It's that time of the year when Cricket becomes an integral part of the lives of people in England, and Wales, and cricket fans from around the world. The historic, prestigious, and grand County Championship is back with its 124th edition starting on April 5, 2024, which is a Friday. (More Cricket News)

18 teams, divided into two divisions of 10 and 8 teams respectively, are all set to compete in a long and gruelling 126-match tournament across 25 different venues to claim the championship title. Here's everything one needs to know about this year's tournament.

Surrey, the defending champions, are aiming to make history by becoming three-time champions in a row after more than half a century. Meanwhile, Yorkshire, the king with 33 titles, is hoping to make a comeback to resurrect their legacy. Additionally, the legendary player, Alec Stewart, is expected to retire after this season, making it a memorable swansong for him.

A lot has changed this season: Durham and Worcestershire have been promoted to Division One, while Middlesex and Northamptonshire have been relegated.

The teams of Division One of the County Championship are:

Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Durham, Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey, Warwickshire.

The teams of Division Two of the County Championship are:

Derbyshire, Middlesex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Sussex, Worcestershire, Yorkshire.

Schedule of the County Championship 2024:

Round 1: April 5-8

Division 1

Match 1 - Durham v Hampshire (Chester-Le-Street)

Match 2 - Kent v Somerset (Taunton)

Match 3 - Lancashire v Surrey (Old Trafford

Match 4 - Nottinghamshire v Essex (Trent Bridge)

Match 5 - Warwickshire v Worcestershire (Edgbaston)

Division 2: 

Match 6 - Derbyshire v Gloucestershire (Derby),

Match 7 - Middlesex v Glamorgan (Lord’s)

Match 8 - Sussex v Northamptonshire (Hove)

Match 9 - Yorkshire v Leicestershire (Headingley)

Round 2: April 12-15

Division 1: 

Match 10 - Essex v Kent (Chelmsford)

Match 11 - Hampshire v Lancashire (Ageas Bowl)

Match 12 - Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire (Trent Bridge),

Match 13 - Surrey v Somerset (Kia Oval),

Match 14 - Warwickshire v Durham (Edgbaston). 

Division 2: 

Match 15 - Glamorgan v Derbyshire (Sophia Gardens)

Match 16 - Gloucestershire v Yorkshire (Bristol)

Match 17 - Leicestershire v Sussex (Grace Road)

Match 18 - Northamptonshire v Middlesex (Northampton)

Round 3: April 19-22

Division 1: 

Match 19 - Essex v Lancashire (Chelmsford)

Match 20 - Hampshire v Warwickshire (Ageas Bowl)

Match 21 - Kent v Surrey (Canterbury)

Match 22 - Somerset v Nottinghamshire (Taunton)

Match 23 - Worcestershire v Durham (Kidderminster).

Division 2: 

Match 24 - Derbyshire v Leicestershire (Grace Road)

Match 25 - Middlesex v Yorkshire (Lord’s)

Match 26 - Northamptonshire v Glamorgan (Northampton)

Match 27 - Sussex v Gloucestershire (Hove)

Round 4: April 26-29

Division 1: 

Match 28 - Durham v Essex (Chester-Le-Street),

Match 29 - Surrey v Hampshire (Kia Oval),

Match 30 - Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire (Edgbaston),

Match 31 - Worcestershire v Somerset (Kidderminster). 

Division 2:

Match 32 - Gloucestershire v Middlesex (Bristol)

Match 33 - Leicestershire v Northamptonshire (Grace Road)

Match 34 - Yorkshire v Derbyshire (Headingley)

Round 5: May 3-6

Division 1: 

Match 35 - Lancashire v Kent (Old Trafford),

Match 36 - Somerset v Essex (Chelmsford). 

Division 2: 

Match 37 - Derbyshire v Sussex (Derby),

Match 38 - Middlesex v Leicestershire (Lord’s),

Match 39 - Yorkshire v Glamorgan (Headingley)

Round 6: May 10-13

Division 1: 

Match 40 - Hampshire v Durham (Ageas Bowl),

Match 41 - Kent v Worcestershire (Canterbury),

Match 42 - Nottinghamshire v Lancashire (Trent Bridge),

Match 43 - Surrey v Warwickshire (Kia Oval). 

Division 2: 

Match 44 - Glamorgan v Sussex (Sophia Gardens),

Match 45 - Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire (Northampton)

Round 7: May 17-20

Division 1: 

Match 46 - Essex v Warwickshire (Chelmsford),

Match 47 - Lancashire v Durham (Blackpool),

Match 48 - Nottinghamshire v Hampshire (Trent Bridge),

Match 49 - Somerset v Kent (Taunton),

Match 50 - Surrey v Worcestershire (Kia Oval). 

