The 1998 Benson & Hedges Cup was the twenty-seventh edition of cricket's Benson & Hedges Cup. It was an English limited overs county cricket tournament which was held between 28 April and 12 July 1998.
It had been agreed at various meetings of the ECB in September 1997 that, due to restrictions on tobacco advertising and a desire to reduce the amount of one-day cricket played, that this would be the final Benson & Hedges Cup, but that henceforth a Super Cup would be played for between the top eight teams in the previous year's County Championship. The editor of Wisden, Matthew Engel, had suggested such a move in the 1995 edition in order to liven up the county scene.
The Super Cup was competed for in 1999 but was abandoned and the zonal system resumed for the 2000 competition. The revision to the system meant that 1998 was the last appearance in the Benson & Hedges Cup of the Minor Counties, the British Universities, Scotland and Ireland.
The competition was won by Essex County Cricket Club for the second time, defeating Leicestershire County Cricket Club by 192 runs in the final at Lord's on 11 and 12 July 1998.
Fixtures and results
Group stage
Group A TeamPldWLNRAPtsNRRA100 Leicestershire 5 4 1 0 0 8 23.324 Lancashire 5 4 1 0 0 8 17.313 Warwickshire 5 4 1 0 0 8 16.358 Nottinghamshire 5 2 3 0 0 4 1.519 Northamptonshire 5 1 4 0 0 2 -10.406 Minor Counties 5 0 5 0 0 0 -50.577 Source:
Group B TeamPldWLNRAPtsNRRA100 Yorkshire 4 4 0 0 0 8 13.134 Durham 4 3 1 0 0 6 -1.427 Worcestershire 4 2 2 0 0 4 3.666 Derbyshire 4 1 2 0 1 3 -3.277 Scotland 4 0 3 0 1 1 -10.520 Source:
Group C TeamPldWLNRAPtsNRRA100 Surrey 5 5 0 0 0 10 13.168 Kent 5 3 1 0 1 7 14.171 Somerset 5 2 2 0 1 5 0.558 Gloucestershire 5 2 3 0 0 4 2.890 British Universities 5 1 4 0 0 2 -12.823 Hampshire 5 1 4 0 0 2 -15.563 Source:
Group D TeamPldWLNRAPtsNRRA100 Middlesex 4 4 0 0 0 8 3.716 Essex 4 2 1 1 0 5 19.485 Glamorgan 4 1 2 1 0 3 10.333 Sussex 4 1 2 0 1 3 -1.533 Ireland 4 0 3 0 1 1 -33.294 Source:
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
References
See also Benson & Hedges Cup