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.
| Dates | 5 April 2024 – 29 September 2024 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | England and Wales Cricket Board |
| Cricket format | First-class cricket (4 days) |
| Tournament format(s) | League system |
| Participants | 18 |
| Matches | 126 |
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 idea 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.