Hampshire’s 2021 County Championship Fixtures Announced

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 8 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.

Giles White, Director of Cricket, said: “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.”

ECB Managing Director County Cricket, Neil Snowball, said: “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.”

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, visit www.ageasbowl.com/membership.

The full list of County Championship fixtures is now available for fans to view in the free-to-download Hampshire Cricket App. The first of its type in English county cricket and designed to bring Hampshire supporters closer to the action, the App can be downloaded on all Android and iOS devices.

Press enquiries to:

Will Brewster

Press & Communications Officer

The Ageas Bowl

will.brewster@ageasbowl.com

023 8047 5666

Date Home Away Venue Group
Thursday, April 08, 2021 Leicestershire Hampshire The Fischer County Ground, Grace Road 2
Thursday, April 15, 2021 Hampshire Middlesex The Ageas Bowl 2
Thursday, April 22, 2021 Hampshire Gloucestershire The Ageas Bowl 2
Thursday, April 29, 2021 Surrey Hampshire Kia Oval 2
Thursday, May 06, 2021 Hampshire Somerset The Ageas Bowl 2
Thursday, May 13, 2021 Middlesex Hampshire Lord’s 2
Thursday, May 20, 2021 Hampshire Leicestershire The Ageas Bowl 2
Thursday, June 03, 2021 Somerset Hampshire The Cooper Associates County Ground 2
Sunday, July 04, 2021 Hampshire Surrey The Ageas Bowl 2
Sunday, July 11, 2021 Gloucestershire Hampshire Cheltenham 2

 

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