The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the English Industrial Estates Cup, before being called the Minor Counties Knock Out Competition from 1986 to 1987, the Holt Cup from 1988 to 1992, the MCC Trophy from 1993 to 1998, the ECB 38-County Cup from 1999 to 2002 and the MCCA Knockout Trophy from 2003 to 2005. It was called the MCCA Trophy from 2006 and 2019 until the Minor Counties were rebranded as National Counties in 2020.
From 1998 to 2002, the competition was contested by 38 teams and included a group stage. The traditional National counties, plus Huntingdonshire and the "cricket boards" of the 18 first-class counties, as well as a Channel Islands team. The 2002 competition, which was won by the Warwickshire Cricket Board, remains the only time a non-National county has won the competition. This format was discontinued after 2002 and the competition is again a purely National Counties affair.
The most successful county is Berkshire who have won the title nine times. The current champions, Berkshire, defeated Cheshire in July 2026, winning their ninth trophy.
List of winners YearFinalFinal VenueWinnerResultRunner-up1983Cheshire228/6 (50 overs)Cheshire won by 36 runsBedfordshire192 all out (48.2 overs)Macclesfield Cricket Club Ground, Macclesfield1984Hertfordshire107/7 (49.1 overs)Hertfordshire won by 3 wicketsNorfolk106 all out (41.1 overs)Fenner's, Cambridge1985Durham229/9 (55 overs)Durham won by 100 runsDorset129 all out (47.2 overs)Fenner's, Cambridge1986Norfolk223/8 (55 overs)Norfolk won by 30 runsHertfordshire193 all out (50.4 overs)Clarence Park, St Albans1987Cheshire132/2 (47.4 overs)Cheshire won by 8 wicketsCambridgeshire131 all out (49.5 overs)Christ Church Ground, Oxford1988Dorset127/8 (49.2 overs)Dorset won by 2 wicketsCambridgeshire123/9 (50 overs)Redlands Sports Ground, Weymouth1989Cumberland191/1 (39.1 overs)Cumberland won by 9 wicketsHertfordshire188/7 (55 overs)Lord's, London1990Buckinghamshire227/7 (55 overs)Buckinghamshire won by 16 runsLincolnshire211/9 (55 overs)Lord's, London1991Staffordshire241/6 (54.5 overs)Staffordshire won by 4 wicketsDevon239/8 (55 overs)Lord's, London1992Devon221/6 (51.4 overs)Devon won by 4 wicketsStaffordshire217/7 (55 overs)Lord's, London1993Staffordshire326/7 (55 overs)Staffordshire won by 69 runsWiltshire257/7 (55 overs)Lord's, London1994Devon281/5 (55 overs)Devon won by 18 runsLincolnshire263 all out (53.5 overs)Lord's, London1995Cambridgeshire227/8 (54.3 overs)Cambridgeshire won by 2 wicketsHerefordshire226/4 (55 overs)Lord's, London1996Cheshire254/4 (54 overs)Cheshire won by 6 wicketsBedfordshire253/7 (55 overs)Lord's, London1997Norfolk279/4 (55 overs)Norfolk won by 52 runsShropshire227 all out (54.3 overs)Lord's, London1998Devon204/2 (41.5 overs)Devon won by 8 wicketsShropshire201/9 (60 overs)Lord's, London1999Bedfordshire154/2 (36.1 overs)Bedfordshire won by 8 wicketsCumberland153 all out (47.4 overs)Lord's, London2000Herefordshire291/6 (50 overs)Herefordshire won by 42 runsCheshire241/9 (50 overs)Lord's, London2001Norfolk202/9 (50 overs)Norfolk won by 114 runsDevon88 all out (28.1 overs)Lord's, London2002Warwickshire Cricket Board266/8 (49.1 overs)Warwickshire Cricket Board won by 2 wicketsDevon261/8 (50 overs)New Road, Worcester2003Cambridgeshire267/7 (47.5 overs)Cambridgeshire won by 3 wicketsShropshire266/9 (50 overs)Lord's, London2004Berkshire240/3 (42.4 overs)Berkshire won by 7 wicketsNorthumberland237 all out (49.3 overs)Lord's, London2005Norfolk135/4 (27 overs)Norfolk won by 6 wicketsThis final was replayed following the abandonment of the first, held at Lord's, London on 22 August, due to rain. The teams agreed to replay the final on 31 August at Upton Court