2016 County Championship

2016 County Championship
Administrator(s) England and Wales Cricket Board
Cricket format First-class cricket (4 days)
Tournament format(s) League system
Participants 18

The 2016 County Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2016 Specsavers County Championship),[1] is the 117th cricket County Championship season. It is scheduled to be the last season with nine teams in each division, after it was announced in March 2016 that the 2017 season would feature only eight teams in Division One. As a result, only one team will be promoted from Division Two in the 2016 season, whilst two teams would be relegated from Division One.[2]

The season saw a significant change in playing regulations where instead of a mandatory coin toss to determine choice of batting or bowling first, the visiting team was allowed to choose to bowl first if they desired.[3][4] This change was introduced by the ECB cricket committee in November 2015 as a response to concerns raised about the standard of pitches, particularly in Division Two of the Championship. The initiative aims to reduce the preparation of seamer friendly wickets which had seen matches completed quickly, made batting harder early in matches and generally gave an advantage to the side bowling first.[5] By encouraging Counties to produce more balanced wickets the initiative aims to promote the skills required in Test cricket, in particular aiding the development of spin bowling and promoting more patient batting.[3][4][6]

Tougher penalties for poor pitches and the use of the new regulations just in Division Two of the Championship had been considered by the ECB, but the committee opted to implement the change across both divisions in 2016.[4] On the opening day of the 2016 season, four captains opted to bowl first with the choice of batting or bowling being decided by a toss in just one match.[6]

Teams

The 2016 Championship is divided into two divisions of nine teams each. Each County will play every other side in their division twice with matches lasting four days - once at home and once away. At the end of the season one County will be promoted from Division Two and two relegated from Division One in order to create a smaller Division One in 2017.[2]

Division One

     Team promoted from Division Two

Team Primary home ground Other grounds Coach Captain Overseas player(s) Refs
Durham Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street — England Jon Lewis England Paul Collingwood Australia John Hastings [7][8]
Hampshire Rose Bowl, Southampton — South Africa Dale Benkenstein England James Vince South Africa Ryan McLaren [9][10][11]
Lancashire Old Trafford, Manchester — England Ashley Giles England Steven Croft New Zealand Neil Wagner [12][13]
Middlesex Lord's, London Merchant Taylors' School Ground, Northwood
Uxbridge SC		 England Richard Scott Australia Adam Voges New Zealand Mitchell McClenaghan [14][15][16]
Nottinghamshire Trent Bridge, Nottingham — England Mick Newell England Chris Read Australia Jackson Bird [17][18]
Somerset County Ground, Taunton — England Matthew Maynard Australia Chris Rogers Australia Chris Rogers [19][20][21]
Surrey The Oval, London Guildford CC, Guildford Australia Michael Di Venuto England Gareth Batty Sri Lanka Kumar Sangakkara [22][23][24]
Warwickshire Edgbaston, Birmingham — Scotland Dougie Brown England Ian Bell New Zealand Jeetan Patel [25][26]
Yorkshire Headingley, Leeds Scarborough Cricket Club, Scarborough Australia Jason Gillespie England Andrew Gale New Zealand Kane Williamson
Australia Travis Head		 [27][28][29]

