LV= has a long heritage in cricket, extending back to 2002, when we were the title partner of the County Championship for 14 years across three separate periods: 2002-05 (Frizzell County Championship), 2006 (Liverpool Victoria County Championship) and 2007-15 (LV= County Championship).
And we’re so excited to announce we’re back! We’re delighted to partner with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to become the Official Title Partner of men’s County Cricket, and the competition will now be known as the LV= Insurance County Championship.
We’re so pleased we’re able to support English cricket even further through this new three-year partnership with the ECB. As well as County Cricket, we’ll also be Official Title Partner of Men’s and Women’s Test cricket.
Eight Things To Look Out For In The 2022 LV= Insurance County Championship
This season LV= have partnered with Wisden to get an in depth look at some of the key cricket stories across the summer.
We’re kicking things off with the long-awaited return of the LV= County Championship, which began on Thursday, April 7 with eight games taking place up and down the country.
The next two months will be packed full of first-class cricket action, with seven rounds in seven weeks giving time for plenty of storylines to develop. We’ve picked out eight threads to follow as the season gets underway...
The battle for England selection
Just who will England select for their first big assignment of the year, a two-Test LV= Insurance Test Series against New Zealand in June? With a lot of LV= Insurance County Championship action set to take place before that series gets underway, batters and bowlers up and down the country will be aiming to get their name in the selection mix. Can the likes of Josh Bohannon, Rob Yates and Tom Haines build on their runs from last year and land call-ups this summer? Will Sam Cook, Mason Crane and Liam Norwell – all of whom were part of England Lions’ winter tour of Australia – bowl themselves into contention? It’ll be fascinating to watch and find out.
Watching Broaderson make hay
England made the big call to leave James Anderson and Stuart Broad out of their squad for the tour of the West Indies. That should mean England’s two greatest bowlers are well rested ahead of the start of this year’s LV= Insurance County Championship, and they’ll both have a point to prove. Both quicks were in brilliant touch when they turned out for their counties last summer: Broad took 23 Championship wickets for Nottinghamshire at an average of 16, while Anderson took 11 poles for Lancashire at a startling 7.54. While the former will be looking to help his side to promotion from Division Two, the latter could have an important say in the title race for Division One.
Can Darren Stevens keep the party running?
The talismanic all-rounder just keeps on going. The 45-year-old ended 2021 as Kent’s men’s player of the year for the third season in a row. And deservedly so: he averaged more than 40 with the bat in the LV= Insurance County Championship – hitting three centuries along the way – and was the club’s leading wicket-taker with 39 scalps at 18.58. He also proved influential in helping Kent to Vitality Blast glory. International cricket may never have come his way, but there’s no doubt he’s an iconic figure in the county game today.
Which young players will announce themselves?
The end of every summer brings on new names who’ve captivated the fans. In 2021, Sussex’s Tom Haines and Glamorgan’s Kiran Carlson announced themselves as batting talents to keep a close eye on; the pair of 23-year-olds were the leading run-scorers for their sides in the LV= Insurance County Championship. Meanwhile Leicestershire’s 25-year-old left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson took 50 wickets to finish as the leading English spinner in the competition. As a seamer, Middlesex’s Ethan Bamber made waves too with 52 wickets at an average of 20.84. Which youngsters will follow in their footsteps this year?
The race to 1,000 runs before the end of May
Only eight men have accomplished the extraordinary feat of hitting 1,000 first-class runs in the season before the end of May, with Graeme Hick the last man to do it - all the way back in 1988. With seven rounds of LV= Insurance County Championship action in store over the first two months of the season, will this year be the year for No.9? At the end of April last year, David Bedingham, Adam Lyth and Matt Critchley emerged as the front runners to make history but all eventually fell short.
The endurance of the county seamer
There’s nothing like watching a seamer who’s perfected their trade. At Durham, Chris Rushworth remains the skillful leader of the attack. At Middlesex, Tim Murtagh is 40 and now club captain, while Tom Bailey – who has 257 first-class wickets at a lowly average of 23.77 – is consistently excellent for Lancashire. The likes of Michael Hogan, Ben Sanderson and last year’s Cricket Writers’ Club LV= Insurance County Championship Player of the Year Luke Fletcher are masterly operators who always seem to light up the LV= Insurance County Championship.
The title race taking shape
Don’t forget - there’s a Championship to win! Will Warwickshire be able to defend their crown or will they be pushed aside by two other fearsome contenders, Lancashire and Hampshire? We’ve not even mentioned Essex, who’ve won two Championship titles and the Bob Willis Trophy in the last five years. Or will there be an underdog story to celebrate? Gloucestershire certainly showed plenty of positive signs last year when they began their season with four wins from five. Whichever way things go, let’s hope for another title race that goes down to the wire!
