Minor Counties Cricket Championship

The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called minor counties that do not have first-class status.

NCCA 3 Day Championship
AdministratorEngland and Wales Cricket Board
First edition1895
Tournament formattwo ten-team divisions
home and away in 3-day matches.
Number of teams20
Current championBerkshire County Cricket Club
Most successfulStaffordshire
(13 titles)

History

The competition began in 1895, with the Worcestershire honorary secretary Paul Foley being influential in its creation.[1] Apart from the two World War periods, it has been contested annually ever since. Since 2014, the tournament has been known as the Unicorns Championship.

Four clubs which used to play in the Minor Counties Championship have been granted first-class status – Worcestershire in 1899; Northamptonshire in 1905; Glamorgan in 1921 and Durham in 1992.

Until 1959, when the Second XI Championship was founded, most second XIs of the first-class counties used to contest the Minor Counties. A few continued to do so and the last to withdraw was Somerset 2nd XI after the 1987 season.

Since 1983, the clubs have been split into an Eastern and a Western Division. The winners of the two divisions play each other in a match at the end of the season to determine which will be the Champions. Until 1983 all clubs competed in a single league. Teams played varying numbers of matches and did not play all other counties, so the table was ranked according to average points gained per match. The team with the highest average won the championship, except in a year when the top two counties had not played each other. In this case the second-placed team in the table had the right to challenge the leaders to a match to decide the championship. The second-placed team had to win this Challenge Match to take the title, with the league leaders being declared champions if they won or the game was drawn.

At present, there are twenty clubs involved. Nineteen represent English counties and the other is a Wales team that represents all the Welsh counties except Glamorgan. For details, see Minor counties of English cricket.

List of Minor Counties Champions

Finals summary

In 1983, the minor counties were divided into a Western Division and an Eastern Division, the winners of each division meeting in a final to decide the overall winner. From 1983 to 1993, the Championship was decided by a 55-over limited over match. From 1994, the final was decided by a two-day, two-innings match with certain restrictions on the first innings, and from 1999 the final has been a three-day, two-innings match and only an outright result has decided the Championship.

Year Western Division Eastern Division Venue Result
2019BerkshireStaffordshireBanbury Cricket Club Ground, BodicoteBerkshire won by 1 wicket
2018BerkshireLincolnshireBanbury Cricket Club Ground, BodicoteBerkshire won by an innings and 32 runs
2017BerkshireLincolnshireBanbury Cricket Club Ground, BodicoteBerkshire won by 6 Wickets
2016BerkshireLincolnshireSir Paul Getty's Ground, WormsleyBerkshire won by 28 runs
2015OxfordshireCumberlandEdenside, CarlisleCumberland won by 10 wickets
2014WiltshireStaffordshireSalisbury and South Wiltshire Sports Club, SalisburyStaffordshire won by 28 runs
2013CheshireCambridgeshireHarecroft Road, WisbechCheshire won by 129 runs
2012CornwallBuckinghamshireBoscawen Park, TruroCornwall won by 150 runs
2011DevonCambridgeshireThe Avenue Sports Club Ground, MarchDevon won by 169 runs
2010DorsetLincolnshireDean Park, BournemouthDorset won by 135 runs
2009CheshireBuckinghamshireUpton Court Road, SloughBuckinghamshire won by 117 runs
2008BerkshireLincolnshireEnborne Lodge, NewburyBerkshire won by 8 wickets
2007CheshireNorthumberlandOsborne Avenue, JesmondCheshire won by an innings and 4 runs
2006DevonBuckinghamshireThe Maer Ground, ExmouthDevon won by 180 runs
2005CheshireSuffolkRansomes and Reavell Sports Club Ground, IpswichDrawn (title shared)
2004DevonBedfordshireThe Maer Ground, ExmouthDrawn (title shared)
2003DevonLincolnshireSports Ground, CleethorpesLincolnshire won by 8 wickets
2002HerefordshireNorfolkMortimer Park, KingslandDrawn (title shared)
2001CheshireLincolnshireGorse Lane, GranthamDrawn (title shared)
2000DorsetCumberlandKinson Park Road, BournemouthDorset won by 5 wickets
1999DorsetCumberlandParkside Road, KendalCumberland won by 6 wickets
1998DorsetStaffordshireDean Park, BournemouthDrawn (Staffordshire won on qualifying record)
1997DevonBedfordshireWardown Park, LutonDrawn (Devon won on faster scoring rate)
1996DevonNorfolkThe Maer Ground, ExmouthDevon by 168 runs
1995DevonLincolnshireNew Road, WorcesterDevon won by 57 runs (single innings match)
1994DevonCambridgeshireNew Road, WorcesterDrawn (Devon won on 1st innings points)
1993CheshireStaffordshireNew Road, WorcesterStaffordshire won by 5 wickets
1992DevonStaffordshireNew Road, WorcesterStaffordshire won by 79 runs
1991OxfordshireStaffordshireWardown Park, LutonStaffordshire won by 10 wickets
1990BerkshireHertfordshireWardown Park, LutonHertfordshire won by 7 wickets
1989OxfordshireHertfordshireNew Road, WorcesterOxfordshire won by 7 wickets
1988CheshireCambridgeshireNew Road, WorcesterCheshire won by 13 runs
1987BuckinghamshireCambridgeshireNew Road, WorcesterBuckinghamshire won by losing fewer wickets
1986OxfordshireCumberlandNew Road, WorcesterCumberland won by 2 wickets
1985CheshireSuffolkNew Road, WorcesterCheshire won by 58 runs
1984CheshireDurhamNew Road, WorcesterDurham won by 6 wickets
1983BuckinghamshireHertfordshireNew Road, WorcesterHertfordshire won by 2 wickets

