Surrey begin Rothesay County Championship defence with local derby

Surrey will begin their bid for a fourth successive Men's Rothesay County Championship title at local rivals Essex following release of the full 2025 county schedule.

The fixtures for the County Championship, which will be title sponsored by Rothesay for the next three years, and Metro Bank One-Day Cup women’s and men’s competitions have today been confirmed alongside dates for the Disability Premier League.

It follows confirmation last week of the fixtures for the Vitality Blast and new Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup, and completes a historic county schedule that will for the first time see women’s and men’s county teams play side-by-side in the Vitality Blast and Metro Bank One-Day Cup.

Fans across England and Wales will have more access than ever before to high-quality domestic women’s and men’s county cricket, with matches to be played at a minimum of 38 venues across England and Wales, with seven trophies up for grabs across the professional county game and DPL.

The Rothesay County Championship will begin on Friday 4 April with eight rounds in April and May. The two rounds at the end of June and two rounds at the end of July will see Kookaburra balls used, before three rounds in September to finish the domestic summer.

Surrey will be looking to become the first county to claim four Rothesay County Championship titles in a row since their all-conquering team from the 1950s won the trophy from 1952-58.

The first block of the new Metro Bank One-Day Cup women’s competition will be played in April and May before returning in July while the Metro Bank One-Day Cup men’s competition group stage will be held in August.

Defending men’s champions Glamorgan open their title defence at home to Hampshire in Neath. The finals of the men’s and women’s competitions will be held over the same weekend (September 20 and 21) at Trent Bridge and the Utilita Bowl respectively.

The Disability Premier League final will be one of six domestic trophies on offer in September. The group stage will be played over three rounds – with the opening round at Loughborough on Sunday 24 August - before the final is set to be staged on Tuesday 10 September.

Pirates won their first DPL title last year following an unbeaten run to the final at Sophia Gardens where they beat Tridents by 32 runs.

ECB Managing Director of Competitions and Major Events, Neil Snowball, said: “Fans can now start to plan out their domestic summer with so many options from the tradition of the Rothesay County Championship to the aligned men’s and women’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup and Vitality Blast competitions, as well as the Disability Premier League and the new and exciting Vitality Women’s County Cup.

“The introduction of women’s county teams is a significant moment for the domestic game. I am sure we will see followers of county cricket also watching their women’s teams and accelerate the growth and popularity of the women’s game which we have already seen in international cricket and The Hundred in recent years.”

ECB Director of the Women’s Professional Game, Beth Barrett-Wild, said: “This is the start of an exciting new era for domestic cricket and women’s cricket as we elevate and embed women’s teams in the county structure.

“We will see seven flagship finals days which will provide high-profile moments to increase scale and visibility. There will be more women’s professional players than ever before, more games at HQ venues and more women’s matches under lights as we further build the profile of women’s cricket across England and Wales.”

Rachel Bradshaw, Chief of Staff at Rothesay, the UK’s largest pensions insurance specialist and Official Partner of England Cricket, commented: “It is exciting to see the always-anticipated release of the fixtures ahead of our first summer as the title sponsor of the historic County Championship. Rothesay is purpose-built to provide security for UK pensioners and we are delighted that we can also help to secure the future of cricket by inspiring all generations and making cricket a game for everyone.”

Editors Notes:

Rothesay County Championship – Division One: Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Yorkshire.

Format: Each county plays 14 Rothesay County Championship matches (seven home and seven away). The county that tops the table at the end of the 14 matches is crowned champion, with the bottom two counties in the table relegated to Division Two.

Rothesay County Championship – Division Two: Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Northamptonshire.

Format: Each county plays 14 Rothesay County Championship matches (seven home and seven away). The county that tops the table at the end of the 14 matches is crowned champion and is promoted, along with the second-placed county, to Division One.

Metro Bank One-Day Cup Men’s

Group A: Notts Outlaws, Essex, Worcestershire, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Leicestershire Foxes, Derbyshire Falcons.

Group B: Kent Spitfires, Yorkshire, Somerset, Lancashire, Durham, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Middlesex, Sussex Sharks.

Format: Each county plays the other eight counties in their group once (four home and four away games). The top county in each group at the end of the group stage progresses directly to the semi-finals. The second and third-placed counties at the end of the group stage progress to the quarter-finals.

Metro Bank One-Day Cup Women’s

Group: Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Somerset, Surrey, The Blaze, Warwickshire.

Format: Each county plays the other seven counties home and away for a total of 14 group-stage matches. The top four counties at the end of the group stage progress to the semi-finals.

Metro Bank One-Day Cup Women's League 2

Group: Derbyshire Falcons, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire Foxes, Middlesex, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Sussex Sharks, Worcestershire Rapids, Yorkshire.

Format: Each county plays the other nine counties once during the group stage. The top four counties at the end of the group stage progress to the semi-finals.

Disability Premier League

Group: Black Cats, Hawks, Pirates, Tridents.

Format: Each team plays each other once during the group stage. The top two teams at the end of the group stage qualify for the final.