Viral action
County live-streams are set to make the competition more accessible than ever. It's only a matter of time until a James Vince cover drive, Tom Banton reverse-sweep or Matt Parkinson wonder-ball starts doing the rounds, and then even your friends who don’t like cricket will be saying, 'Have you seen this?!’. The LV= Insurance County Championship is always just a click away.
The LV= Insurance County Championship
Below are the fixture lists for this year's CC1 and CC2 tournaments.
Division 1
|
Start date (each Test lasts 4 days) |
Match |
Venue |
|
April 7 2022 |
Essex v Kent |
The Cloud County Ground |
|
Hampshire v Somerset |
Ageas Bowl |
|
|
Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire |
The County Ground Northampton |
|
|
Warwickshire v Surrey |
Edgbaston |
|
|
April 14 2022 |
Gloucestershire v Yorkshire |
Bristol County Ground |
|
Kent v Lancashire |
Canterbury |
|
|
Somerset v Essex |
The Cooper Associates County Ground |
|
|
Surrey v Hampshire |
Kia Oval |
|
|
April 21 2022 |
Kent v Hampshire |
Canterbury |
|
Lancashire v Gloucestershire |
Emirates Old Trafford |
|
|
Northamptonshire v Yorkshire |
The County Ground Northampton |
|
|
Surrey v Somerset |
Kia Oval |
|
|
Warwickshire v Essex |
Edgbaston |
|
|
April 28 2022 |
Essex v Northamptonshire |
The Cloud County Ground |
|
Gloucestershire v Surrey |
Bristol County Ground |
|
|
Hampshire v Lancashire |
Ageas Bowl |
|
|
Somerset v Warwickshire |
The Cooper Associates County Ground |
|
|
Yorkshire v Kent |
Headingley |
|
|
May 5 2022 |
Essex v Yorkshire |
The Cloud County Ground |
|
Hampshire v Gloucestershire |
Ageas Bowl |
|
|
Lancashire v Warwickshire |
Emirates Old Trafford |
|
|
Surrey v Northamptonshire |
Kia Oval |
|
|
May 12 2022 |
Gloucestershire v Somerset |
Bristol County Ground |
|
Kent v Surrey |
Beckenham |
|
|
Warwickshire v Northamptonshire |
Edgbaston |
|
|
Yorkshire v Lancashire |
Headingley |
|
|
May 19 2022 |
Lancashire v Essex |
TBC |
|
Northamptonshire v Kent |
The County Ground Northampton |
|
|
Somerset v Hampshire |
The Cooper Associates County Ground |
|
|
Yorkshire v Warwickshire |
Headingley |
|
|
June 12 2022 |
Hampshire v Yorkshire |
Ageas Bowl |
|
Kent v Gloucestershire |
Canterbury |
|
|
Somerset v Surrey |
The Cooper Associates County Ground |
|
|
Warwickshire v Lancashire |
Edgbaston |
|
|
June 26 2022 |
Essex v Hampshire |
The Cloud County Ground |
|
Gloucestershire v Lancashire |
Bristol County Ground |
|
|
Northamptonshire v Warwickshire |
The County Ground Northampton |
|
|
Surrey v Kent |
Kia Oval |
|
|
July 11 2022 |
Essex v Gloucestershire |
The Cloud County Ground |
|
Hampshire v Warwickshire |
Ageas Bowl |
|
|
Kent v Northamptonshire |
Canterbury |
|
|
Lancashire v Somerset |
TBC |
|
|
Yorkshire v Surrey |
Scarborough |
|
|
July 19 2022 |
Gloucestershire v Hampshire |
Cheltenham |
|
Northamptonshire v Lancashire |
The County Ground Northampton |
|
|
Somerset v Yorkshire |
The Cooper Associates County Ground |
|
|
Surrey v Essex |
Kia Oval |
|
|
Warwickshire v Kent |
Edgbaston |
|
|
July 25 2022 |
Essex v Somerset |
The Cloud County Ground |
|
Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire |
Cheltenham |
|
|
Lancashire v Kent |
Emirates Old Trafford |
|
|
Surrey v Warwickshire |
Kia Oval |
|
|
Yorkshire v Hampshire |
Scarborough |
|
|
September 5 2022 |
Hampshire v Northamptonshire |
Ageas Bowl |
|
Kent v Essex |
Canterbury |
|
|
Lancashire v Yorkshire |
Emirates Old Trafford |
|
|
Somerset v Gloucestershire |
The Cooper Associates County Ground |
|
|
September 12 2022 |
Northamptonshire v Surrey |
The County Ground Northampton |
|
Warwickshire v Somerset |
Edgbaston |
|
|
Yorkshire v Essex |
Headingley |
|
|
September 20 2022 |
