2017 County Championship matches. Following a series of financial "bailout" payments made by the England and Wales Cricket Board to Durham during the 2016 season, the county, which had finished fourth in Division One at the end of the season, were relegated to Division Two in place of the eighth place team, Hampshire. Durham were also placed under a salary cap administered by the ECB until 2020 and started the 2017 Championship season with a deduction of 48 points. Ahead of the season, each team played a first-class match against a MCC University team. The 2017 Championship was divided into two divisions, Division
1946 County Championship 1946 County Championship The 1946 County Championship was the 47th officially organised running of the County Championship. Yorkshire County Cricket Club won their 22nd Championship title. The Championship was the first for six years due to World War II and was decided on total points scored instead of the previous system of averages. All teams played 26 games. The 1946 County Championship had all teams scheduled to play 26 matches, although there were many incomplete games because of the weather "may be written down as the worst in living memory". Teams were awarded 12 points for a win and could