All you need to know for the County Championship finale

So, 173 days after the start of the domestic cricket season and 117 matches later, it all boils down to this…

On Wednesday, the 2025 County Championship season’s final round will kick off, and who will win or remain outside the Division One basement.

In the final afternoon of the penultimate round of fixtures, Nottinghamshire won by a stunning 20 runs over Surrey, severely delaying Surrey’s quest for a fourth consecutive title.

The defending champions did, however, receive a point for a slow overrate at the Kia Oval, which reduced their lead at the summit from 15 points to 14 heading into this week’s final round.

Five other teams are vying to avoid joining Worcestershire in the bottom two before the potential post-season reorganization of the county game, whose details have not yet been revealed.

In Division Two, the champagne bottles have already been cleaned and recycled.

The tie-breaker is the total wins they have won this season, with Notts currently winning six, two more than Surrey, to ensure they can be caught up to Surrey. However, 10 points would be enough to ensure they are crowned champions should the top two finish level on points.

A 16-point victory would be more than enough, but Peter Moores’ men’s men could use eight points for a draw, plus two of the other eight bonus points, either via bat or ball or through some combination of the two.

When a team’s first innings is 110 overs long, a team can score 250, 300, 350, 400, or 450 runs. When a first innings is played for three, six, or nine wickets in the same 110-over period, bowling points are earned.

Surrey has no real chance of standing up against Hampshire. However, against all the odds, a draw and seven bonus points would give Gareth Batty’s men yet another title if Notts somehow lost and emerged at Trent Bridge without any bonus points.

Somerset, the T20 Blast champions, once more battled for the title in the final weeks of the season, but a determined rearguard effort from Hampshire and the announcement of a four-point deduction by the Independent Cricket Discipline Panel for a sub-par pitch at Taunton for their game against Durham in July put an end to their distant hopes.

Worcestershire, the winners of the One-Day Cup, will finish bottom of Division One regardless of what happens in the final round, even though five other teams are still fighting to avoid finishing second-bottom in the final round.

On Wednesday, Sussex travels to New Road, tying Durham for ninth place, with 150 points, or 10 more than Durham, who is currently in ninth place.

Durham, who is only six points behind the Tykes in the standings, travels to Headingley to face Yorkshire in a potential humdinger.

Hampshire are now two points ahead of the bottom two after being given an eight-point deduction earlier this month. In their final game, they must contend with the challenging prospect of hosting Surrey.

Before their final home game against Somerset, Essex are just 10 points ahead of Durham.

Without any unexpected costs, the equation is simple for Sussex and Essex: avoid defeat and they’ll be out of the bottom two. A draw would almost certainly suffice for Yorkshire, unless Durham can earn seven more bonus points than the hosts from their Leeds encounter.

Hampshire must match any outcome Durham achieves in order to avoid falling into the bottom two. However, if Durham were to take a three-point lead at Headingley with bonus points, that would elevate them above their southern rivals.

Gareth Batty, head coach for Surrey, said: “They beat us on our patch and we still have some work to do.

It’s our job and we try to put on a performance and win a game whenever we sport shirts for Surrey.

“We’ve had a good number of people watch us this season, so we’ll be making every effort to make sure we’re on the right end of a result.”

Emilio Gay, a Durham batter, said, “We’ve had a discussion about it; I can’t wait for it to be honest. I’ve been anticipating this month’s pinnacle for a while because four-day cricket is it’s absolute best.

The discussion is about how to put pressure on and take 20 wickets because Yorkshire will likely be looking for a draw.

Adi Birrell, the head coach of Hampshire, said, “The eight-point deduction really hurt us, and we have been playing under pressure.” We’ve reached our very last game now.

Division One

Essex vs. Somerset Chelmsford

Surrey vs. Southampton

Nottinghamshire vs. Warwickshire – Trent Bridge

Sussex vs. Worcestershire

Durham vs. Headingley: Yorkshire vs.

Division Two

Cardiff vs. Glamorgan

Derbyshire vs. Canterbury: Kent vs.

Lord’s – Middlesex vs. Gloucestershire

Leicestershire vs. Northamptonshire: