The 2018 English cricket season ran between 1 April and 27 September 2018 and was the 119th in which the

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

has been an official competition. It featured first-class, one-day and

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

cricket competitions throughout England and Wales. The season saw men's international tours by

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, with Pakistan and India playing

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The South African and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

women's teams also toured England, each playing three

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

matches against the

England women's cricket team The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Association ...

. The three teams also competed in the 2018 England women's Tri-Nation Series Twenty20 competition. The 18 first-class counties competed in the 2018 County Championship, One-Day Cup and

T20 Blast The T20 Blast, currently named the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket competition for English and Welsh first-class counties. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (E ...

competitions, whilst women's teams played in the

2018 Women's Cricket Super League The 2018 Women's Cricket Super League, or 2018 Kia Super League for sponsorship reasons, was the third season of the Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), the semi-professional women's cricket competition in England and Wales. The competition, ru ...

2018 Women's County Championship The 2018 Women's County One-Day Championship was the 22nd cricket Women's County Championship season. It ran from the beginning of May to the beginning of June and saw 33 county teams and teams representing Scotland, Wales and the Netherlands com ...

and the

2018 Women's Twenty20 Cup The 2018 Women's Twenty20 Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2018 Vitality Women's Twenty20 Cup was the 10th cricket Women's Twenty20 Cup tournament. It took place in June and July, with 36 teams taking part: 34 county teams plus Scotland ...

. The

2018 Minor Counties Championship The 2018 Minor Counties Championship was the 114th Minor Counties Cricket Championship season, and the fourth under the name 'Unicorn Counties Championship'. It is contested in two divisions. Berkshire County Cricket Club, Berkshire were the defen ...

MCCA Knockout Trophy The National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Cup was started in 1983 as a knockout one-day competition for the National Counties in English cricket. At first it was known as the ''English Industrial Estates Cup'', before being called the ...

and a new Twenty20 competition were competed for by the Minor Counties of England and Wales, and club cricket was played throughout both countries.

International tours

Three men's international sides toured England and Wales during the season: Pakistan, Australia and India.England schedule for 2018 confirmed
ECB, 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2018-04-02. Pakistan also visited Ireland midway through the tour and played the Irish team's first

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

Malahide Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of over 17,000. Malahide Castle dates from th ...

near Dublin.Ireland set to make Test debut against Pakistan next spring

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

, 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2018-04-02. In preparation for this match the Irish team played a first-class match against

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

in April.Ireland to play Somerset in Test warm-up

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

, 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2018-04-02. At the end of their tour Pakistan played two T20 matches in Scotland on 12 and 13 June.Scotland to host Pakistan in two T20 internationals in June 2018

, 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2018-04-02. The England team played a

(ODI) against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in June, losing to Scotland for the first time in an ODI.England to host Australia in ODI series in 2018, plus Tests v Pakistan & India

, 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2018-04-02.Scotland stun England with historic ODI victory led by Calum MacLeod century
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 2018-06-10. Retrieved 2018-06-10. The South African women's team also toured England to play three

matches against the

in June and to compete in the 2018 England women's Tri-Nation Series Twenty20 competition against England and

. New Zealand then played three One Day Internationals against England in July.England women to host South Africa, New Zealand in 2018

CricInfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

, 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2018-04-02. In addition the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

men's side played a single

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

against a Rest of the World XI team at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

in May 2018 to raise funds for stadiums damaged by

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...

and

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...

in September 2017.Lord’s to host West Indies v ICC Rest of the World XI fundraising T20I

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are List of International Cricket Council members, 108 national associations, with 12 List of Internation ...

, 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2018-04-02.

Pakistan tour

Pakistan played two Test matches against England at Lord's and

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

at the end of May and beginning of June. The series was drawn, each side winning one match. Ahead of the Tests, two first-class matches were played against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and

Northants Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is kn ...

. Their match against Ireland took place after the two first-class county matches, and a two-day match was played against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

between this and the first Test against England.County cricket 2018 fixtures released as champs Essex face Yorkshire in opener

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

, 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2018-04-02. Pakistan won the first Test match by nine wickets on the fourth morning, playing "superbly but unspectacularly"

Marks V Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...

(2018
Pakistan blow away woeful England to seal crushing victory in first Test
''

'', 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2018-05-27. to beat England comprehensively.Pakistan win over England their best at Lord's - Waqar Younis

, 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2018-05-28.Abdul Majid (2018
Pakistan’s crème de la crème performance against England
''

The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the ''Interna ...

