It was one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class counties competed each season. They were joined by teams from Scotland and Ireland. Lancashire won the title a record seven times.
The competition was previously known as the Gillette Cup (1963–1980), the NatWest Trophy (1981–2000), and the C&G Trophy (2000–2006). For a short period following the 2006 season, the competition was known as the ECB One-Day Trophy because no sponsors were forthcoming when Cheltenham and Gloucester decided to end their association with the competition after the 2006 season. The tournament, along with the Pro40 forty-overs competition, was replaced by the ECB 40 competition from the 2010 season.
History
It was the first top-level one-day competition to be introduced in English and Welsh cricket, amid concern about falling attendances at County Championship matches in the early 1960s.
The competition was based on the Midlands Counties Knockout Cup experiment of 1962, when Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire played one-innings-a-side matches which each lasted one day. The MCC decided to hold a limited-overs competition (65 overs-a-side) the following year for all first-class counties, sponsored by American safety razor company Gillette. The original title was "The First Class Knock Out Competition for the Gillette Cup".[1]
The first match (which was also retrospectively identified as the first List A cricket match after that designation was developed), was a Preliminary Round match on 1 May 1963 at Old Trafford, Manchester with Lancashire facing Leicestershire. The match ended up lasting two days due to rain. Peter Marner scored the first century and Brian Statham was the first bowler to take 5 wickets in a match.
In the inaugural season the matches were 65 overs per side, with a bowler bowling a maximum of 15 overs. In 1964, this was reduced to 60 overs with a bowler bowling a maximum of 13. For the 1966 competition until 1998, the maximum was 12.
Minor Counties teams first competed in the 1964 season. The competition has been seen as a cricketing version of football's FA Cup (it being said that "the B&H was always the League Cup final to the Gillette/NatWest's FA Cup"),[2] with Minor Counties, Ireland and Scotland playing against the First Class Counties in the first round. Most times the established teams beat the part-timers but very occasionally there was some "giant killing". Between 1963 and 2005 there were 15 "upsets", including: Durham (at that time still a minor county) being the first in 1973 v Yorkshire; Hertfordshire being successful on two occasions, beating Essex in 1976, and winning a bowl-out versus Derbyshire in 1991; and Herefordshire overcoming a Middlesex side featuring Andrew Strauss in 2001.[3] However, the majority of the time it was an opportunity for county sides to score very high scores against or bowl out cheaply Minor Counties opposition.
One of the most famous matches in the competition was the 1971 Gillette Cup semi-final at Old Trafford, with David Hughes of Lancashire coming out to bat at 8.45pm (before any floodlights) and scoring 24 in one over to beat Gloucestershire. That Lancashire team won the tournament three seasons in a row from 1970 to 1972.
In June 1973, Durham became the first minor county to defeat a first-class county in the competition, when they beat Yorkshire by six wickets in round one. They then became the first minor county to defeat two first class counties, when they defeated Derbyshire at the same stage in 1985. This was the catalyst for the successful campaign that saw Durham gain first-class status in 1991.
In 1981, the National Westminster Bank took over the sponsorship of the competition from Gillette. That year's final finished in a tie, with both sides scored 235.[needs copy edit]Derbyshire claiming the trophy from Northamptonshire by losing fewer wickets (Derbyshire 6 to Northants 9).
The tournament was always the more prestigious of the two "full length" one day cup competitions. The other was the Benson & Hedges Cup, which was abolished in 2002 and replaced with the Twenty20 Cup. At a time when county cricketers' exposure on television was limited, the final of the Gillette Cup/NatWest Bank Trophy was a relatively high-profile opportunity for some to make a case for national selection, especially as it often fell in early September, just before the announcement of an England winter tour party. Thus strong performances by Roland Butcher in the 1980 final,[5] and Geoff Cook in 1981, may have assisted their subsequent selection and Test debuts. The strong performances of then young cricketers Angus Fraser and Mark Ramprakash for Middlesex in 1988 certainly raised their profiles.[6] Conversely surprise was expressed in 1990 when Phillip DeFreitas was initially overlooked for selection for the winter Ashes series, it being suggested at the time that he "surely booked his place on England's winter tour of Australia with an astonishing eight-over opening burst, which reduced Northants to an unbelievable 39 for five" in the final.[7]
Other notable individual performances included a brisk out-of-character century by Geoff Boycott in the 1965 final, and the domination of the 1979 final by the West Indies pair Viv Richards and Joel Garner, who helped Somerset to their first major trophy a few months after helping West Indies to win the World Cup, also at Lord's.[8] Another West Indies international, Alvin Kallicharran, completed the first double century in the tournament in 1984, in a tie in which he remarkably also took six wickets.[9]
The necessity of aiming to complete a scheduled 120 overs in a day (130 when the tournament began) necessitated some early starts. End of season early-morning conditions by the time of the final often favoured the team fielding first, who usually triumphed in the 1980s and 1990s. A rare exception occurred in 1996, when Lancashire bowlers Glen Chapple and Peter Martin triggered a remarkable collapse by Essex.[10]
In 1999 the number of overs was cut to 50 per side to give English and Welsh cricketers more experience of playing matches the same length as One Day Internationals. In line with One Day International cricket, teams played in coloured clothing from 2005.
