The NBC Denis Compton Award was an annual award given to 'The Most Promising Young Player' at each of the 18 first-class counties in England and Wales. The award was made between 1996 and 2011. A player may receive the award more than once.
The award was born in 1996 when Neil Burns, the former Somerset wicket-keeper-batsman, and now a director of NBC Sports Management Ltd, met Denis Compton while playing for Sir Paul Getty's XI. Burns put forward his ideas for a structured programme that would see promising young English players sent for coaching in South Africa during the English winter. Compton was interested in the proposals, and after the approval of the TCCB was obtained, the first awards were made that same year. [1]
Source: ESPNcricinfo. [1]
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 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 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.
The 2004 Twenty20 Cup was the second edition of the T20 Blast formerly known as the Twenty20 Cup competition for English and Welsh county clubs. The finals day took place on 7 August at Edgbaston, Birmingham, and was won by the Leicestershire Foxes.
The 2011 FriendsLife T20 was the ninth edition of the T20 Blast formerly known as the FriendsLife T20, England's premier domestic Twenty20 competition. The tournament ran from 1 June to 27 August 2011. The teams in the tournament remained the same as the previous season.
The 2011 County Championship season, known as the LV County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 112th 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. Lancashire won Division One. The top two teams from Division Two were promoted to the first division for the 2012 season, while the bottom two sides from Division One were relegated. Aggregate attendances rose 9% to 531,000.
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 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 Cricket Ground. 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 was the seventeenth edition of the T20 Blast currently known as the Vitality Blast, a professional Twenty20 cricket league that was played in England and Wales which was 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 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 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 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.
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.
The 2023 County Championship was the 123rd cricket County Championship season in England and Wales. As in 2022, Division One had ten teams and Division Two had eight teams. The season started on 6 April and finished on 29 September 2023. Surrey were the defending champions and retained their title in the last round of matches.
The 2023 One-Day Cup tournament was a limited overs cricket competition that formed part of the 2023 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 started on 1 August 2023, with the final taking place on 16 September 2023 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Kent were the defending champions, having won the 2022 tournament.
The 2024 One-Day Cup is a limited overs cricket competition in England and Wales. Matches are 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 24 July 2024, with the final scheduled to take place on 22 September 2024. In November 2023, England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed the fixtures for the tournament, as a part of the 2024 English domestic cricket season. Leicestershire are the defending champions, having won the 2023 tournament.