Road, Slough.Wiltshire134 all out (45.1 overs)Upton Court Road, Slough2006Northumberland209/2 (34.4 overs)Northumberland won by 8 wicketsDorset207/9 (50 overs)Lord's, London2007Suffolk219 all out (49.2 overs)Suffolk won by 35 runsCheshire184 all out (47.4 overs)Lord's, London2008Devon290/4 (50 overs)Devon won by 40 runsBerkshire250 all out (48 overs)Lord's, London2009Norfolk257/6 (50 overs)Norfolk won by 104 runsStaffordshire153 all out (40.3 overs)Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street2010Shropshire219 all out (49.2 overs)Shropshire won by 7 wicketsLincolnshire249/6 (50 overs)Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street2011Berkshire196/4 (34.2 overs)Berkshire won by 6 wicketsHertfordshire194/9 (36 overs)Lord's, London2012Cumberland186/3 (32.4 overs)Cumberland won by 7 wicketsWiltshire184 all out (45.4 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2013Berkshire284/9 (50 overs)Berkshire won by 128 runsShropshire156 all out (39.3 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2014Devon203/9 (50 overs)Devon won by 7 runsOxfordshire196/9 (50)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2015Cornwall203/3 (29.4 overs)Cornwall won by 7 wicketsCornwall v Northumberland in 2015, CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 February 2016.Northumberland199/9 (42)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2016Herefordshire258/9 (50 overs)Herefordshire won by 56 runsStaffordshire202 all out (44.4 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2017Berkshire248/6 (40.3 overs)Berkshire won by 4 wicketsBerkshire v Lincolnshire, Unicorns Knockout Trophy 2017 (Final), CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 April 2018. Lincolnshire245/5 (50 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2018Cheshire248/7 (50 overs)Cheshire won by 2 runsCheshire v Devon, Unicorns Trophy 2018 Final, Play-Cricket. Retrieved 7 May 2019.Devon246/9 (50 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2019Berkshire144 all out (46.4 overs)Berkshire won by 1 runBerkshire v Cumberland, Unicorns Trophy 2019 Final, ESPN cricinfo. Retrieved 28 October 2019.Cumberland143/9 (50 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2021Berkshire260/8 (50 overs)Berkshire won by 151 runsBerkshire v Cumberland, Unicorns Trophy 2021 Final, ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 November 2021.Cumbria109 (34.1 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2022Berkshire 231/5 (38.5 overs)Berkshire won by 5 wicketsCumbria 227/8 (50 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2023Berkshire 195/8 (50 overs)Berkshire won by 29 runsCumbria 166 all out (45.3 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2024Norfolk 258/4 (44.3 overs)Norfolk won by six wicketsCheshire 257/8 (50 overs)Wormsley Park, Ibstone2025Dorset 198/5 (46.1 overs) Dorset won by five wicketsShropshire 195 all out (49.1 overs)Boughton Hall Cricket Club Ground, Chester2026Berkshire 210 all out (46.4 overs)Berkshire won by 112 runsCheshire 98 all out (34.4 overs)Copdock and Old Ipswichian Cricket Club Ground, Copdock
Wins by county 9 wins: Berkshire 6 wins: Norfolk 5 wins: Devon 4 wins: Cheshire 2 wins: Staffordshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumberland, Herefordshire, Dorset 1 win: Hertfordshire, Durham, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Warwickshire Cricket Board, Northumberland, Suffolk, Shropshire, Cornwall
See also National Counties Cricket Championship Friends Provident Trophy – the now defunct one-day tournament for first-class counties, which the Minor counties were once permitted to take part in
References
External links National Counties Cricket Association Official Site