The Bob Willis Trophy was a domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales for the eighteen first-class counties, organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
| Countries |  England Wales |
|---|---|
| Administrator | England and Wales Cricket Board |
| Format | First-class cricket |
| First edition | 2020 |
| Latest edition | 2021 |
| Tournament format | Final |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Current champion | Warwickshire (1st title) |
| Most successful | Warwickshire Essex (1 title each) |
It was established in the 2020 English cricket season. The tournament was named the Bob Willis Trophy[1] in honour of former England cricket captain and fast bowler Bob Willis, who died in December 2019.[2]
While in 2020 it was promoted as being a one-off competition,[3] the Bob Willis Trophy was contested again in 2021 as a five-day final between the top two teams in County Championship Division One.[4] In January 2022, the ECB announced that the Bob Willis Trophy would not be played to end that year's championship; managing director of county cricket Neil Snowball said that the ECB was discussing the future format of the trophy with Willis's family.[5]
From 2022 the trophy was adopted by the Cricket Writers' Club, to be presented to their England's player of the year. The inaugural winner was Jonny Bairstow.[6]
Results edit
| Year | Format | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Winners | Result | Runners-up | ||
| 2020 | Leagues and final | Lord's | Essex 337/8 & 179/6 |
Essex won on first innings scores after match drawn Scorecard |
Somerset 301 & 272/7d |
| 2021 | Single match | Lord's | Warwickshire 518 |
Warwickshire won by an innings and 199 runs Scorecard |
Lancashire 78 & 241 |
References edit
- ^ "All First-Class Counties committed to playing same red-ball and white-ball competitions". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ "Bob Willis Trophy: Shortened red-ball competition named after ex-England captain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ "Everything you need to know about the Bob Willis Trophy". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ "County Championship: Competition returns in 2021 alongside Bob Willis Trophy". BBC Sport. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "County Championship: More June and July games scheduled in 2022 fixtures". BBC Sport. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "Jonny Bairstow wins Cricket Writers' Club Bob Willis Trophy". BBC Sport. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2023.