no international matches during this season.
The 2006 English cricket season was the 107th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. It included home international series for England against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. England came off a winter with more Test losses than wins, for the first time since 2002-03, but still attained their best series result in India since 1985. The One Day International series against Pakistan and India both ended in losses.
1904 was the 15th season of County Championship cricket in England. Lancashire went through the season unbeaten and clinched the Championship title. Lancashire drew ten games, but their 16 wins were still more than any other team could muster. Defending champions Middlesex fell to fourth place, losing two successive matches to Kent and Nottinghamshire in June to have a negative percentage five games into the season. They did eventually win nine games, though, which was enough to take them past everyone bar Yorkshire and Kent. Yorkshire were two losses from sharing the Championship with Lancashire, and drew with the Champions on both occasions; despite Lancashire following on in their match at Headingley, Johnny Tyldesley made an unbeaten century from number three to draw the game. However, even a win in this match could not have given Yorkshire the title.
1905 was the 16th season of County Championship cricket in England. England defeated Australia 2–0 in the Test series and Yorkshire pipped defending champions Lancashire for the championship title.
The 1900 County Championship was the 11th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 7 May to 1 September 1900. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their fourth championship title, remaining unbeaten throughout the season. Lancashire finished as runners-up, their best position since winning the Championship in 1897.
The 1901 County Championship was the 12th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 6 May to 4 September 1901. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their fifth championship title, their second title in successive seasons. Middlesex finished in a distant second place.
The 1902 County Championship was the 13th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 1 May to 6 September 1902. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their sixth championship title, their third title in successive seasons. Sussex finished in second place, their best placing yet.
The 1903 County Championship was the 14th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 4 May to 3 September 1903. Middlesex won their first championship title, ending Yorkshire's run of three successive titles. Sussex finished in second place for the second successive season.
The 1904 County Championship was the 15th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 9 May to 5 September 1904. Lancashire won their second championship title, while six times champions Yorkshire finished in second place. The previous season's winners, Middlesex, finished in fourth place.
The 1906 County Championship was the 17th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 3 May to 30 August 1906. Kent won its first championship title, while the previous season's winners, Yorkshire, finished in second place.
The 1907 County Championship was the 18th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 2 May to 2 September 1907. Nottinghamshire won its first championship title, while Worcestershire and Yorkshire tied for second place. The previous season's winners, Kent, finished in eighth place.
The 1908 County Championship was the 19th officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 4 May to 31 August 1908. Yorkshire won their eighth championship title, while Kent finished in second place. The previous season's winners, Nottinghamshire, finished in eighth place. In May, Yorkshire bowled out Northamptonshire for 27 and 14, the lowest aggregate in first-class cricket at that point.
The 1909 County Championship was the 20th officially organised running of the County Championship. The season ran from 3 May to 30 August 1909. Kent won their second championship title, while Lancashire finished in second place. The previous season's winners, Yorkshire, finished third.
The 2013 County Championship season, known as the LV= County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 114th cricket County Championship season. It was contested through two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Each team played all the others in their division both home and away. Durham were County Champions for the third time in six seasons. The top two teams from Division Two, Lancashire and Northamptonshire, gained promotion to the first division for the 2014 season, while the bottom two sides from Division One—Derbyshire and Surrey—were relegated to Division Two for 2014.
The 1896 Minor Counties Championship was the second running of the Minor Counties Cricket Championship, and ran from 25 May to 29 August 1896. Worcestershire won their first outright title, having shared the previous year's championship. Buckinghamshire were runners-up and were the only other team to win more games than they lost. Thirteen teams competed in the championship, down one from the previous year. Bedfordshire, Cheshire and Lincolnshire were absent, while Glamorgan and Northumberland made their Minor Counties Championship debuts.
The 2018 County Championship, known as the 2018 Specsavers County Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the 119th cricket County Championship season. As in 2017, Division One has eight teams and Division Two has ten teams, with two teams relegated and two promoted at the end of the season.
The 2020 Bob Willis Trophy was a first-class cricket tournament held in the 2020 English cricket season, and the inaugural edition of the Bob Willis Trophy. It was separate from the County Championship, which was not held in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The eighteen county cricket teams were split into three regional groups of six, with the two group winners with the most points advancing to a final held at Lord's. The maximum number of overs bowled in a day was reduced from 96 to 90, and the team's first innings could be no longer than 120 overs.
