NEW TEAMS: COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
As had been long speculated during last season, teams representing Staffordshire and Warwickshire will be joining the County Championship, based in Wolverhampton and Birmingham respectively. This reflects the wish of the six existing county teams no longer to have any byes through the quarter-final round, and allows for a direct knockout competition without extending the length of the championship.
The practice of awarding last year’s finalists home advantage in the semi-finals has been abandoned, as they are no longer guaranteed to be at that stage, and a free draw was held to determine the pairings. A second draw was then made to determine which quarter-final winners will meet in the semi-finals. Surrey, who have taken the title for the last two years, will entertain Yorkshire in the quarter-finals, while Lancashire travel to newcomers Warwickshire. The winners of these two games will meet in the next round.
Middlesex, who have played in the last seven finals, will visit Kent in their first game while the other newcomers Staffordshire host Essex. The two winners from those games will face one another in the semi-finals. For both semi-finals, a coin toss for home advantage will be held after the match-up has been determined, with the same happening in advance of the final. With both newcomers joining three of the existing teams in wearing red jerseys, the competition will follow the practice established elsewhere and introduce white change jerseys for the away team in each game.
LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
L-R: Staffordshire, Warwickshire
