1981 County Championship Explained

Tournament Format:	League system
Champions:	Nottinghamshire
Previous Year:	1980
Previous Tournament:	1980 County Championship
Next Year:	1982
Next Tournament:	1982 County Championship

The 1981 Schweppes County Championship was the 82nd officially organised running of the County Championship. Nottinghamshire won the Championship title.^[1]

The number of points awarded for a win was increased to 16.^[2] The Championship was sponsored by Schweppes for the fourth time.

Table

• 16 points for a win
• 8 points to each side for a tie
• 8 points to side still batting in a match in which scores finish level
• Bonus points awarded in the first 100 overs of the first innings
  • Batting: 150 runs - 1 point, 200 runs - 2 points 250 runs - 3 points, 300 runs - 4 points
  • Bowling: 3-4 wickets - 1 point, 5-6 wickets - 2 points 7-8 wickets - 3 points, 9-10 wickets - 4 points
• No bonus points awarded in a match starting with less than 8 hours' play remaining. A one-innings match is played, with the winner gaining 12 points.
• Position determined by points gained. If equal, then decided on most wins.
• Each team plays 22 matches.

County Championship table

width=175	Team	width=20 abbr="Played"	Pld	width=20 abbr="Won"	Won	width=20 abbr="Lost"	Lost	width=20 abbr="Drawn"	Drawn	width=20 abbr="Bonus points"	Batting bonus	width=20 abbr="Bonus points"	Bowling bonus	width=20 abbr="Points"	Points
	22	11	4	7	56	72	304
Sussex	22	11	3	8	58	68	302
Somerset	22	10	2	10	54	65	279
Middlesex	22	9	3	10	49	64	257
Essex	22	8	4	10	62	64	254
Surrey	22	7	5	10	52	72	236
Hampshire	22	6	7	9	45	65	206
	22	6	6	10	45	58	199
Kent	22	5	7	10	51	58	189
Yorkshire	22	5	9	8	41	66	187
	22	5	9	8	44	52	172
Derbyshire	22	4	7	11	51	57	172
	22	4	3	15	51	55	170
Glamorgan	22	3	10	9	50	69	167
	22	3	6	13	51	67	166
Lancashire	22	4	7	11	47	57	164
	22	2	11	9	56	47	135

Notes and References

1. Book: Engel, Matthew. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2004, pages 493-494. 2004. John Wisden & Company Ltd. 0-947766-83-9.
2. Book: Wynne-Thomas, Peter. The Hamlyn A-Z of Cricket Records. 1983. Hamlyn Publishing Group. 0-600-34667-6.