Essex v Lancashire |
The Cloud County Ground |
|
Gloucestershire v Warwickshire |
Bristol County Ground |
|
|
Hampshire v Kent |
Ageas Bowl |
|
|
Somerset v Northamptonshire |
The Cooper Associates County Ground |
|
|
Surrey v Yorkshire |
Kia Oval |
|
|
September 26 2022 |
Kent v Somerset |
Canterbury |
|
Lancashire v Surrey |
Emirates Old Trafford |
|
|
Northamptonshire v Essex |
The County Ground Northampton |
|
|
Warwickshire v Hampshire |
Edgbaston |
|
|
Yorkshire v Gloucestershire |
Headingley |
Division 2
|
Start date (each Test lasts 4 days) |
Match |
Venue |
|
April 7 2022 |
Glamorgan v Durham |
Sophia Gardens |
|
Leicestershire v Worcestershire |
Uptonsteel County Ground |
|
|
Middlesex v Derbyshire |
Lord’s |
|
|
Sussex v Nottinghamshire |
The 1st Central County Ground |
|
|
April 14 2022 |
Derbyshire v Sussex |
The Incora County Ground |
|
Durham v Leicestershire |
Riverside |
|
|
Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan |
Trent Bridge |
|
|
April 21 2022 |
Durham v Nottinghamshire |
Riverside |
|
Glamorgan v Middlesex |
Sophia Gardens |
|
|
Leicestershire v Derbyshire |
Uptonsteel County Ground |
|
|
Worcestershire v Sussex |
New Road |
|
|
April 28 2022 |
Derbyshire v Glamorgan |
The Incora County Ground |
|
Middlesex v Leicestershire |
Lord’s |
|
|
Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire |
Trent Bridge |
|
|
Sussex v Durham |
The 1st Central County Ground |
|
|
May 5 2022 |
Glamorgan v Leicestershire |
Sophia Gardens |
|
Sussex v Middlesex |
The 1st Central County Ground |
|
|
Worcestershire v Durham |
New Road |
|
|
May 12 2022 |
Derbyshire v Worcestershire |
The Incora County Ground |
|
Durham v Glamorgan |
Riverside |
|
|
Leicestershire v Sussex |
Uptonsteel County Ground |
|
|
Middlesex v Nottinghamshire |
Lord’s |
|
|
May 19 2022 |
Middlesex v Durham |
Lord’s |
|
Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire |
Trent Bridge |
|
|
Worcestershire v Leicestershire |
New Road |
|
|
June 12 2022 |
Derbyshire v Middlesex |
Chesterfield |
|
Durham v Worcestershire |
Riverside |
|
|
Glamorgan v Sussex |
Sophia Gardens |
|
|
Leicestershire v Nottinghamshire |
Uptonsteel County Ground |
|
|
June 26 2022 |
Nottinghamshire v Middlesex |
Trent Bridge |
|
Sussex v Derbyshire |
The 1st Central County Ground |
|
|
Worcestershire v Glamorgan |
New Road |
|
|
July 11 2022 |
Durham v Derbyshire |
Riverside |
|
Glamorgan v Nottinghamshire |
TBC |
|
|
Middlesex v Worcestershire |
Merchant Taylors School |
|
|
Sussex v Leicestershire |
The 1st Central County Ground |
|
|
July 19 2022 |
Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire |
The Incora County Ground |
|
Middlesex v Sussex |
Lord’s |
|
|
July 20 2022
|
Leicestershire v Glamorgan |
Uptonsteel County Ground |
|
July 25 2022 |
Durham v Middlesex |
Riverside |
|
Worcestershire v Derbyshire |
New Road |
|
|
September 5 2022 |
Derbyshire v Durham |
The Incora County Ground |
|
Glamorgan v Worcestershire |
Sophia Gardens |
|
|
Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire |
Trent Bridge |
|
|
September 12 2022 |
Leicestershire v Durham |
Uptonsteel County Ground |
|
Middlesex v Glamorgan |
Lord’s |
|
|
Sussex v Worcestershire |
The 1st Central County Ground |
|
|
September 20 2022 |
Durham v Sussex |
Riverside |
|
Glamorgan v Derbyshire |
Sophia Gardens |
|
|
Leicestershire v Middlesex |
Uptonsteel County Ground |
|
|
Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire |
New Road |
|
|
September 26 2022 |
Derbyshire v Leicestershire |
The Incora County Ground |
|
Nottinghamshire v Durham |
Trent Bridge |
|
|
Sussex v Glamorgan |
The 1st Central County Ground |
|
|
Worcestershire v Middlesex |
New Road |
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