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
2009 County Championship 2009 County Championship The 2009 County Championship season, known as the LV County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 110th County Championship season. It was contested through two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Each team played all the others in their division both home and away. The top two teams from Division Two were promoted to the first division for the 2010 season, while the bottom two sides from Division 1 were relegated. Durham County Cricket Club won the Championship for the second consecutive season. Worcestershire and Sussex were relegated from Division One, with Kent and Essex promoted in