Performance by county
  • Bold denotes the current 20 Minor Counties.
Club Titles Minor Counties Championship-winning seasons
Staffordshire 12 + 1 shared 1906, 1908, 1911, 1912 (shared), 1914, 1920, 1921, 1927, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2014
Buckinghamshire 9 + 1 shared 1899 (shared), 1922, 1923, 1925, 1932, 1938, 1952, 1969, 1987, 2009
Durham 7 + 2 shared 1895 (shared), 1900 (shared), 1901, 1926, 1930, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1984
Berkshire 8 1924, 1928, 1953, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Devon 7 + 1 shared 1978, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004 (shared), 2006, 2011
Lancashire II 7 1907, 1934, 1937, 1948, 1949, 1960, 1964
Cheshire 5 + 2 shared 1967, 1985, 1988, 2001 (shared), 2005 (shared), 2007, 2013
Yorkshire II 6 1933, 1947, 1957, 1958, 1968, 1971
Norfolk 3 + 3 shared 1895 (shared), 1905, 1910, 1912 (shared), 1913, 2002 (shared)
Hertfordshire 4 1936, 1975, 1983, 1990
Oxfordshire 4 1929, 1974, 1982, 1989
Surrey II 4 1939, 1950, 1954, 1955
Suffolk 3 + 1 shared 1946, 1977, 1979, 2005 (shared)
Worcestershire 3 + 1 shared 1895 (shared), 1896, 1897, 1898
Northamptonshire 2 + 2 shared 1899 (shared), 1900 (shared), 1903, 1904
Cumberland 3 1986, 1999, 2015
Bedfordshire 2 + 1 shared 1970, 1972 2004 (shared)
Lincolnshire 2 + 1 shared 1966, 2001 (shared), 2003
Dorset 2 2000, 2010
Kent II 2 1951, 1956
Somerset II 2 1961, 1965
Warwickshire II 2 1959, 1962
Wiltshire 2 1902, 1909
Cambridgeshire 1 1963
Cornwall 1 2012
Leicestershire II 1 1931
Middlesex II 1 1935
Shropshire 1 1973
Glamorgan 0 + 1 shared 1900 (shared)
Herefordshire 0 + 1 shared 2002 (shared)
Carmarthenshire 0
Denbighshire 0
Derbyshire II 0
Essex II 0
Glamorgan II 0
Gloucestershire II 0
Hampshire II 0
Monmouthshire 0
Northamptonshire II 0
Northumberland 0
Nottinghamshire II 0
Sussex II 0
Wales Minor Counties 0
Worcestershire II 0

See also

References
  1. "A brief history of Worcestershire". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
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