2016 County Championship

The 2016 County Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2016 Specsavers County Championship),[1] was the 117th cricket County Championship season. It was announced in March 2016 that the 2017 season would feature only eight teams in Division One, meaning that only one team would be promoted from Division Two in the 2016 season, whilst two teams were relegated from Division One.[2]

2016 County Championship
Administrator(s)England and Wales Cricket Board
Cricket formatFirst-class cricket (4 days)
Tournament format(s)League system
ChampionsMiddlesex
Participants18
Most runsKeaton Jennings (1,548) (Div 1) Ben Duckett (1,338) (Div 2)
Most wicketsJeetan Patel (69) (Div 1) Joe Leach (65) (Div 2)

The season saw a significant change in playing regulations where instead of a mandatory coin toss to determine choice of batting or bowling first, the visiting team was allowed to choose to bowl first if they desired.[3][4] This change was introduced by the ECB cricket committee in November 2015 as a response to concerns raised about the standard of pitches, particularly in Division Two of the Championship. The initiative attempted to reduce the preparation of seamer friendly wickets which had seen matches completed quickly, made batting harder early in matches and generally gave an advantage to the side bowling first.[5] By encouraging Counties to produce more balanced wickets the initiative aimed to promote the skills required in Test cricket, in particular aiding the development of spin bowling and promoting more patient batting.[3][4][6]

Tougher penalties for poor pitches and the use of the new regulations just in Division Two of the Championship had been considered by the ECB, but the committee opted to implement the change across both divisions in 2016.[4] On the opening day of the 2016 season, four captains opted to bowl first with the choice of batting or bowling being decided by a toss in just one match.[6]

Home grounds of each County.

Teams

The 2016 Championship was divided into two divisions of nine teams each. Each county played every other side in their division twice with matches lasting four days - once at home and once away. At the end of the season one county was promoted from Division Two and two relegated from Division One in order to create a smaller Division One and a bigger Division Two in 2017.[2]

Division One

     Team promoted from Division Two

Team Primary home ground Other grounds Coach Captain Overseas player(s) Refs
Durham Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street — Jon Lewis Paul Collingwood — [7][8]
Hampshire Rose Bowl, Southampton — Dale Benkenstein (Apr–Jul)
Craig White (Jul–Sep)		 James Vince Ryan McLaren [9][10][11]
Lancashire Old Trafford, Manchester — Ashley Giles Steven Croft Neil Wagner (May–Jul) [12][13]
Middlesex Lord's, London Merchant Taylors' School Ground, Northwood
Uxbridge Cricket Club Ground, Uxbridge		 Richard Scott Adam Voges (Apr–May)
James Franklin (May–Sep)		 Adam Voges (Apr–May)
George Bailey (Jul–Aug)		 [14][15][16]
Nottinghamshire Trent Bridge, Nottingham — Mick Newell Chris Read Jackson Bird (Apr–Jul)
Imran Tahir (Jul–Sep)		 [17][18]
Somerset County Ground, Taunton — Matthew Maynard Chris Rogers Chris Rogers [19][20][21]
Surrey The Oval, London Woodbridge Road, Guildford Michael Di Venuto Gareth Batty Kumar Sangakkara
Aaron Finch (Jul)		 [22][23][24]
Warwickshire Edgbaston, Birmingham — Dougie Brown Ian Bell Jeetan Patel [25][26]
Yorkshire Headingley, Leeds North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough Jason Gillespie Andrew Gale Kane Williamson (Jun–Jul)
Travis Head (Aug)
Jake Lehmann (Aug–Sep)		 [27][28][29]

Division Two

     Team relegated from Division One

Team Primary home ground Other grounds[30] Coach Captain Overseas player(s) Refs
Derbyshire County Ground, Derby Queen's Park, Chesterfield Graeme Welch (Apr–Jun) Billy Godleman Hamish Rutherford [31][32]
Essex County Ground, Chelmsford Castle Park Cricket Ground, Colchester Chris Silverwood Ryan ten Doeschate Jesse Ryder [31]
Glamorgan SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff Penrhyn Avenue, Rhos-on-Sea
St Helen's, Swansea		 Robert Croft Jacques Rudolph Jacques Rudolph [31]
Gloucestershire County Ground, Bristol College Ground, Cheltenham Richard Dawson Gareth Roderick Cameron Bancroft (Apr–May)
Michael Klinger (May–Sep)		 [31]
Kent St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham
Nevill Ground, Tunbridge Wells		 Jimmy Adams Sam Northeast Tom Latham
Kagiso Rabada (Jul)		 [31]
Leicestershire Grace Road, Leicester — Andrew McDonald Mark Cosgrove Clint McKay [31]
Northamptonshire County Ground, Northampton — David Ripley Alex Wakely Rory Kleinveldt
Seekkuge Prasanna (May–Jul)		 [31]
Sussex County Ground, Hove Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground, Arundel Mark Davis Luke Wright Ross Taylor [31][33]
Worcestershire New Road, Worcester — Steve Rhodes Daryl Mitchell Matt Henry (Apr–Jun)
Kyle Abbott (Jul–Sep)		 [31]

Standings

Teams receive 16 points for a win, 8 for a tie and 5 for a draw. Bonus points (a maximum of 5 batting points and 3 bowling points) may be scored during the first 110 overs of each team's first innings.[34]

Fixtures

The fixture list for the 2016 season was announced in December 2015.[37][38]