Division Two

     Team relegated from Division One

Team Primary home ground Other grounds[30] Coach Captain Overseas player(s) Refs
Derbyshire County Ground, Derby Queen's Park, Chesterfield England Graeme Welch England Billy Godleman New Zealand Hamish Rutherford [31][32]
Essex County Ground, Chelmsford Castle Park Cricket Ground, Colchester England Chris Silverwood Netherlands Ryan ten Doeschate New Zealand Jesse Ryder [31]
Glamorgan SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff Penrhyn Avenue, Rhos-on-Sea
St Helen's, Swansea		 Wales Robert Croft South Africa Jacques Rudolph South Africa Jacques Rudolph [31]
Gloucestershire County Ground, Bristol College Ground, Cheltenham England Richard Dawson South Africa Gareth Roderick Australia Cameron Bancroft (Apr–May)
Australia Michael Klinger (May–Sep)
AustraliaAndrew Tye		 [31]
Kent St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham
Nevill Ground, Tunbridge Wells		 West Indies Cricket Board Jimmy Adams England Sam Northeast New Zealand Tom Latham
South Africa Kagiso Rabada (Jul)		 [31]
Leicestershire Grace Road, Leicester — Australia Andrew McDonald Australia Mark Cosgrove Australia Clint McKay [31]
Northamptonshire County Ground, Northampton — England David Ripley England Alex Wakely South Africa Rory Kleinveldt
Sri LankaSeekkuge Prasanna		 [31]
Sussex County Ground, Hove Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground, Arundel South Africa Mark Davis England Luke Wright New Zealand Ross Taylor [31][33]
Worcestershire New Road, Worcester — England Steve Rhodes England Daryl Mitchell New Zealand Matt Henry (Apr–Jun)
South Africa Kyle Abbott (Jul–Sep)		 [31]

Standings

Teams receive 16 points for a win, 8 for a tie and 5 for a draw. Bonus points (a maximum of 5 batting points and 3 bowling points) may be scored during the first 110 overs of each team's first innings.[34]

Division One

Team
 Pld W L T D A Bat Bowl Ded Pts
Nottinghamshire 3 1 1 0 1 0 8 8 0 37
Warwickshire 3 0 0 0 3 0 14 7 0 36
Middlesex 3 0 0 0 3 0 12 7 0 34
Lancashire 2 1 0 0 1 0 6 6 0 33
Yorkshire 3 0 0 0 3 0 11 7 0 33
Durham 3 0 0 0 3 0 10 8 0 33
Somerset 3 0 0 0 3 0 7 7 0 29
Hampshire 3 0 0 0 3 0 7 8 1 29
Surrey 3 0 1 0 2 0 11 7 0 28

Source: [34]

Division Two

Team
 Pld W L T D A Bat Bowl Ded Pts
Essex 4 2 0 0 2 0 16 11 0 69
Leicestershire 3 1 0 0 2 0 13 9 0 48
Kent 3 1 0 0 1 1 7 6 0 39
Worcestershire 3 0 0 0 2 1 10 5 0 30
Derbyshire 3 0 0 0 3 0 8 6 0 29
Gloucestershire 3 0 1 0 2 0 11 7 0 28
Sussex 3 0 0 0 3 0 4 5 0 24
Northamptonshire 3 0 1 0 2 0 9 4 0 23
Glamorgan 3 0 2 0 1 0 9 8 0 22

Source: [35]

Fixtures

The fixture list for the 2016 season was announced in December 2015.[36][37]

Division One

Division Two

Source:[38][39]

Statistics

As of 4 May 2016

Division One

Most runs

Player Team Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100s 50s
Kumar Sangakkara Surrey 3 6 397 66.16 171 1 2
Sam Robson Middlesex 3 5 368 73.60 231 2 0
Jonny Bairstow Yorkshire 3 5 335 67.00 246 1 0
Jonathan Trott Warwickshire 3 3 320 160.00 219* 1 1
Keaton Jennings Durham 3 4 308 102.66 116 2 1
Source:[40]

Most wickets

Player Team Matches Overs Wickets Average BBI 5W 10W
Jake Ball Nottinghamshire 3 101.0 19 18.94 5/98 1 0
Ravi Rampaul Surrey 2 60.4 14 18.07 5/85 2 0
Keith Barker Warwickshire 3 102.0 14 21.71 5/53 1 0
Neil Wagner Lancashire 2 69.4 13 17.30 6/66 2 1
James Tomlinson Hampshire 3 84.1 13 20.84 4/74 0 0
Source:[41]

