The 2021 County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) 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.
In July 2021, in Lancashire's match against Kent, James Anderson took his 1,000th first-class wicket. In September 2021, Tom Haines became the first batsman to score 1,000 runs in this edition of the Championship.
For their final match in Group 3, Kent were forced to replace their entire side for their match against Sussex, after a positive test for COVID-19 in their first XI. On the second day of Kent's match, Nathan Gilchrist was forced to withdraw from the game, after being told to self-isolate. The final Group 1 match between Derbyshire and Essex was called off prior to the start of the second day, after a member of Derbyshire's team tested positive for COVID-19. The ECB confirmed that the result of the match would be treated as a draw. On 28 August 2021, the ECB announced that the Division 2 match between Durham and Surrey had been cancelled, after a member of the Surrey team had tested positive for COVID-19.
Warwickshire won the Division One group to win their first County Championship title since 2012, with Lancashire finishing in second place. Warwickshire won the five-day match against Lancashire, to become the second winners of the Bob Willis Trophy. The Division Two title was won by Essex, with Kent winning the Division Three title.
Teams The following teams took part in the County Championship: Team Primary home ground Other grounds Coach CaptainDerbyshireCounty Ground, DerbyQueen's Park, Chesterfield Dave Houghton Billy GodlemanDurhamRiverside Ground, Chester-le-Street– James Franklin Scott BorthwickEssexCounty Ground, Chelmsford– Anthony McGrath Tom WestleyGlamorganSophia Gardens, Cardiff– Matthew Maynard Chris CookeGloucestershireCounty Ground, BristolCollege Ground, Cheltenham Ian Harvey (interim) Chris DentHampshireRose Bowl, Southampton– Adrian Birrell James VinceKentSt Lawrence Ground, Canterbury– Matt Walker Sam BillingsLancashireOld Trafford, ManchesterLiverpool CC, Liverpool Glen Chapple Dane VilasLeicestershireGrace Road, Leicester– Paul Nixon Colin AckermannMiddlesexLord's, LondonMerchant Taylors' School Ground, Northwood Stuart Law Stephen EskinaziNorthamptonshireCounty Ground, Northampton– David Ripley Adam RossingtonNottinghamshireTrent Bridge, Nottingham– Peter Moores Steven MullaneySomersetCounty Ground, Taunton– Jason Kerr Tom AbellSurreyThe Oval, London– Vikram Solanki Rory BurnsSussexCounty Ground, Hove– Ian Salisbury Ben BrownWarwickshireEdgbaston, Birmingham– Mark Robinson Will RhodesWorcestershireNew Road, Worcester– Alex Gidman Joe LeachYorkshireHeadingley, LeedsNorth Marine Road Ground, Scarborough Andrew Gale Steven Patterson
Group stage
Teams The teams were placed into the following groups for the group stage:
Group 1: Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire Group 2: Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Somerset, Surrey Group 3: Glamorgan, Kent, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Sussex, Yorkshire
Fixtures
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Standings Teams receive 16 points for a win and 8 for a draw or tie. Bonus points (a maximum of 5 batting points and 3 bowling points) could be scored during the first 110 overs of each team's first innings.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Qualification
Teams The teams qualified into the following divisions for the Division Stage:
Division One: Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Yorkshire Division Two: Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Surrey Division Three: Derbyshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Sussex, Worcestershire
Points carried forward Each county played four games in the Division stage. They did not play against the team in their Division that was in their Group for the group stage. Instead, they carried forward into the Division stage half the total points they scored in the two matches played against that team in the group stage, that is, the average points they scored from their two matches against that opponent. + Division One Group Team Team from the same group Points scored against during Match Ref.1st group match2nd group match 1NottinghamshireWarwickshire555 15–18 Apr 202127–30 May 2021WarwickshireNottinghamshire202221 2SomersetHampshire221518.5 6–9 May 20213–6 July 2021HampshireSomerset3148.5 3LancashireYorkshire221116.5 27–30 May 202111–14 July 2021YorkshireLancashire184.5
+ Division Two Group Team Team from the same group Points scored against during Match Ref.1st group match2nd group match 1DurhamEssex534 15–18 Apr 202127–30 May 2021EssexDurham191919 2GloucestershireSurrey22212 8–11 Apr 202127–30 May 2021SurreyGloucestershire42213 3GlamorganNorthamptonshire71611.5 22–25 Apr 202111–14 July 2021NorthamptonshireGlamorgan221016
+ Division Three Group Team Team from the same group Points scored against during Match Ref.1st group match2nd group match 1WorcestershireDerbyshire142318.5 15–18 Apr 202127–30 May 2021DerbyshireWorcestershire1549.5 2LeicestershireMiddlesex19411.5 27–30 May 202111–14 Jul 2021MiddlesexLeicestershire52113 3KentSussex111111 13–16 May 202111–14 July 2021SussexKent131112
Division stage
Fixtures Source:
Division One
Division Two
Division Three
Standings
Division One
Division Two
Division Three
Bob Willis Trophy
Warwickshire and Lancashire finished first and second of County Championship Division One respectively, to play for the Bob Willis Trophy at Lord's.
References
External links County Championship at ESPNcricinfo Bob Willis Trophy at ESPNcricinfo