After a break of four weeks as the T20 Blast got into full swing, the 2021 County Championship will return for the final two rounds of the group stage, with the first beginning on Sunday, July 4, and the second a week later, on July 11.
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These will determine who progresses to Divisions One, Two and Three. The team that finishes top of Division One will be crowned winners of the 2021 County Championship, while the sides who place first and second in Division One will face off in a one-off clash to determine who wins the Bob Willis Trophy.
The current County Championship 2021 group standings
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How it works
The top two sides in each group will go through to Division One, the next two to Division Two and the bottom pair to Division Three. If any teams are level on points, the following tie-breakers will be applied: most wins, fewest losses, team achieving most points in contests between teams level on points, most wickets taken, most runs scored.
Each team in each division will play four more games, one against each team in their division who wasn’t in their group. They will carry forward half the points won against the team in their original group.
Who needs what
Group 1
Fixtures
Warwickshire v Durham
Nottinghamshire v Derby
Derbyshire v Essex
Durham v Nottinghamshire
Warwickshire v Worcestershire
As it stands
Only nine points separate first and fourth, with Warwickshire on 120 points, and Durham on 111. However, while they are currently in second place, it’s reigning champions Essex who are in real danger of not making it into Division One, having played one more game than their competitors. While they would expect to beat Derbyshire, one of two winless teams in the competition, so would Notts, three points below Essex in third. Durham, meanwhile, have destiny in their own hands, facing two of the three teams above them. Worcestershire and Derbyshire are both out of Division One contention.
Group 2
Fixtures
Hampshire v Surrey
Somerset v Leicestershire
Gloucestershire v Middlesex
Gloucestershire v Hampshire
Middlesex v Leicestershire
Surrey v Somerset
As it stands
Five teams are in contention, with only Middlesex – six defeats from eight – out of contention, though there is some separation between first and second and fourth and fifth, with Somerset 10 points ahead of Gloucestershire and Leicestershire eight points adrift of Surrey.
Hampshire v Gloucestershire in the final round could be one of the clashes of the competition. The two are currently separated by a solitary point, and both will expect to win their penultimate clashes, with Surrey hapless away from The Oval and Middlesex struggling in general.
Group 3
Fixtures
Lancashire v Kent
Northamptonshire v Yorkshire
Sussex v Glamorgan
Yorkshire v Lancashire
Glamorgan v Northamptonshire
Kent v Sussex
As it stands
On the face of it, this could be the least interesting group. Yorkshire in second are 12 points ahead of Northamptonshire in third, and there’s another 11 points between themselves and Glamorgan in fourth. Sussex and Kent are both mathematically out of contention. However, Yorkshire’s tough fixture list, playing the teams above and below them, with one being a derby, means that there could still be plenty of intrigue.