Division One

April

May

June

July

August

September

Division Two

April

May

June

July

August

September

Statistics
As of 20 January 2017

Division One

Most runs
Player Team Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100s 50s
Keaton Jennings Durham 16 28 1,548 64.50 221* 7 2
Nick Gubbins Middlesex 16 24 1,409 61.26 201* 4 9
Marcus Trescothick Somerset 16 27 1,239 51.62 218 4 4
Mark Stoneman Durham 16 28 1,234 45.70 141* 2 5
Haseeb Hameed Lancashire 16 27 1,198 49.91 122 4 7
Source:[39]

Most wickets
Player Team Matches Overs Wickets Average BBI 5W 10W
Jeetan Patel Warwickshire 16 616.4 69 24.02 5/32 4 1
Jack Leach Somerset 15 526.3 65 21.87 6/42 5 0
Jack Brooks Yorkshire 14 432.2 60 25.01 6/65 3 0
Keith Barker Warwickshire 16 522.1 59 23.13 5/53 1 0
Toby Roland-Jones Middlesex 15 482.2 54 28.22 6/54 2 1
Graham Onions Durham 16 544.0 54 31.25 5/90 1 0
Source:[40]

Division Two

Most runs
Player Team Matches Innings Runs Average HS 100s 50s
Ben Duckett Northamptonshire 14 24 1,338 60.81 282* 4 5
Sam Northeast Kent 15 22 1,337 83.56 191 5 3
Wayne Madsen Derbyshire 15 26 1,292 58.72 163 6 3
Mark Cosgrove Leicestershire 16 27 1,279 49.19 146 5 5
Chris Nash Sussex 15 24 1,256 54.60 144 3 9
Source:[41]

Most wickets
Player Team Matches Overs Wickets Average BBI 5W 10W
Joe Leach Worcestershire 15 495.4 65 27.47 5/60 5 0
Graham Napier Essex 14 451.3 63 23.17 5/59 4 0
Steve Magoffin Sussex 16 523.1 62 20.14 5/32 5 1
Clint McKay Leicestershire 15 411.1 56 22.50 6/73 1 0
Timm van der Gugten Glamorgan 13 450.0 56 26.03 5/52 5 0
Source:[42]
gollark: Still, though.
gollark: I guess it's not necessarily an iff thing.
gollark: Weren't you saying that my correctly spelt, actually-capitalized typing indicated that *I* was on a phone at one point?
gollark: <@630513495003103242> Please write your question in grammatically valid, comprehensible English.
gollark: Use `/rtp` and check dynmap.

References
  1. "Specsavers sign four-year deal to sponsor County Championship". Archived from the original on 2016-03-27. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  2. "County Championship: Only one promotion spot in Division Two this summer". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  3. Coin toss to be scrapped in County Championship cricket, BBC Sport, 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  4. No mandatory toss in the County Championship, CricInfo, 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  5. Hopps D, Dobell G (2015)The toss debate: aiding spin v home advantage, CricInfo, 2015-12-02. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  6. Win the toss and...actually don't bother, CricInfo, 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  7. "Stoneman Named New Limited-Overs Captain". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  8. "Player Profiles".
  9. "Vince nets new deal and Hants captaincy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  10. "Hampshire's First Team - The Ageas Bowl". The Ageas Bowl.
  11. "Fixtures". The Ageas Bowl.
  12. Chris Ostick (27 November 2015). "Steven Croft named new Lancashire captain as Tom Smith steps down". men. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  13. "Lancashire Players". Lancashire County Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  14. "Middlesex County Cricket Club: Voges returns as overseas player & captains announced". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  15. "Middlesex County Cricket Club: 1st XI".
  16. "Middlesex County Cricket Club: Professional".
  17. "NCCC News : Christian, Read To Lead Notts In 2016". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  18. "Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club - Official website".
  19. Vic Marks. "Marcus Trescothick stands down as Somerset captain after six years". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  20. "Fixtures".
  21. "Teams Playing Staff - Somerset County Cricket Club". Archived from the original on 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  22. "Gareth Batty Appointed Surrey Captain". Kia Oval. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  23. "Surrey 1st XI Fixtures 2016". Kia Oval.
  24. "Surrey Playing Squad". Kia Oval.
  25. "Ian Bell replaces Varun Chopra as Warwickshire captain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  26. "Bears Squad". Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  27. "Yorkshire CCC unveil new strips for 2016 campaign". Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  28. "Fixtures". Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  29. "Teams - Yorkshire County Cricket Club". Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
  30. Fixtures - County Championship Division Two, CricInfo. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  31. Dobell G, Hopps D (2016) Tight race for one promotion spot, CricInfo, 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  32. Derbyshire CCC: Fixtures released and Welch looks for a flying start Archived 2015-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  33. 2016 Fixture list released Archived 2016-04-10 at the Wayback Machine, Sussex County Cricket Club. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  34. "Table – County Championship Division One". Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  35. Durham relegated to Division Two after financial issues as Hampshire are reinstated, BBC Sport, 3 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  36. "Table – County Championship Division Two". Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  37. "County Cricket fixtures for 2016 announced". Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  38. "County Championship: Yorkshire start season against Hampshire". BBC Sport.
  39. "Specsavers County Championship Division One, 2016 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  40. "Specsavers County Championship Division One, 2016 / Records / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  41. "Specsavers County Championship Division Two, 2016 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  42. "Specsavers County Championship Division Two, 2016 / Records / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
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