The Competition:
The LV= County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. 18 counties, divided into two, tiered, nine-team divisions, compete between April and September each year. Upon the season’s conclusion, the two teams who are bottom of Division One (dictated by points scored) are relegated, while the two teams who top Division Two are promoted.
Each team plays every other team in their division twice – home and away. Each match takes a maximum of four days to play, with both teams having an allocation of two innings each (although, in practise, a team might only play one innings if their runs total is high enough to win outright).
Hampshire’s Record:
Hampshire have won the Championship twice since its inception in 1889 – in 1961 (under the captaincy of Colin Ingleby-McKenzie) and 1973 (lead by Richard Gilliat).
In recent seasons the club has finished third (2008) sixth (2009), seventh (2010) and ninth (2011) in the First Division. In 2012, they finished fourth in Division Two.
2013 Opposition:
In 2013, Hampshire play Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Worcestershire in LV= County Championship Division Two.