'', 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2018-05-28. The match was the first time England had lost the opening Test match of an English summer in 23 seasons.Shemilt S (2018
Pakistan beat England by nine wickets in first Test at Lord's

, 2017-05-27. Retrieved 2018-05-27. The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Women's County Championship The Women's County Championship, known since 2014 as the Royal London Women’s One-Day Cup, Royal London Women's County One-Day Championship & Vitality Women's County T20
Retrieved 2018-04-14. It was won by

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, the team's first title, with

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

finishing as runners-up.Women finish third in County Championship

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

, 2018-06-03. Retrieved 2018-06-03.Hampshire win Women's County Championship for first time

, 2018-06-03. Retrieved 2018-06-04.

Women's Twenty20 Cup

The 2018

Women's Twenty20 Cup The Women's Twenty20 Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the Vitality Women's County T20, is a women's Twenty20 cricket competition organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board. Until the end of the 2019 season, teams were organised in tie ...

took place in June and July 2018, with 36 county teams competing in three divisions.

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

won Division One, claiming their first Twenty20 title.

Women's Cricket Super League

During August 2018 the ECB announced that the Women's Super League would be expanded for the 2018 season with more group games played.Mehta K (2017
Women's Super League: Domestic T20 tournament to be expanded in 2018

, 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2018-04-14. In 2018 each team played each other both home and away with 10 group matches per side, compared to the five group matches played in 2016 and 2017. The group stage of the competition began on 22 July and ran until 18 August with Finals Day taking place at

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

on 27 August.Kia Super League: Western Storm start at home in expanded competition

, 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2018-04-14. Surrey Stars won the competition, defeating Loughborough Lightning in the final.

Minor Counties Competitions

The Minor Counties Championship began in June and ran until September with teams organised in two divisions based on their geographical location. Each team played six three-day matches against six of the nine other teams in their division. The divisional winners

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

qualified for the four-day Championship Final, which was played between 16 and 19 September at the

Banbury Cricket Club Ground White Post Road (also known as Banbury Cricket Club Ground) is a cricket ground in Bodicote, Oxfordshire. History Banbury Cricket Club originally played in Banbury at Grange Road, but the Banbury Recreational Trust sold the ground to a housin ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, with Berkshire winning the Championship.Cornwall CCC Fixtures 2018
,

Cornwall County Cricket Club Cornwall County Cricket Club is one of twenty minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Cornwall. The team has played in the Minor Counties Championship since 1904 an ...

, 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2018-04-14. The Minor Counties Knockout Trophy was played on a straight knock-out basis over five rounds, a change from previous seasons.

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

won the final with

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

the beaten finalists. A new Twenty20 competition was introduced in 2018 with group matches played at the beginning of the season, replacing some of the matches previously played in the Knockout Trophy group stage.Heath M (2017
Suffolk Cricket 2018 fixtures revealed - full list here
''

Ipswich Star The ''Ipswich Star'' (formerly ''Evening Star'') is a daily evening local newspaper based in Ipswich, UK published by Archant. The newspaper started publication on 17 February 1885 and is published Monday to Friday. History The newspaper was k ...

'', 2017-11-22. Retrieved 2018-04-14.Minor Counties Cricket Explained

Devon County Cricket Club Devon County Cricket Club (Devon Cricket) is one of 20 minor county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Devon. The team is currently a member of the National Counties Champi ...

. Retrieved 2018-04-14.Travers C (2017
Staffordshire County Cricket Club to play home match at new venue in 2018
'' The Sentinel, 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2018-04-14.Berkshire fixtures revealed while Dan Marles quits Finchampstead for High Wycombe
''Bracknell News'', 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2018-04-14. Counties were placed in four geographical divisions of five teams for the competition, each playing eight matches over four match days, with both matches against an opposition team being played on the same day as a double-header. A Minor Counties T20 competition was trialled in 2015 but has not been played since. The T20 competition was won by Berkshire, who defeated Cheshire in the final. The first stages of both one-day competitions were played at the start of the season with Championship matches moving towards the later half the cricket season. The Finals Days for both one-day competitions was played at the end of August at

Wormsley Park Wormsley is a private estate of Mark Getty and his family, set in of rolling countryside in the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire (formerly Oxfordshire), England. It is also the home of Garsington Opera. Acquired by Sir Paul Getty in 1985, th ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

References

{{English cricket seasons English cricket seasons in the 21st century

International tours

Pakistan tour

South Africa women tour

England in Scotland

Australia tour

Tri-Nation series

India tour

New Zealand women tour

Domestic cricket

MCCU matches

County Championship

One-Day Cup

t20 Blast

Women's County Championship

Women's Twenty20 Cup

Women's Cricket Super League

Minor Counties Competitions

See also

References