League from 2006
The competition was revised into a league format from 2006. The eighteen English and Welsh first-class sides, plus Scotland and Ireland, were split into two groups of ten by geographical location known as the North and South Conferences. Matches were 50 overs per side, gaining two points for a win, one point for a no result and no points for a loss. Once the league positions were decided, the top teams from each Conference competed for the trophy in a final at Lord's. In the 2007 season this involved a semi-final knock-out stage, the winner in each conference playing the runners-up in the other.
The league structure was revised in 2008 as the twenty teams were split into four groups of five. Each team plays the other in the group home once and away once, with the top 2 counties in the group going into the quarter-finals.[11]
The competition was played in the first half of the cricket season with the final taking place in August. The other main domestic one-day competition, the Natwest Pro40 League (formerly "Sunday League"), was latterly played during the second half of the season.
In August 2009, the ECB announced that from 2010 there would be one 40-overs per innings tournament replacing both the Pro40 and the Friends Provident Trophy. This along with the English County Championship and the Friends Provident t20 (a revised form of the Twenty20 Cup), would be English cricket's three domestic competitions.[12]
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Nottinghamshire. The club's limited overs team is called the Notts Outlaws.
Durham County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Durham. Founded in 1882, Durham held minor status for over a century and was a prominent member of the Minor Counties Championship, winning the competition seven times. In 1992, the club joined the County Championship and the team was elevated to senior status as an official first-class team. Durham has been classified as an occasional List A team from 1964, then as a full List A team from 1992; and as a senior Twenty20 team since the format's introduction in 2003.
The NatWest Pro40 League was a one-day cricket league for first-class cricket counties in England and Wales. It was inaugurated in 1999, but was essentially the old Sunday League retitled to reflect large numbers of matches being played on days other than Sunday.
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor county until official first-class status was acquired in 1895. Somerset has competed in the County Championship since 1891 and has subsequently played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. The club's limited overs team was formerly named the Somerset Sabres, but is now known only as Somerset.
The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals.
Floodlit (day/night) Cricket is cricket played under floodlights at night. The use of floodlights in cricket matches has helped to bring much investment into the game both at a national and an international level since it began in 1977. Today floodlit (day/night) cricket is played in most of the test playing nations although some nations only started hosting day/night matches in the last 10 to 14 years.
The 2008 English cricket season was the 109th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. Four regular tournaments were played: The LV County Championship (first-class), Friends Provident Trophy, NatWest Pro40 League and the Twenty20 Cup (T20). All four tournaments featured the eighteen classic county cricket teams, although the Friends Provident Trophy also featured sides from Ireland and Scotland.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2009 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and thirty-eight years. In the County Championship, they finished sixth in the second division. In the Pro40 league, they finished seventh in the second division. They were eliminated at group level in the Friends Provident Trophy and came sixth in the North section of the Twenty20 Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2007 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and thirty-six years. In the County Championship, they finished sixth in the second division. In the Pro40 league, they finished eighth in the second division. They were eliminated at group level in the Friends Provident Trophy and came eighth in the North section of the Twenty20 Cup.
The ECB40, last known as the Yorkshire Bank 40 (YB40) for sponsorship reasons, was a forty-over limited overs cricket competition for the English first-class counties. It began in the 2010 English cricket season as a replacement for the Pro40 and Friends Provident Trophy competitions. Yorkshire Bank were the last sponsors, taking over the naming rights from their parent company Clydesdale Bank for the 2013 edition. Warwickshire won the inaugural tournament. The competition was replaced by a 50-over tournament, to bring the domestic game in line with the international game from 2014 on—the Royal London One-Day Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2008 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and thirty-seven years. In the County Championship, they finished sixth in the second division. In the Pro40 league, they finished eighth in the second division. They were eliminated at group level in the Friends Provident Trophy and in the Twenty20 Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2003 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and thirty-six years. They reached the semi-final in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy. In the County Championship, they finished ninth in the second division and in the National League, they finished sixth in the second division. They were eliminated at group level in the North section of the Twenty20 Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2006 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and thirty-five years. In the County Championship, they finished fifth in the second division. In the Pro40 league, they finished eighth in the second division. They were eliminated at group level in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy and came eighth in the North section of the Twenty20 Cup.
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 2010 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire had been playing for one hundred and thirty-nine years. They were in the second division in the County Championship, where they finished ninth. Two new competitions were introduced for the season. These were the Clydesdale Bank 40 and the Friends Provident t20. These replaced the Pro40 League, the Friends Provident Trophy and the Twenty20 competitions. Derbyshire was in Group B in the Clydesdale Bank 40 and in the North Group of the Friends Provident t20 but did not progress to the knockout stage in either competition.
The One-Day Cup is a fifty-over limited overs cricket competition for the England and Wales first-class counties. It began in 2014 as a replacement for the ECB 40 tournament, which ran from 2010 to 2013. It is currently known as the "Metro Bank One Day Cup". In contrast to its 40-over predecessor, the number of overs per innings was set at 50 to bring the competition in line with One-Day Internationals.
The 2017 English cricket season was the 118th in which the County Championship had been an official competition. The season, which began on 28 March and ended on 29 September, featured two global one-day competitions played in England and Wales, the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup. England Women's team won the World Cup, defeating India in the final at Lord's. Pakistan beat India in the Champions Trophy final.
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.
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