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
Women's County Championship successful county in the history of the Championship with seven titles as of June 2018. Sussex and Yorkshire have both won six titles. The inaugural Women's County Championship took place in 1997, with 16 teams competing in three divisions. This first tournament was organised and run by the Women's Cricket Association, which voted to merge with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on 29 March 1998. As such, the ECB has administered the competition since 1998. The 36 teams that make up the Championship are split into three divisions, with the bottom division split into five groups. The top