The LV= County Championship gets underway on Thursday as the 18 counties prepare for five months of red ball cricket played out in various blocks under another different format to cope with the indifferent times we are currently having to endure.
Essex will attempt to defend the title that they either won in 2019 or last year depending on how you perceive the Bob Willis Trophy. This looks like a pretty competitive season though and with The Ashes at the end of it we should be guaranteed some great cricket if the weather holds.
Recent Winners
2020 – Essex (Bob Willis Trophy)
2019 – Essex
2018 – Surrey
2017 – Essex
2016 – Middlesex
2015 – Yorkshire
2014 – Yorkshire
2013 – Durham
2012 – Warwickshire
2011 – Lancashire
The Format
There is a fairly complicated format for the County Championship this season. It begins with the 18 counties split into three groups. Each team plays the others in their group home and away. At the end of that phase the top two head into Division One and the others into Division Two and Division Three. You carry the points forward that you get against the other team in your group that you’ve already played. Each team then plays the other teams in their group once. The County Championship winner is the team who comes top of Division One. The top two teams in Division One will then play out for the Bob Willis Trophy in the final game of the season.
The scoring system has changed this year too. It is still 16 points for a win but it is now eight points for either a tie or a draw and nothing for getting beat. As ever there are first innings bonus points too with points scored for getting 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 in the first 110 overs. Bonus points are also available for 3, 6 and 9 wickets, providing a maximum of eight possible bonus points in total. The other change in the rules is that the new ball is available after 80 overs again instead of 90 like last season.
The Schedule
The County Championship will be played in three blocks. The majority of the first group stage will be played out at the beginning of the season before the T20 begins in June. It then returns for a couple of rounds in July before a break for The Hundred and the Royal London One Day Cup. The second phase and the Bob Willis Trophy final all take place at the end of the season in August through to late September.
Group 1
Derbyshire
Durham
Essex
Nottinghamshire
Warwickshire
Worcestershire
Click here for the Group 1 county-by-county guide
Group 2
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Leicestershire
Middlesex
Somerset
Surrey
Click here for the Group 2 county-by-county guide
Group 3
Glamorgan
Kent
Lancashire
Northamptonshire
Sussex
Yorkshire
Click here for the Group 3 county-by-county guide
Outright Betting
The new format adds an interesting dynamic to the betting market here. If you are happy to have money tied up in a short priced bet for five months then Essex look unopposable here but that isn’t my style so I’ll seek the value. That certainly doesn’t appear in Group 2 which looks like the Group of Death so we either take someone in Group 1 with Essex and hope that team come second to them and maybe have the chance of getting the better of them, or we take someone out of Group 3 where two qualifying places look available but we then have to run into Essex at the end of the season.
I’m going to go for the former of the two methods. The group is actually wide open behind Essex and I like the look of Worcestershire to have a run at it. They have as good a top seven as most in the country and a seam attack which when fit can be more than competitive. They actually play Essex in their opening game so they might be getting them at the right time with Peter Siddle not yet here and Simon Harmer unlikely to have much of an impact in dank and freezing cold conditions. Worcestershire look full of runs with Daryl Mitchell, Jake Libby, Gareth Roderick and Tom Fell having the ability to be serial run scorers so if Joe Leach can inspire his bowling unit by the time we get to the business end of the season, 14/1 on the New Road outfit could look quite big.
Tips
Back Worcestershire to win County Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Betfred (1/2 1-2)
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