Second XI Championship

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The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status. The competition started in 1959 and has been contested annually ever since.

All the then 17 first-class counties contested the first two competitions in 1959 and 1960; the next season when all 17 entered was 1977, though the number of teams in any one year was never lower than 14 (in 1971). Gloucestershire and Somerset entered a combined team for two seasons, 1967 and 1968.

Before 1959, many second XIs of the first-class counties contested the

Minor Counties Cricket Championship
, winning the championship 23 times. A few continued to do so and the last to withdraw from the Minor Counties was Somerset 2nd XI after the 1987 season, though Somerset had participated in both competitions from 1959 to 1966 and since 1975.

At present, all 18 current first-class counties take part in the Second XI Championship along with the MCC Young Cricketers team. It was not possible for all teams to play each other and different numbers of matches were played by each team. As a result, the table had to be based on a percentage of points obtained to points possible. Therefore, for 2009 the competition was split into North and South divisions, with ten teams in each division and each team in a division playing all the others once. The team added to make the number up to twenty was Marylebone Cricket Club Universities.[1] The two divisional winners play each other to determine the overall champion.[2]

In 2001, a Second XI Trophy was introduced. This is a limited overs competition with the teams forming zones in the initial stage. The zone winners progress to semi-finals and then to a final.[3]

A Second XI T20 championship was launched in 2011.

List of Second XI Champions

  • 1959
    Gloucestershire II
  • 1960
    Northamptonshire II
  • 1961
    Kent II
  • 1962
    Worcestershire II
  • 1963
    Worcestershire II
  • 1964
    Lancashire II
  • 1965
    Glamorgan II
  • 1966
    Surrey II
  • 1967
    Hampshire II
  • 1968
    Surrey II
  • 1969
    Kent II
  • 1970
    Kent II
  • 1971
    Hampshire II
  • 1972
    Nottinghamshire II
  • 1973 Essex II
  • 1974
    Middlesex II
  • 1975
    Surrey II
  • 1976
    Kent II
  • 1977
    Yorkshire II
  • 1978 Sussex II
  • 1979
    Warwickshire II
  • 1980
    Glamorgan II
  • 1981
    Hampshire II
  • 1982
    Worcestershire II
  • 1983
    Leicestershire II
  • 1984
    Yorkshire II
  • 1985
    Nottinghamshire II
  • 1986
    Lancashire II
  • 1987
    Yorkshire II
    (shared)
  • 1988
    Surrey II
  • 1989
    Middlesex II
  • 1990 Sussex II
  • 1991
    Yorkshire II
  • 1992
    Surrey II
  • 1993
    Middlesex II
  • 1994
    Somerset II
  • 1995
    Hampshire II
  • 1996
    Warwickshire II
  • 1997
    Lancashire II
  • 1998
    Northamptonshire II
  • 1999
    Middlesex II
  • 2000
    Middlesex II
  • 2001
    Hampshire II
  • 2002
    Kent II
  • 2003
    Yorkshire II
  • 2004
    Somerset II
  • 2005
    Kent II
  • 2006
    Kent II
  • 2007
    Sussex II
  • 2008
    Durham II
  • 2009
    Surrey II
  • 2010
    Surrey II
  • 2011
    Warwickshire II
  • 2012
    Kent II[4]
  • 2013
    Middlesex II
    (shared)
  • 2014
    Leicestershire II
  • 2015
    Nottinghamshire II
  • 2016 Durham II
  • 2017
    Lancashire II
  • 2018 Durham II
  • 2019
    Hampshire II
  • 2020 Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
  • 2021
    Hampshire II
  • 2022
    Yorkshire II

List of Second XI Trophy Winners

List of Second XI T20 Winners

  • 2011
    Sussex II
  • 2012
    England U19
  • 2013
    Surrey II
  • 2014
    Leicestershire II
  • 2015
    Middlesex II
  • 2016
    Middlesex II
  • 2017
    Sussex II
  • 2018
    Lancashire II
  • 2019
    Glamorgan II
  • 2021
    Warwickshire II

External sources

  1. ^ 2009 Championship tables
  2. ^ 2009 Championship Final
  3. ^ 2009 Trophy Final
  4. ^ a b "Second XI - Roll of Honour". England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Retrieved 25 April 2014.

General sources

  • Playfair Cricket Annual 2007
  • Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2007