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
Champions Middlesex
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 was announced in March 2016 that the 2017 season would feature only eight teams in Division One, meaning that only one team would be promoted from Division Two in the 2016 season, whilst two teams were 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 attempted 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 aimed 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 was divided into two divisions of nine teams each. Each county played 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 was promoted from Division Two and two relegated from Division One in order to create a smaller Division One and a bigger Divison Two 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 [7][8]
Hampshire Rose Bowl, Southampton South Africa Dale Benkenstein (Apr–Jul)
England Craig White (Jul–Sep)
England James Vince South Africa Ryan McLaren [9][10][11]
Lancashire Old Trafford, Manchester England Ashley Giles England Steven Croft New Zealand Neil Wagner (May–Jul) [12][13]
Middlesex Lord's, London Merchant Taylors' School Ground, Northwood
Uxbridge Cricket Club Ground, Uxbridge
England Richard Scott Australia Adam Voges (Apr–May)
New Zealand James Franklin (May–Sep)
Australia Adam Voges (Apr–May)
Australia George Bailey (Jul–Aug)
[14][15][16]
Nottinghamshire Trent Bridge, Nottingham England Mick Newell England Chris Read Australia Jackson Bird (Apr–Jul)
South Africa Imran Tahir (Jul–Sep)
[17][18]
Somerset County Ground, Taunton England Matthew Maynard Australia Chris Rogers Australia Chris Rogers [19][20][21]
Surrey The Oval, London Woodbridge Road, Guildford Australia Michael Di Venuto England Gareth Batty Sri Lanka Kumar Sangakkara
Australia Aaron Finch (Jul)
[22][23][24]
Warwickshire Edgbaston, Birmingham Scotland Dougie Brown England Ian Bell New Zealand Jeetan Patel [25][26]
Yorkshire Headingley, Leeds North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough Australia Jason Gillespie England Andrew Gale New Zealand Kane Williamson (Jun–Jul)
Australia Travis Head (Aug)
Australia Jake Lehmann (Aug–Sep)
[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 (Apr–Jun) 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)
[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 Lanka Seekkuge Prasanna (May–Jul)
[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
Middlesex (C) 16 6 0 0 10 0 46 37 0 230
Somerset 16 6 1 0 9 0 44 41 0 226
Yorkshire 16 5 3 0 8 0 45 39 0 211
Durham (R)[35] 16 5 3 0 8 0 36 38 0 200
Surrey 16 4 6 0 6 0 46 42 0 182
Warwickshire 16 3 4 0 9 0 39 44 0 176
Lancashire 16 3 5 0 8 0 39 38 0 165
Hampshire 16 2 4 0 10 0 36 33 3 155
Nottinghamshire (R) 16 1 9 0 6 0 34 41 0 124

Source: [34]

Division Two

Team
Pld W L T D A Bat Bowl Ded Pts
Essex (P) 16 6 3 0 7 0 58 46 0 235
Kent 16 5 2 0 8 1 49 38 0 212
Worcestershire 16 6 4 0 5 1 42 35 0 203
Sussex 16 4 2 0 10 0 40 38 0 192
Northamptonshire 16 4 3 0 8 1 42 33 0 184
Gloucestershire 16 4 5 0 7 0 44 40 0 183
Leicestershire 16 4 4 0 8 0 39 40 1 182
Glamorgan 16 3 8 0 5 0 34 42 1 148
Derbyshire 16 0 5 0 10 1 32 32 0 119

Source: [36]

Fixtures

The fixture list for the 2016 season was announced in December 2015.[37][38]

Division One

April

May

June

July

August

Division Two

April

May

June

July

Statistics

As of 9 September 2016

Division One

Most runs

Player Team Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100s 50s
Keaton Jennings Durham 14 24 1,310 62.38 221* 6 2
Alex Lees Yorkshire 14 26 1,136 45.44 132 3 7
Alviro Petersen Lancashire 14 23 1,131 51.40 191 3 6
Haseeb Hameed Lancashire 14 23 1,129 53.76 122 4 7
Nick Gubbins Middlesex 14 20 1,122 59.05 201* 3 7
Source:[39]

Most wickets

Player Team Matches Overs Wickets Average BBI 5W 10W
Jeetan Patel Warwickshire 15 576.4 64 24.53 5/32 4 1
Keith Barker Warwickshire 15 489.2 54 24.20 5/53 1 0
Jack Leach Somerset 13 457.4 52 23.96 6/42 4 0
Jack Brooks Yorkshire 12 369.5 52 24.61 5/53 2 0
Ollie Rayner Middlesex 11 388.3 49 20.57 6/79 3 0
Source:[40]

Division Two

Most runs

Player Team Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100s 50s
Ben Duckett Northamptonshire 13 22 1,263 63.15 282* 4 4
Tom Westley Essex 14 20 1,205 60.25 254 3 7
Chris Nash Sussex 13 21 1,162 58.10 144 3 8
Sam Northeast Kent 14 20 1,103 73.53 191 4 2
Mark Cosgrove Leicestershire 14 23 1,037 45.08 146 4 4
Source:[41]

Most wickets

Player Team Matches Overs Wickets Average BBI 5W 10W
Graham Napier Essex 13 436.3 59 23.96 5/59 4 0
Joe Leach Worcestershire 13 430.1 53 29.24 5/70 4 0
Jamie Porter Essex 13 420.2 50 29.90 5/46 2 0
Steve Magoffin Sussex 14 450.1 49 22.34 5/50 3 0
Ben Sanderson Northamptonshire 13 361.0 46 22.89 7/22 3 1
Source:[42]

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 23 September 2016.
  35. Durham relegated to Division Two after financial issues as Hampshire are reinstated, BBC Sport, 3 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  36. "Table – County Championship Division Two". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  37. "County Cricket fixtures for 2016 announced".
  38. "County Championship: Yorkshire start season against Hampshire". BBC Sport.
  39. "Specsavers County Championship Division One, 2016 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  40. "Specsavers County Championship Division One, 2016 / Records / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  41. "Specsavers County Championship Division Two, 2016 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  42. "Specsavers County Championship Division Two, 2016 / Records / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
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