County Championship While this was going on, representatives of the eight leading county clubs held a private meeting to discuss the method by which the county championship should in future be decided. The new competition began in the 1890 season and at first involved just the eight leading clubs: Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire. Subsequently, the championship has been expanded to 18 clubs by the additions at various times of Derbyshire, Durham, Essex, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. It is difficult to know when the concept of a county championship originated. While early matches were
1911 County Championship "A History of Cricket", Harry Altham and E. W. Swanton describe the Kent team as being "possibly a finer all-round side" than Warwickshire, but heap praise on Warwickshire's batting, and their young captain, Frank Foster. Pardon was complimentary of the cricket played during the season, and described that cricket "generally flourished". However, he also observed that a number of counties were in financially difficulty, an issue that Lord Cobham attributed partially to the wages of professional players. 1911 County Championship The 1911 County Championship was the twenty-second officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 4 May to