WARWICKSHIRE will be crowned county champions if they gain 20 points in the four-day match against Worcestershire that begins at New Road today. Anything less will maintain the slim hopes of Sussex, the champions, whose game against Middlesex begins on Saturday.
The fates of all Frizzell County Championship first division sides are complicated this week by a fixture list that has scheduled each of the four matches to start on different days.
The rearguard action that earned Warwickshire a draw against Sussex at Edgbaston last week has given the leaders a 40-point cushion over Kent, the second-placed side. Mathematically, Kent could still win the title, but Warwickshire require only five points from their last two games to end Kent’s challenge.
If Sussex remain within 44 points of Warwickshire after their game against Middlesex, they will still have two matches to continue their pursuit — away to Gloucestershire next week (when neither Warwickshire nor Kent are in action) and at home to Surrey in the final round. But only a spectacular collapse from the leaders will prevent the championship pennant from returning to Edgbaston for the first time since 1995.
In today’s match at New Road, Worcestershire, in seventh place, are desperately seeking a victory to boost their chances in the relegation dogfight. The first division table is so close that Warwickshire are the only side certain of avoiding the drop.
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The bottom two sides, Lancashire and Northamptonshire, have a game in hand on Worcestershire. Lancashire face Surrey at Old Trafford, beginning on Thursday, and Northamptonshire’s fixture away to Kent starts on Friday. In matches that begin from tomorrow onwards, play will commence at 10.30am.