Division Two

Most runs

Player Team Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100s 50s
Alastair Cook Essex 4 7 523 130.75 142 3 1
Tom Westley Essex 4 6 432 72.00 125 2 2
Chris Dent Gloucestershire 3 5 407 101.75 180 2 1
Ben Duckett Northamptonshire 3 4 400 133.33 282* 1 2
Chesney Hughes Derbyshire 3 5 400 133.33 137* 2 1
Source:[42]

Most wickets

Player Team Matches Overs Wickets Average BBI 5W 10W
Jamie Porter Essex 4 137.5 24 19.20 5/46 2 0
Graham Napier Essex 4 131.5 23 20.17 5/92 1 0
Clint McKay Leicestershire 3 105.0 15 21.46 6/73 1 0
Liam Norwell Gloucestershire 3 125.0 13 31.30 4/104 0 0
Michael Hogan Glamorgan 3 98.5 10 30.00 4/74 0 0
Source:[43]

References

  1. ↑ "Specsavers sign four-year deal to sponsor County Championship". Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 "County Championship: Only one promotion spot in Division Two this summer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Coin toss to be scrapped in County Championship cricket, BBC Sport, 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  4. 1 2 3 No mandatory toss in the County Championship, CricInfo, 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  5. ↑ Hopps D, Dobell G (2015)The toss debate: aiding spin v home advantage, CricInfo, 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  6. 1 2 Win the toss and...actually don't bother, CricInfo, 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  7. ↑ "Stoneman Named New Limited-Overs Captain". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Player Profiles".
  9. ↑ "Vince nets new deal and Hants captaincy". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Hampshire's First Team - The Ageas Bowl". The Ageas Bowl.
  11. ↑ [http://www.ageasbowl.com/cricket/fixtures-and-results/fixtures/> "Fixtures"]. The Ageas Bowl.
  12. ↑ Chris Ostick (27 November 2015). "Steven Croft named new Lancashire captain as Tom Smith steps down". men. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Lancashire Players". Lancashire County Cricket Club.
  14. ↑ "Middlesex County Cricket Club: Voges returns as overseas player & captains announced". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Middlesex County Cricket Club: 1st XI".
  16. ↑ "Middlesex County Cricket Club: Professional".
  17. ↑ "NCCC News : Christian, Read To Lead Notts In 2016". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club - Official website".
  19. ↑ Vic Marks. "Marcus Trescothick stands down as Somerset captain after six years". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  20. ↑ "Fixtures".
  21. ↑ "Teams Playing Staff - Somerset County Cricket Club".
  22. ↑ "Gareth Batty Appointed Surrey Captain". Kia Oval. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "Surrey 1st XI Fixtures 2016". Kia Oval.
  24. ↑ "Surrey Playing Squad". Kia Oval.
  25. ↑ "Ian Bell replaces Varun Chopra as Warwickshire captain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "Bears Squad".
  27. ↑ "Yorkshire CCC unveil new strips for 2016 campaign". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  28. ↑ "Fixtures". Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
  29. ↑ "Teams - Yorkshire County Cricket Club". Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
  30. ↑ Fixtures - County Championship Division Two, CricInfo. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dobell G, Hopps D (2016) Tight race for one promotion spot, CricInfo, 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  32. ↑ Derbyshire CCC: Fixtures released and Welch looks for a flying start, Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  33. ↑ 2016 Fixture list released, Sussex County Cricket Club. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  34. 1 2 "Table – County Championship Division One". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  35. ↑ "Table – County Championship Division Two". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  36. ↑ "County Cricket fixtures for 2016 announced".
  37. ↑ "County Championship: Yorkshire start season against Hampshire". BBC Sport.
  38. ↑ "Fixtures - County Championship Division One - Cricket - BBC Sport". BBC Sport.
  39. ↑ "Fixtures - County Championship Division Two - Cricket - BBC Sport". BBC Sport.
  40. ↑ "Specsavers County Championship Division One, 2016 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  41. ↑ "Specsavers County Championship Division One, 2016 / Records / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  42. ↑ "Specsavers County Championship Division Two, 2016 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  43. ↑ "Specsavers County Championship Division Two, 2016 / Records / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
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