Cricket: The Origins of County Cricket in England
The highest level of domestic level cricket in England and Wales includes eighteen teams, all of which are named after historic English counties. They are; Derbyshire, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Warwickshire-c862, Worcestershire and Yorkshire.
The exact date as to when the start of County Cricket came about is not certain; there are at least four conflicting dates. The very first reference can be found in 1825, but the first publication about County Championship was printed in 1864. However, according to a commemorative stamp issued by the Post Office, County Cricket started in 1973. Despite this, the official organization and formation of the County Championship took place around 1890. It was in 1895 that the competition took its present form and was recognized by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
Founded in 1787, the MCC is a private members club aimed at the development of cricket. It was formerly the governing body and highest authority in England and across the world. In 1933 its global functions were transferred to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its domestic duties were given to the England and Wales Cricket Board. It is still the copyright holder of the Laws of Cricket, which were revised in 1788. The MCC may raise its team, which is mostly given first class status depending on the opposition.
The opening game of the English county cricket season is traditionally played between the MCC and the winners of the County Championship from the previous year, at Lord’s. Cambridge, Durham, Loughborough and Oxford are the only four University Cricketing Center of Excellence (UCCE) teams that are granted first class status while facing a first class county. In pre-season the first class counties play three day games against the university cricket teams, this serves as a pre season warm up for the county teams. Other university teams can also play against the county teams, but may not be granted first class status.
The eight teams that contested in the 1890 championship were, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045. It was not until 2000, that the Championship was split into two divisions, based on the counties performance in the previous year. The Division One bottom three teams were relegated, and the Division Two top three teams promoted.
The County Championship from 1890 to present has been dominated by Yorkshire, with them winning an impressive 31 times. Second come Surrey with 19 wins. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Middlesex-c817 have 12, Lancashire 8 and Kent 7. Warwickshire and Essex both have won the championship 6 times, while Leicestershire and Glamorgan have managed 3 wins over this period. The county that has finished at the bottom the most number of times is Derbyshire, with an embarrassing 14 times. Northamptonshire and Somerset have 11, while Glamorgan, Nottinghamshire and Sussex have been bottom about 9 times. Yorkshire has only finished last once, with Lancashire, Middlesex and Surrey impressively never finishing at the bottom.
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