Twenty teams were organised into four zonal groups in its original format with the games played at the start of the season in May. The (then) seventeen first-class counties were joined by three other teams, Minor Counties (North), Minor Counties (South) and Cambridge University who alternated with the University of Oxford. Each team played the others in the group, the winners of each game awarded three points plus, in its first year, a bonus point for bowling their opponents out. The first two teams in each group went on to contest a quarter-final knock-out stage. Groups were set up to create 'derby' games.
in 1975, the Oxford and Cambridge university sides combined to form an Oxford & Cambridge team which competed in every season thereafter. In 1976 the groupings were reorganised to remove the geographical element and the Minor Counties were divided into East and West instead of North and South. Scotland entered the competition in 1980 and the Minor Counties were reduced to one combined team. Durham joined the competition in 1992, having become a first-class county; Ireland joined in 1994 and the competition was streamlined to a straight knock-out cup. Mike Atherton's Combined Universities side almost reached the semi-finals in 1989, running Somerset close in the quarter-final thanks to a century from another future England captain, Nasser Hussain. [1] Ireland defeated Middlesex eight years later.
The final was played at Lord's, initially in mid-July, but latterly in late June. Viv Richards of Somerset made the highest score in a final, an unbeaten 132. Ken Higgs of Leicestershire took a hat-trick (Alan Butcher, Pat Pocock and Arnold Long) against Surrey in the final of 1974, but still ended on the losing side. Other notable performances in its later days include Mark Alleyne's century for Gloucestershire in 1999, 112 from Aravinda de Silva as Kent lost in 1995, and Ben Hollioake's 115-ball 98 for Surrey in 1997. Last-ball or extremely close finishes in the final occurred in 1983 when Middlesex beat Essex, 1986 when Middlesex beat Kent, 1987 when Yorkshire beat Northamptonshire, 1989 when Nottinghamshire beat Essex, and in 1993 when Derbyshire beat Lancashire. In the 1989 final, Eddie Hemmings hit the last ball for a boundary to seal an unlikely victory. [2]
The highest total ever recorded in the group matches was the 388 scored by Essex against Scotland in 1992. Graham Gooch scored 127 as Scotland lost by 272 runs. In another tie in 1982 Gooch also recorded the highest individual score in the competition, 198 not out. [3]
At the Worcestershire v Somerset, 1979 B&H Cup group game at Worcester on 24 May 1979, the Somerset captain Brian Rose declared after one over with the score at 1 for 0. Worcestershire scored the required 2 runs in 10 balls. The declaration was done to protect Somerset's run-rate so they could qualify for the next round. After a special TCCB vote, Somerset were ejected from the competition for bringing the game into disrepute. [4] [5]
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.
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.
The 1997 cricket season was the 98th in which the County Championship has been an official competition. The season centred on the six-Test Ashes series against Australia. England won the first, at Edgbaston, by the decisive margin of nine wickets, and the rain-affected second Test at Lord's was drawn, but any English optimism was short-lived. Australia won the next three games by huge margins to secure the series and retain The Ashes, and England's three-day victory in the final game at The Oval was little more than a consolation prize. It was the 68th test series between the two sides with Australia finally winning 3-2 The three-match ODI series which preceded the Tests produced a statistical curiosity, with England winning each match by an identical margin, six wickets.
The 1996 English cricket season was the 97th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. England hosted tours by India and Pakistan, who each played three Tests and three ODIs. Against India, England were unbeaten, winning the Test series 1–0 and the ODI series 2–0. However, against the Pakistanis England lost 2–0 in the Tests, and had to console themselves with a 2–1 ODI series victory.
