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 MCC University matches in 2005 are games played between the University Centre of Cricketing Excellence ("UCCEs") and first-class opposition. This is the first year the games are called "MCC" University matches, after the MCC announced a funding plan to support the development of student cricket.
Norman Gifford is a retired English cricketer, who played primarily as a left-arm spinner. Gifford played county cricket for Worcestershire, and Warwickshire County Cricket Clubs, and represented England in fifteen Test matches and two One Day International between 1964 and 1985.
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.
William McLean Gifford is an English cricketer who has played first-class cricket for Loughborough UCCE and one List A game for Worcestershire. He is, as Wisden put it, "no known relation" to former Worcestershire captain Norman Gifford.
Timothy Raymond Ambrose is a retired Australian-born English cricketer who played all three formats of the game internationally. He was a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. He began his domestic career with Sussex County Cricket Club in 2000, although he went on to play for Warwickshire. He represented England but lost his place to Matt Prior in 2009. Ambrose retired from cricket at the end of the 2020 season.
The Chester Road North Ground, often referred to simply as Chester Road or Kidderminster, is a cricket ground in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. It is the home of Kidderminster Cricket Club, and is currently used for Worcestershire County Cricket Club's Second XI matches. It was opened in 1870.
Bernard William Quaife was an English first-class cricketer who played more than 300 matches between the wars. He played first for Warwickshire, but later found much more success at Worcestershire, where he became the usual wicket-keeper. He was the son of England Test player Willie Quaife.
Charles William Collard Grove was an English first-class cricketer who took over 700 wickets during the course of over 200 games in the mid-20th century, mostly for Warwickshire. He had one season for Worcestershire at the end of his career.
Richard Jaynes Devereux is a former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket for Worcestershire in 1963.
Stephen Peter Perryman is a former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket for Warwickshire and Worcestershire during the 1970s and 1980s.
Ricardo ("Ricky") McDonald Ellcock is a Barbados-born former English cricketer who played first-class and List A cricket between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. His career was seriously hampered by injury, and despite being picked to tour with England in 1989–90 he was forced into retirement shortly afterward.
Steffan Andrew Piolet is an English cricketer. He specialises in short format cricket and is a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium-pace bowler who played over 100 matches for Sussex and Warwickshire County Cricket Clubs
Mohamed Asif Din is a former British cricketer who played county cricket for Warwickshire from 1981 to 1995. A right-handed batsman and occasional legbreak bowler, he is most famous for scoring a hundred and winning the man-of-the-match award in the 1993 Natwest Trophy final, widely regarded as the best domestic final.
Jack David Shantry is a former English cricketer who played county cricket for Worcestershire. He is now an umpire.
Frank Henry Vigar was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Essex County Cricket Club between 1938 and 1954. A right-handed batsman, and leg break bowler, Vigar served as an all-rounder with 8,858 runs at 26.28 and 241 wickets at 37.90. From his rained-off debut in 1938, Vigar went on to play 257 matches for his county. His greatest success came in the "golden summer" of 1947, where he scored 1,735 runs and took 64 wickets. A partnership with Peter Smith of 218 for the final wicket remains an Essex record.
Sefton Park Cricket Club in south Liverpool, England was formed as Sefton Cricket Club in 1860. As well as being used for Sefton's senior, women's and junior teams' home fixtures, the club hosts Lancashire age group and junior sides, Liverpool City junior representative games, University of Liverpool cricket and Last Man Stands.
The 2021 County Championship was the 121st cricket County Championship season in England and Wales. For the first phase of the tournament, the teams were split into three groups of six, with each side playing ten matches. The top two teams from each group progressed into Division One for the second phase of the competition, with the other teams progressing to Divisions Two and Three. The team that finished top of Division One became the county champions; and the top two teams from Division One contested a five-day match at Lord's for the Bob Willis Trophy. On 17 December 2020, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed all the fixtures for the tournament. After completion of the group stage on 14 July 2021, the ECB confirmed the fixtures for the division stage on 22 July 2021.
The 2022 County Championship was the 122nd cricket County Championship season in England and Wales. The season began on 7 April and ended on 29 September 2022. Warwickshire were the defending champions.