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Hampshire’s 2021 County Championship Fixtures Announced
Hampshire’s 2021 County Championship Fixtures Announced
The full fixture list for the group stages of next year's County Championship has been released
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have today announced the schedule for the 2021 County Championship, with all 18 First-Class Counties in action when the opening round begins on Thursday 8th April.
Fixtures and dates for the remodelled 2021 Men’s County Championship have now been confirmed with a revised structure in place for next year’s competition to mitigate against the impact of COVID-19.
All teams will play 14 red-ball matches each next summer across Group and Division Stages, with each First-Class County placed into one of three seeded groups of six. Each side will then play five home, and five away, matches during the Group Stage, with top two counties in each group at the end of the Group progressing to Division One, with the other counties moving into Divisions Two and Three, where they will each play a further four matches. The winner of Division One will be crowned the 2021 County Championship winners.
Hampshire, who have been placed in Group Two alongside Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Somerset and Surrey, will begin their 2021 campaign on Thursday 8th April as they travel to Grace Road to take on Leicestershire in the opening round of Group Stage fixtures. James Vince’s side will then return to The Ageas Bowl for the first-time next year as they welcome Middlesex on Thursday 15th April.
Gloucestershire will be the second side to visit The Ageas Bowl as they travel to the south coast on Thursday 22nd April before travelling to play Surrey at the Oval on Thursday 29th April rounds off the first month of four-day action.
Three red-ball fixtures are scheduled for May with Hampshire hosting Somerset (Thursday 6th May) and Leicestershire (Thursday 20th May), whilst a visit to Lord’s to face Middlesex (Thursday 13th May) is also scheduled.
An away clash against Somerset (Thursday 3rd June) is the lone four-day contest in June before Hampshire take on Surrey at The Ageas Bowl (Sunday 4th July) and Gloucestershire at Cheltenham (Sunday 11th July) in the final two Group Stage fixtures in July.
The opening round of Divisional Stage matches will then begin on the Bank Holiday Monday 30th August, followed by a five-day Bob Willis Trophy final to be played between the top two counties in Division One, starting on Tuesday 27th September.
Fixtures for the remaining domestic women’s and men’s white-ball competitions are set to be announced in early 2021.
It’s nice to know the new season is on the horizon and we can look ahead to next summer with excitement. The structure of the four-day competition in 2021 is obviously slightly different than in previous years and some of the teams we’ll be facing we haven’t played for a while too, so that presents a new challenge.
To know we’ll be back at The Ageas Bowl in April and, hopefully all being well, playing in front of our Members and supporters, is fantastic and something everyone at Hampshire is really looking forward to.
Giles White, Hampshire Director Of Cricket
We’re all looking forward to the return of the County Championship in 2021 after a very challenging year in 2020. Despite the significant hurdles that we faced this year, the domestic game still found a way to play meaningful cricket across men’s and women’s formats while ensuring that our members and sup-porters were able to remain close to the game through advanced live streaming of matches.
Once again, we have seen an innovative and collaborative approach between the ECB and the 18 First Class Counties that has enabled us to plan for 2021 with a new, County Championship structure for 2021 only, that is designed to be both exciting for players and supporters and also flexible to the possible ongoing impact of COVID-19.
We are also working hard with all 18 First-Class Counties to ensure that we are able to welcome the return of crowds safely next year and will continue to work closely with Government and all relevant authorities.
Neil Snowball, ECB Managing Director County Cricket
Hampshire Cricket and The Ageas Bowl are continuing to work hard to welcome fans back to the venue safely next year and 2021 Hampshire Cricket Members will be the first to get access to home County Championship matches next summer.
For more information about 2021 Hampshire Cricket Memberships and the exciting benefits on offer, please follow the link below.
