2021 County Championship
The 2021 County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 121st cricket County Championship season in England and Wales. For the first phase of the tournament, the teams were split into three groups of six, with each side playing ten matches. The top two teams from each group progressed into Division One for the second phase of the competition, with the other teams progressing to Divisions Two and Three. The team that finished top of Division One became the county champions; and the top two teams from Division One contested a five-day match at Lord's for the Bob Willis Trophy. On 17 December 2020, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed all the fixtures for the tournament. After completion of the group stage on 14 July 2021, the ECB confirmed the fixtures for the division stage on 22 July 2021.
| Administrator(s) | England and Wales Cricket Board |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | First-class cricket (4 days) |
| Tournament format(s) | League system |
| Champions | Warwickshire (8th title) |
| Participants | 18 |
| Most runs | Tom Haines (1,176) |
| Most wickets | Luke Fletcher (66) |
| Cricket format | First-class cricket (5 days) |
|---|---|
| Champions | Warwickshire (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Lancashire |
| Most runs | Will Rhodes (156) |
| Most wickets | Craig Miles (6) |
In July 2021, in Lancashire's match against Kent, James Anderson took his 1,000th first-class wicket. In September 2021, Tom Haines became the first batsman to score 1,000 runs in this edition of the Championship.
For their final match in Group 3, Kent were forced to replace their entire side for their match against Sussex, after a positive test for COVID-19 in their first XI. On the second day of Kent's match, Nathan Gilchrist was forced to withdraw from the game, after being told to self-isolate. The final Group 1 match between Derbyshire and Essex was called off prior to the start of the second day, after a member of Derbyshire's team tested positive for COVID-19. The ECB confirmed that the result of the match would be treated as a draw. On 28 August 2021, the ECB announced that the Division 2 match between Durham and Surrey had been cancelled, after a member of the Surrey team had tested positive for COVID-19.
Warwickshire won the Division One group to win their first County Championship title since 2012, with Lancashire finishing in second place. Warwickshire won the five-day match against Lancashire, to become the second winners of the Bob Willis Trophy. The Division Two title was won by Essex, with Kent winning the Division Three title.