The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status. The competition started in 1959 and has been contested annually ever since.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1997 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and twenty-six years. In the County Championship, they won two matches to finish sixteenth in their ninety fourth season in the Championship. They came fourteenth in the AXA Life League and did not progress from the group in the National Westminster Bank Trophy. They reached the semi-final of the Benson & Hedges Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1986 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and sixteen years. In the County Championship, they won five matches to finish eleventh in their eighty-second season in the Championship. They came ninth in the John Player League and reached round 2 in the National Westminster Bank Trophy. They reached the quarter-final of the Benson & Hedges Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1976 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and five years. In the County Championship, they won four matches to finish fifteenth in their seventy-second season in the Championship. They came twelfth in the John Player League and reached the quarter-final of the Gillette Cup. They were eliminated at group level in the Benson & Hedges Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1988 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and eighteen years. They reached the final of the Benson & Hedges Cup and reached the quarter-finals in the National Westminster Bank Trophy. In the County Championship, they won four matches to finish fifteenth in their eighty-second season in the Championship. They came twelfth in the Refuge Assurance League
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1978 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and seven years. They reached the final of the Benson & Hedges Cup. In the County Championship, they won three matches to finish fourteenth in their seventy fourth season in the Championship. They came eighth in the John Player League and did not progress beyond round 2 in the Gillette Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1973 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and two years. In the County Championship, they won two matches to finish sixteenth in their seventy-ninth season in the Championship. They won five matches in the John Player League to finish twelfth. They were eliminated in the first round of the Gillette Cup and did not progress beyond group level in the Benson & Hedges Cup.
The 2017 Royal London One-Day Cup tournament was a limited overs cricket competition that forms part of the 2017 domestic cricket season in England and Wales. Matches were contested over 50 overs per side and had List A cricket status. All eighteen First-class counties competed in the tournament which ran from the end of April with the final taking place at Lord's on 1 July. Nottinghamshire won the tournament, defeating Surrey in the final. The defending champions were Warwickshire.
The 2018 Royal London One-Day Cup tournament was a limited overs cricket competition that formed part of the 2018 domestic cricket season in England and Wales. Matches were contested over 50 overs per side and have List A cricket status. All 18 first-class counties competed in the tournament, which ran from the middle of May until the end of June, when the final took place at Lord's. Nottinghamshire were the defending champions of the tournament, having beaten Surrey in 2017 final.
The 2019 Royal London One-Day Cup tournament was a limited overs cricket competition that formed part of the 2019 domestic cricket season in England and Wales. The tournament was won by Somerset, their first win in the tournament since 2001. Matches were contested over 50 overs per side and had List A cricket status. All eighteen first-class counties competed in the tournament, which due to the 2019 Cricket World Cup being hosted in England took place at the beginning of the English cricket season starting on 17 April 2019, with the final taking place just over a month later at Lord's on 25 May 2019. Hampshire were the defending champions.
The 2019 Vitality Blast is the 2019 season of the t20 Blast, a professional Twenty20 cricket league that was played in England and Wales. It was the second season in which the domestic T20 competition, run by the ECB, has been branded as the Vitality Blast due to a new sponsorship deal. The league consisted of the 18 first-class county teams divided into two divisions of nine teams each with fixtures played, slightly later than usual, between July and September. Finals Day took place at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on 21 September 2019. Worcestershire Rapids were the defending champions.
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.
The 2021 Vitality Blast was the 2021 season of the T20 Blast, a professional Twenty20 cricket league played in England and Wales. It was the fourth season in which the domestic T20 competition, run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), that was branded as the Vitality Blast due to the tournament's sponsorship deal. The Notts Outlaws were the defending champions.
The 2021 Royal London One-Day Cup tournament was a limited overs cricket competition that formed part of the 2021 English cricket season in England and Wales. Matches were contested over 50 overs per side, having List A cricket status, with all eighteen first-class counties competing in the tournament. The tournament started on 22 July 2021, with the final taking place on 19 August 2021 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Somerset were the defending champions winning the 2019 tournament, with no tournament taking place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022 Royal London One-Day Cup tournament was a limited overs cricket competition that formed part of the 2022 domestic cricket season in England and Wales. Matches were contested over 50 overs per side, having List A cricket status, with all eighteen first-class counties competing in the tournament. The tournament began on 2 August 2022, with the final taking place on 17 September 2022 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Glamorgan were the defending champions, having won the 2021 tournament. Kent won the tournament, beating Lancashire by 21 runs in the final.
England 
