2022 County Championship

2022 County Championship
Dates7 April 2022 – 29 September 2022
Administrator(s)England and Wales Cricket Board
Cricket formatFirst-class cricket (4 days)
Tournament format(s)League system
ChampionsSurrey (21st title)
Participants18
Matches126
Most runsKeaton Jennings (1,233) (Div 1)
Wayne Madsen (1,273) (Div 2)
Most wicketsSimon Harmer (59) (Div 1)
Toby Roland-Jones (67) (Div 2)
← 2021
2023 →

The 2022 County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 122nd cricket County Championship season in England and Wales.[1] The season began on 7 April and ended on 29 September 2022.[2][3] Warwickshire were the defending champions.[4]

In October 2021, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that the tournament would return to the format of two divisions, with ten teams in Division One, and eight teams in Division Two.[5] The teams were placed into the division they qualified for following the 2019 County Championship,[6] after the 2020 season was completely cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] In January 2022, the ECB confirmed all the fixtures for the tournament,[8] with the Bob Willis Trophy being scrapped.[9]

On 28 April 2022, Ben Stokes was named as England's new Test captain,[10] replacing Joe Root.[11] On 6 May 2022, in Stokes' first match since becoming England's captain, he hit 17 sixes against Worcestershire, setting a new record for sixes hit in a single innings of a match in the County Championship.[12] Stokes scored 161 runs from 88 balls, which included the fastest century in first-class cricket by a Durham player.[13]

In May 2022, in the Division One match between Surrey and Kent, Surrey set a new first-class cricket record for the highest innings score without a batter scoring a century, when they made 671/9 declared.[14] In the process, Surrey also equalled the first-class record of seven for batters making a half-century without going on to reach triple figures.[15] In July 2022, in Kent's match against Warwickshire, Sam Billings set a new record for the most catches in a County Championship match with twelve.[16] Also in July 2022, Sam Northeast scored the third-highest score in a County Championship match, with 410 not out for Glamorgan against Leicestershire.[17]

  1. ^ "County Championship comes in from the margins in rejigged 2022 schedule". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  2. ^ "2022 LV= Insurance County Championship fixtures". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  3. ^ "2022 County Championship: What to look out for as competition makes return". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  4. ^ "County Championship: Warwickshire beat Somerset to win first title since 2012". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  5. ^ "County Championship to return to two divisions from 2022". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  6. ^ "LV= Insurance County Championship returns to two divisions in 2022". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  7. ^ "County Championship: Two-division structure to return from 2022 season". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  8. ^ "County Championship gets midsummer boost as 2022 fixtures are announced". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  9. ^ "County Championship: Extra June and July games scheduled in 2022 fixtures". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Ben Stokes named new Test captain of England". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Ben Stokes: England name all-rounder as new Test captain to succeed Joe Root". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Ben Stokes smashes record-breaking 17 sixes on return to County Championship". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  13. ^ "County Championship: England Test captain Ben Stokes hits 64-ball century on Durham return". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  14. ^ "County Championship: Surrey break first-class record in making 671-9 at Kent". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Surrey break batting record in commanding display at Kent". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  16. ^ "County Championship: Sam Billings breaks catching record as Kent beat Warwickshire at Edgbaston". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Sam Northeast: Glamorgan batter claims third highest score in County Championship history". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 July 2022.