Second XI Championship

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 Kent II, 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 Lancashire II, 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
2023 Leicestershire II

List of Second XI Trophy Winners

List of Second XI T20 Winners

External sources

^ 2009 Championship tables
^ 2009 Championship Final
^ 2009 Trophy Final
^ ^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

[1] 2009 Championship tables

[2] 2009 Championship Final

[3] 2009 Trophy Final

[ECB-4] "Second XI - Roll of Honour". England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Retrieved 25 April 2014.

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