Domestic Cricket in England | Explained

Cricket’s roots trace back to England in the 16th century. And no wonder they have one of the oldest domestic First-Class tournaments — the County Championship — going around, along with limited-overs cricket.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) looks to improve its domestic prowess by organising various competitions during the summer season. And having a solid domestic structure is a must to compete at the international level.

Here we’ll glance at the domestic cricket structure in England.

County Championship

First up is the County Championship, a 4-day First-Class competition. As many as 18 counties participate in the tournament to win the trophy.

Started in 1890, the County Championship follows a 2-division system, with 10 teams in Division One and 8 counties in Division Two. Each county plays 14 First-Class games during the season.

The top team from each division claims the trophy at the end of the last round. Each season sees the promotion of the top 2 teams from Division Two to Division One and the relegation of the bottom 2 teams from Division One to Division Two.

Yorkshire have been the most successful team in the championship, having clinched the trophy 34 times.

One-Day Cup

One-day cricket in England dates back to the early 1960s. The ECB held the Friends Provident Trophy, Pro40, and ECB 40 between 1963 and 2013 before introducing the One-Day Cup in 2014.

The decade-old One-Day Cup follows the 50-over format, unlike the Pro40 and ECB 40, which involved 40-over-an-innings matches.

Similar to the County Championship, 18 counties compete in the One-Day Cup. The 18 teams are split into 2 groups of 9 each.

Teams play in a single-round robin format, with the top 3 teams from each group advancing to the knockouts. The No. 1 teams from both groups directly enter the semi-finals, while the No. 2 and 3 teams battle it out in the quarter-finals.

The winners of the quarter-finals move to the semifinals, followed by the final to crown the One-Day Cup champion.

T20 Blast

The T20 Blast is the oldest T20 domestic tournament in the world, with the ECB devising the format in the early 2000s. The governing body came up with a Twenty20 Cup in 2003, now known as the T20 Blast.

18 counties, divided into 2 groups, are in contention to win the T20 Blast title. Each team plays 14 T20 games, meeting 6 opponents twice and 2 sides once.

After the group stage, the top 4 teams from both groups make it to the quarter-finals. The winners of the quarter-finals then advance to the finals day, which involves 2 semi-finals and the final match.

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The Hundred

The Hundred is the latest addition to England’s cricketing summer, with the ECB trying to attract a younger audience to the stadiums. It’s a 100-ball tournament, a further truncated version of T20 cricket.

8 city-based teams compete against each other in men’s and women’s competition. The top 3 teams play in the knockouts, with the No. 1 team entering the final, while the other 2 sides face off in the eliminator.

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Like the One-Day Cup for men’s teams, the ECB organises the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for women’s teams. 8 women’s regional teams made up of several counties compete in the 50-over competition.

Before the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the board organised the Women’s County Championship. It was a 50-over tournament, unlike the First-Class for men.

The Women’s County Championship took place till 2019, with the ECB deciding to replace it with a new competition. In 2020, the governing body started a new tournament in honour of Rachael Heyhoe Flint, one of the greatest women cricketers.

8 teams play in a double-round robin format, with the top 4 making it to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals then compete in the final to claim the trophy.

Charlotte Edwards Cup

The Charlotte Edwards Cup is the top-level T20 tournament played by 8 women’s regional teams. The ECB started the competition in 2021, replacing the Women’s Cricket Super League.

Originally, the tournament was supposed to begin in 2020. But due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, it was pushed to 2021.

Before the start of the first edition, the board named the tournament after England’s most celebrated women cricketer, Charlotte Edwards.

The 8 teams play 10 matches in the group stage, facing 3 teams twice and 4 teams once. The top 4 teams make it to the semi-finals, with the winners competing in the summit clash.

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