2018 County Championship
The 2018 County Championship, known as the 2018 Specsavers County Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the 119th cricket County Championship season. As in 2017, Division One has eight teams and Division Two has ten teams, with two teams relegated and two promoted at the end of the season.
The first round of matches began on 13 April and the final round of matches were scheduled to end on 27 September. Most of the matches of the Championship were played as day matches, although each team played one day-night match during the season.
In September 2018, the match between Somerset and Lancashire at Taunton finished as a tie. It was the first tie in a County Championship game since 2003, Somerset's first tied match since 1939 and Lancashire's first since 1952. By winning their game against Worcestershire between the 10th and 13th of September, Surrey took an unassailable lead at the top of Division One, making them champions.
Teams
The 2018 Championship was divided into two divisions, Division One with eight teams and Division Two with 10. Teams in both divisions played a total of 14 games, with all Division One teams playing each other twice, while Division Two teams played five others twice and four once.Division One
Team promoted from Division Two in 2017| Team | Primary home ground | Other grounds | Coach | Captain | Overseas player |
| Essex | County Ground, Chelmsford | — |  Anthony McGrath |  Ryan ten Doeschate |  Neil Wagner  Peter Siddle  Murali Vijay |
| Hampshire | Rose Bowl, Southampton | — | Craig White | James Vince |  Hashim Amla Dale Steyn |
| Lancashire | Old Trafford, Manchester | Trafalgar Road Ground, Southport | Glen Chapple | Liam Livingstone Dane Vilas | Joe Mennie Keshav Maharaj |
| Somerset | County Ground, Taunton | — | Jason Kerr | Tom Abell | Matt Renshaw  Azhar Ali |
| Surrey | The Oval, London | Woodbridge Road, Guildford | Michael Di Venuto | Rory Burns | Dean Elgar Theunis de Bruyn Aaron Finch |
| Yorkshire | Headingley, Leeds | North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough | Andrew Gale | Gary Ballance Joe Root Steven Patterson David Willey Adam Lyth | Cheteshwar Pujara  Kane Williamson Jeet Raval |
| Nottinghamshire | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | — | Peter Moores | Steven Mullaney | Ross Taylor  Kraigg Brathwaite |
| Worcestershire | New Road, Worcester | — | Kevin Sharp | Joe Leach Brett D'Oliveira | Travis Head Callum Ferguson Wayne Parnell Ravichandran Ashwin |
Division Two
Team relegated from Division One in 2017| Team | Primary home ground | Other grounds | Coach | Captain | Overseas player |
| Middlesex | Lord's, London | Merchant Taylors' School Ground, Northwood Uxbridge Cricket Club Ground, Uxbridge | Richard Scott Richard Johnson | Dawid Malan Sam Robson | Hilton Cartwright |
| Warwickshire | Edgbaston, Birmingham | — | Jim Troughton | Jeetan Patel | Jeetan Patel |
| Derbyshire | County Ground, Derby | Queen's Park, Chesterfield | Kim Barnett Vacant  Dave Houghton | Billy Godleman | Duanne Olivier Lockie Ferguson |
| Durham | Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street | — | Jon Lewis | Paul Collingwood | Aiden Markram Tom Latham Axar Patel |
| Glamorgan | Sophia Gardens, Cardiff | Penrhyn Avenue, Rhos-on-Sea St Helen's, Swansea |  Robert Croft | Michael Hogan | Shaun Marsh Usman Khawaja Stephen Cook |
| Gloucestershire | County Ground, Bristol | College Ground, Cheltenham | Richard Dawson | Chris Dent | Daniel Worrall |
| Kent | St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury | Nevill Ground, Royal Tunbridge Wells | Matt Walker | Sam Billings Joe Denly | Matt Henry |
| Leicestershire | Grace Road, Leicester | — | Paul Nixon | Michael Carberry Paul Horton | Varun Aaron Mohammad Abbas |
| Northamptonshire | County Ground, Northampton | — | David Ripley | Alex Wakely | Rory Kleinveldt Doug Bracewell  Seekkuge Prasanna |
| Sussex | County Ground, Hove | Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground, Arundel | Jason Gillespie | Ben Brown | Ishant Sharma |
Results
Fixtures for the 2018 County Championship were announced on 29 November 2017, with the previous season's champions Essex beginning the defence of their title against Yorkshire at Headingley.In total, 56 matches were be played in Division One, with 70 played in Division Two.
Division One
April
May
June
July
August
September
Division Two
April
May
June
July
August
September
Standings
Teams receive 16 points for a win, 8 for a tie and 5 for a draw. Bonus points may be scored during the first 110 overs of each team's first innings.Division One
Division Two
Statistics
Division One
- Highest score by a team: Surrey − 592 all out vs Nottinghamshire
- Lowest score by a team: Yorkshire − 50 all out vs Essex
- Top score by an individual: Dane Vilas vs Somerset
- Best bowling figures by an individual: Jack Leach − 8/85 vs Essex
Most runs
Most wickets
Source: ESPN CricinfoDivision Two
- Highest score by a team: Kent − 582/9d vs Gloucestershire
- Lowest score by a team: Middlesex − 56 all out vs Kent
- Top score by an individual: Chris Dent − 214* vs Leicestershire
- Best bowling figures by an individual: Brett Hutton − 8/57 vs Gloucestershire
Most runs