| Administrator | England and Wales Cricket Board |
|---|---|
| Format | Limited overs cricket |
| First edition | 1997 |
| Latest edition | 2019 |
| Tournament format | League system in three divisions |
| Number of teams | 35 |
| Current champion | Kent (2019) |
| Most successful | Kent (8 titles) |
The Women's County Championship, known since 2014 as the Royal London Women's One-Day Cup,[1] was a women's cricket competition organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board. It was the women's equivalent of the County Championship, although it operated as a 50-over limited overs cricket competition with teams organised into a number of divisions. It was introduced in 1997 to replace the Women's Area Championship.
The teams competing in the Championship were drawn mostly from the historic counties of England, with 32 teams representing these. The Scottish national side competed in the competition since 2007, the Wales women's national cricket team since 2008 and the Netherlands joined in 2009.[2] The Ireland national team played in the competition between 2009 and 2015 before withdrawing in early 2016.[3][4]
The competition was the longest established women's cricket competition in England and Wales. It operated alongside the Women's Twenty20 Cup, established in 2009,[5] and the Women's Cricket Super League between 2016 and 2019, a franchise league with six teams playing Twenty20 cricket.[6]
2019, won by Kent, was the final season of the Championship due to a restructuring of women's cricket in England. From 2020, the only 50-over tournament was competed by regional teams, initially in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. Kent were the most successful county in the history of the Championship with eight titles, whilst Sussex and Yorkshire both won six titles.[7]
- ^ Royal London Women’s One-Day Cup, England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ Dutch join women's championship, England and Wales Cricket Board, 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ EXCLUSIVE: Ireland Cut Costly County Cricket, Crickether, 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ Ireland women to play South Africa in seven-match series, BBC Sport, 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ England to introduce women's Twenty20 Cup, CricInfo, 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ Super League: Franchise cricket gets set for launch in England, BBC Sport, 2016-07-28. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ Booth, Lawrence, ed. (2020). Wisden Cricketer's Almanac 2020. Great Britain: John Wisden & Co Ltd. p. 1198. ISBN 978-1-4729-7285-9.