County Championship signals the start of summer but cricket faces growing divide

The competition begins this week with Ben Stokes and Joe Root providing a much-needed dose of star power but red-ball cricket still has existential questions

Surrey were the County Championship winners in 2023 (Getty Images for Surrey CCC)

Few things epitomise the start of summer like blossom on the trees, the birth of new ducklings or the start of a new cricket season.

There is not much in British sport that endures like the County Championship, which has been running since its first edition in 1890. The FA Cup is another, slightly older institution, but cricket has a special place in the English summer.

The games themselves might only be attended nowadays by a few hundred resolute county cricket fans equipped with a thermos, warm blanket, picnic basket and umbrella in hand to deal with the changeable British weather but this is the birthplace and rite of passage for every England cricketer.

There have been many discussions in recent years over the future of county cricket, chiefly whether all 18 counties can exist in this new, modern era where franchise T20 cricket threatens to take over any schedule gaps not currently occupied by international cricket.

After all, only eight counties play host to the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB’s) flagship competition, The Hundred, and only eight will be awarded a top-tier women’s side when that decision is announced on 15 April.

Although spectator numbers at County Championship matches might have dropped since their heyday, ECB chief executive officer Richard Gould insisted that the continued existence of all 18 clubs is not under any threat.

Ben Stokes is in line to play his first County Championship match for Durham since 2022 (Getty Images)

“I really do think we will have 18 first-class counties [in five years’ time] at least,” Gould said ahead of the start of the domestic season.

“The depth of our talent pool, both in terms of men and women, is our superpower at the moment. It increases competition. It provides more opportunity for talent to come through, so I don’t see any backward step in terms of 18 first-class counties.”

With the awarding of eight host counties in the Hundred and the as-yet-undisclosed eight women’s tier-one teams, there is a growing feeling in some quarters that the competition is becoming divided between “haves” and “have-nots”.

Gould dismissed the notion that the ECB are trying to diminish the number of counties in a subtle fashion, saying: “It’s a totally mad conspiracy theory. I’ve been in the game 20-odd years and that conversation has always been around.

“But we’re the one professional sport that hasn’t lost a club and we’ve been going 140-odd years.

“You look at rugby and football, we’ve done extremely well as a sport to maintain that 100 per cent record and that’s where our intent lies.”

Joe Root will be in action for Yorkshire at the start of the season (Getty Images)

Stars on show

England Test captain, and one of the biggest names in the world game, Ben Stokes, has ruled himself out of selection for England’s upcoming T20 World Cup and will instead feature for Durham in the County Championship, for the first time since May 2022.

While the decision has been made to further Stokes’ England Test career as an all-rounder and ensure he’s fully fit for the summer Test series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies, he will not be the only international player ready to don their whites.

Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes will feature for defending champions Surrey, who have a difficult away trip to Lancashire in the first round of fixtures, while Joe Root and Harry Brook will be available for Yorkshire in Division Two.

England bowler Ollie Robinson is expected to play for Sussex. He has a point to prove to the national selectors after a disappointing performance in the fourth Test match in India and a slightly lacklustre Ashes series, where he sustained a back injury. He has vowed to regain the form that he showed in Pakistan in the winter of 2022 but he has managed just nine matches since then.

Sam Billings (left) retired from red-ball cricket last year (Getty Images for Surrey CCC)

England cricketer Sam Billings believes the County Championship is the most important for the majority of cricketers in the country, despite himself electing to become a white-ball-only player.

“The mass of players [believe] absolutely that four-day cricket is the essence of the game, it is the fabric of the game, and probably if I hadn’t averaged nine or 10 last year then I would have more positive feelings towards it,” the wicketkeeper-batter explained.

“But I’m better at white-ball cricket and I see that as the best move going forwards at the stage of the career that I’m at.

“I think the fabric of the game is still absolutely in four-day cricket, especially in this country and with the knock-on effect of what England have done over the last two or three years it excites people, everyone – I would want to be in that dressing room.

“And I would love – maybe a little bit earlier on in my career – if that was the carrot, you’d really prioritise that to be in that dressing room.”

Many young players will be looking to impress to try and earn those coveted England call-ups. For Somerset keeper James Rew, and Surrey quick Gus Atkinson, another impressive domestic season could see a maiden Test cap come sooner than expected.

The first round of the County Championship begins on Friday (5 April), and the season concludes with the final matches starting on 29 September. Red-ball cricket is a particular pastime that is cherished by those who love the game and there is nothing that signals the start of the summer quite like a new season.