The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has finally confirmed the schedule of the much-awaited County Championships, albeit in a reshaped model, different from the one played in 2019 and also from the one-off Bob Willis Trophy played in 2020.
The Championship begins with Essex, the defending champions, beginning their title defence against Worcestershire at home on Thursday, April 8. On the same day, Somerset, last year’s runner-up, will be at Lord’s once again as they face Middlesex in their season opener.
All the 18 First-Class counties have been divided into three groups of six each with each team playing five home and five away games. The top two teams from each group will then move to Division 1 and the others to division 2 and 3 respectively, based on their rankings in the group.
The divisional matches will then begin on August 30 and the final of the Championship would be played between the top two teams of Division 1 on Monday, September 27.
“We're all looking forward to the return of the County Championship in 2021 after a very challenging year in 2020,” ECB Managing Director of County Cricket, Neil Snowball said on the occasion of the announcement of the Championship.
"We are also working hard with all 18 First-Class Counties to ensure that we are able to welcome the return of crowds safely next year and will continue to work closely with the government and all relevant authorities," he added.
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