Minor Counties

I was doing some research into my Brit roots (my family originates from Dorset in 1849) and wondered what my "home" county was. Seems the closest top flight counties are Somerset and Hampshire.

I found a map that shows all the cricket counties (including the Minor Counties) and was wondering if there is a process for any of those Minor Counties to ever become a Major County? I assume counties have been added to the County Championship over the years. Anyone know the process?

Somerset to your north-west and north (Gloucestershire lying just above that), and Delloland aka "Hants" to your east.

Since the local government reorganisation of 1971?, some bits of these historic counties have been renamed (e.g. "Avon") or the counties broken up, so the county names are slightly anachronistic in most cases.

It's not easy for a minor county to join the County Championship. Durham (in effect also serving north of the River Tyne, i.e. the Newcastle area and down to Teeside i.e the Middlesbrough area) was the last to do this in 1991 - making an 18th CC county. The 17th had been Glamorgan (actually serving the whole of Wales), joining right back in 1921, and the 16th Northants, back to 1905.

The other 15 had been in the CC in Queen Victoria's time.


There is Minor Counties cricket, and this has a slightly contorted history  as regards structure ... read as much as you want here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_counties

in which Devon and Cornwall (to the west of your ancestors) have been at various times strong.


To help the process of giving the better (and professionally available!) Minor Counties players hope of a leg-up to a contract with a Championship County team, and perhaps spur on others, a nomadic/artificial team was set up in 2010 called "The Unicorns", a mix of old County salts and young(ish) talents, who since then have played as a scratch side against the big boys in the 40 over competition, with modest success. But then, the purpose of having the unicorns is probably not to WIN the competition, but compete well.

Cheers Pete. So no relegation/promotion possibilities between the Minor and major Counties any time soon then?

Regarding my "home" County - it's funny cos as a wee tacker who used to read Wisden from the local library religiously, I found myself "following" Somerset. Possibly because Greg Chappell and Kerry "Skull" O'Keeffe both had stints there (in the days before Aussies became regulars on the County scene), not to mention the mighty Sir Viv, Big Bird and Sir Beefy.

Some influential people in the game would like to see fewer counties - so the chances of a minor county breaking through into the first class ranks currently lies somewhere between nil and fark all.

But, there are large tracts of the country without ready access to first class cricket - there's none played west of Taunton, none in East Anglia (excluding Essex) and none in Cumbria/Northumberland.

Ideally, and with a limitless pot of money, you could set up a first class side in each of these areas, and then split the first class game into three divisions of seven. But it's a pipe dream really.

Skulls:

No to the first.

Minor Counties is a slight misnomer really, as it might sound just like one step lower than the two flights of "Major Counties" (that term does not exist) ~ ~  ~ rather like there has been a virtual "fifth division" of football in England & Wales for the last few years (i.e. since they introduced a two-up,two-down system into and out of the fourth division - though by hyperhype inflation it is laughably called "Division 2").

The Minor Counties don't generally pretend to the professional hardbody standards of the fully-fledged counties (the ones in the Championship), bar Leicestershire of course. In fact, I'm not even sure they pay, at least beyond expenses, rather like the mainly amateur cricket of 100 years ago. I don't have an authoritative insight on this, though. Danny for example would probably know the ins and outs, as his ear is much closer to the ground (and feet too) than mine regarding grassroots cricket organisation - and much else. Charlie ("holcs") would be the one to ask - with the inside view from Berkshire - but he's no longer around. I suppose there is Google though.

On the second:

Well, I think quite a few beyond Gloucestershire have a soft spot for Somerset, daft jibes about the Cider Drinkers of Zummerzett apart. They are generally a heart-and-soul team - a sort of anti-Surrey, if you see what I mean.

Personally, I am sentimentally fond of Gloucestershire. But I suppose only because it's the county of Jack Russell (whom I regard uncritically as a hero), Charlie Parker (another folk hero), the Graces, Jessop and the mighty - and mighty enigma - Hammond of course, and also Bev Lyon, perhaps the most adventurous BUT fun-loving captain there has been in County Cricket. Predictably, though immensely popular, it started to go pearshaped for him and his county after a couple of seasons! More recently, they also had a player called Windows (Matthew, though known as "Steamy"), who may not have been much cop, but briefly had a lot of success on the one-day scene with Gloucs ... and basically had a fantastic name for a cricketer.

But Gloucs are generally one of the weakest teams in the CC in the last few years. "BRING BACK JACK - AND STEAMY!!"

If you were starting with a blank sheet of paper, you wouldn't have the first class structure that we have now - Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Leicestershire - that's nearly a third of the first class game covering a relatively small geographical area in terms of the whole of the country. But we are where we are.

Basil wrote:Some influential people in the game would like to see fewer counties - so the chances of a minor county breaking through into the first class ranks currently lies somewhere between nil and fark all.

But, there are large tracts of the country without ready access to first class cricket - there's none played west of Taunton, none in East Anglia (excluding Essex) and none in Cumbria/Northumberland.

Ideally, and with a limitless pot of money, you could set up a first class side in each of these areas, and then split the first class game into three divisions of seven. But it's a pipe dream really.

All true.

I can't help adding: cricket has been from its betting/drinking/random infancy a rather ramshackle game as regards grand structural organisation. And for all the gladiatorial image of the contemporary top-level cricketer and the hundreds (hyperbole) of professional support staff, what other sport would have a biennial series that hops around the calendar, more generally an international system of planning for Tests that is more Keystone Kops than businesslike? And for that matter, what other sport would have welcomed Stanford (okay, so money talks in an often cash-sucking game ... ).

Chas played for Dorset.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/14237.html

Basil wrote:If you were starting with a blank sheet of paper, you wouldn't have the first class structure that we have now - Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Leicestershire - that's nearly a third of the first class game covering a relatively small geographical area in terms of the whole of the country. But we are where we are.

It's one of the timeless glories of the game (to flip the coin to the positive side). Manic-depressively controlled anarchy. Real life, turned into enjoyment.

taipan wrote:Chas played for Dorset.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/14237.html

It's a fair cop.

But he did talk more than occasionally about "here in Berkshire" when inveighing against cricket class injustice and the arrogance of the Big Boys, unless my memory has gone altogether.

Cheers for the info, boys. Interesting stuff.

In terms of Australian equivalents, do Northern Territory and ACT not have "state" sides, or have any ambitions to progress as such in the future?

ACT has had sides in the Domestic One Day comp occasionally over the years. ACT and NT have had teams in 2nd XI competitions over the years also. They are unlikely to ever have the strength to field a fully fledged Shield side.

NT's cricket season is also out of step with playing in an Oz FC comp

Have their been m/any NT-associated cricketers who have achieved fame, aside from Marto?

Darcy Short has played one JAMODD for WA

This guy could have been a player

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/363016.html

Nielsen has some sort of NT links it seems, though he is basically a Pom secret agent.

PeterCS wrote:This guy could have been a player

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/363016.html

The naturally selected missing link?

Darwin Murali has probably evolved so he can chuck without the boggle eyes.