1898 was the ninth season of County Championship cricket in England. Yorkshire won the championship for the second time in three years. It was an emphatic victory with a record of sixteen wins and seven draws in 26 games. Middlesex finished second after two wins over Kent in late August to improve five places on their 1897 finish. Derbyshire broke their streak of 22 Championship matches without victory by beating Hampshire in late May. As for individual performances, Surrey batsman Bobby Abel made 1800 runs for the second season in succession, one run shy of his own championship record in 1897.