2024 County Championship

The 2024 County Championship (referred to as the Vitality County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the 124th County Championship cricket season in England and Wales. As in 2023, Division One had ten teams and Division Two had eight teams. The season started on 5 April and is scheduled to finish on 29 September 2024. Surrey are the defending champions, having repeated their success in securing the 2022 title.

Overview
For the first time, the use of hybrid pitches is being permitted during the 2024 season, despite previous concerns that they do not deteriorate enough during a four-day match and are therefore suitable only for limited overs cricket. The number of points for a draw has been increased from five to eight, as was the case from 2019 to 2022.

In research carried out by the Professional Cricketers' Association prior to the start of the season, concerns were expressed about players' welfare due to the congested schedule (including the T20 Blast, One-Day Cup, and The Hundred).

The Kookaburra debate
Following a trial during the 2023 County Championship, when the traditional English Dukes ball was replaced for two rounds by the less bowler-friendly Australian Kookaburra, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided that four rounds of the 2024 season would be played with the latter. The motivation behind this was to develop bowlers with the skills to compete at an international level, give spinners more of a role at the beginning of the season, and encourage batters to score quickly.

After the Kookaburra had been used during the first two rounds of the 2024 season, England men's team director Rob Key hailed the experiment a success. Spin bowlers contributed 37% (1035.4 overs) of deliveries in the opening two rounds, compared with 17% (767.3 overs) in 2023, and took 135 (72 more) wickets. Batters hit as many double centuries as in whole of the previous season, and in the second round accumulated 10 scores of 150 or more, which was a record for a set of matches starting on the same day. However, all but one of the 19 games played in the opening two rounds ended in a draw. In the second round, all matches were drawn for just the third time when all counties have played simultaneously, and matches were criticised for being dull. Key's comments themselves "caused something of a furore".

Writing in Wisden Cricket Monthly, Laurence Booth noted that using the Kookaburra on spongy pitches during one of the UK's wettest springs was "like mixing oil with water – and expecting nectar", but pointed to the first-round performance of seam bowler Sam Cook in explaining Key's perspective. Mike Selvey commented in The Cricketer that rather than resorting to the use of a "substandard ball", Key's objectives might better be achieved by requiring groundsmen to cut the grass shorter and use a hard roller on pitches, whilst also making some changes to the Dukes ball so that the seam would flatten more quickly.

Teams
The teams were split based on the finishing positions in the 2023 season, with 10 teams in Division One and 8 in Division Two.

Division One sides will play five teams both home and away, and four teams either home or away. All Division Two sides will play each other home and away. Teams may field a maximum of two overseas players in a match.

Division One
Team promoted from Division Two in 2023

Division Two
Team relegated from Division One in 2023

Standings
Teams in both divisions play a total of 14 games, with seven home matches and seven away matches. There is a two-up, two-down promotion and relegation system.

Teams receive 16 points for a win, and 8 for a draw (or tie). Bonus points (a maximum of 5 batting points and 3 bowling points) may be scored during the first 110 overs of each team's first innings.