Division 2: 

Match 51 - Derbyshire v Northamptonshire (Derby),

Match 52 - Glamorgan v Middlesex (Sophia Gardens),

Match 53 - Leicestershire v Gloucestershire (Grace Road),

Match 54 - Sussex v Yorkshire (Hove)

Round 8: May 24-27

Division 1: 

Match 55 - Durham v Somerset (Chester-Le-Street),

Match 56 - Hampshire v Surrey (Ageas Bowl),

Match 57 - Kent v Essex (Canterbury),

Match 58 - Lancashire v Warwickshire (Old Trafford),

Match 59 - Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire (New Road). 

Division 2: 

Match 60 - Gloucestershire v Derbyshire (Bristol),

Match 61 - Leicestershire v Glamorgan (Grace Road),

Match 62 - Middlesex v Sussex (Lord’s),

Match 63 - Northamptonshire v Yorkshire (Northampton)

Round 9: June 23-26

Division 1: 

Match 64 - Essex v Durham (Chelmsford),

Match 65 - Kent v Lancashire (Canterbury),

Match 66 - Nottinghamshire v Somerset (Trent Bridge)

Match 67 - Warwickshire v Hampshire (Edgbaston),

Match 68 - Worcestershire v Surrey (New Road). 

Division 2: 

Match 69 - Glamorgan v Northamptonshire (Sophia Gardens),

Match 70 - Middlesex v Derbyshire (Lord’s),

Match 71 - Sussex v Leicestershire (Hove),

Match 72 - Yorkshire v Gloucestershire (Scarborough)

Round 10: June 30-July 3

Division 1: 

Match 73 - Durham v Worcestershire (Chester-Le-Street),

Match 74 - Hampshire v Kent (Ageas Bowl),

Match 75 - Lancashire v Nottinghamshire (Southport)

Match 76 - Somerset v Warwickshire (Taunton),

Match 77 - Surrey v Essex (Kia Oval).

 Division 2: 

Match 78 - Derbyshire v Yorkshire (Chesterfield),

Match 79 - Gloucestershire v Glamorgan (Cheltenham College),

Match 80 - Leicestershire v Middlesex (Grace Road),

Match 81 - Northamptonshire v Sussex (Northampton)

Round 11: August 22-25

Division 1: 

Match 82 - Durham v Nottinghamshire (Chester-Le-Street),

Match 83 - Hampshire v Essex (Ageas Bowl),

Match 84 - Surrey v Lancashire (Kia Oval),

Match 85 - Warwickshire v Somerset (Edgbaston),

Match 86 - Worcestershire v Kent (New Road). 

Division 2: 

Match 87 - Derbyshire v Glamorgan (Derby),

Match 88 - Gloucestershire v Leicestershire (Bristol).

Match 89 - Middlesex v Northamptonshire (Merchant Taylors’ School),

Match 90 - Yorkshire v Sussex (Scarborough)

Round 12: August 29-September 1

Division 1: 

Match 91 - Essex v Worcestershire (Chelmsford),

Match 92 - Lancashire v Hampshire (Old Trafford),

Match 93 - Nottinghamshire v Surrey (Trent Bridge),

Match 94 - Somerset v Durham (Taunton),

Match 95 - Warwickshire v Kent (Edgbaston). 

Division 2: 

Match 96 - Glamorgan v Leicestershire (Sophia Gardens),

Match 97 - Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire (Bristol),

Match 98 - Sussex v Derbyshire (Hove),

Match 99 - Yorkshire v Middlesex (Headingley)

Round 13: September 9-12

Division 1: 

Match 100 - Durham v Lancashire (Chester-Le-Street),

Match 101 - Essex v Nottinghamshire (Chelmsford),

Match 102 - Kent v Hampshire (Canterbury),

Match 103 - Somerset v Surrey (Taunton),

Match 104 - Worcestershire v Warwickshire (New Road). 

Division 2: 

Match 105 - Leicestershire v Yorkshire (Grace Road),

Match 106 - Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lord’s),

Match 107 - Northamptonshire v Derbyshire (Northampton),

Match 108 - Sussex v Glamorgan (Hove)

Round 14: September 17-20

Division 1: 

Match 109 - Hampshire v Worcestershire (Ageas Bowl),

Match 110 - Kent v Nottinghamshire (Canterbury),

Match 111 - Lancashire v Somerset (Old Trafford),

Match 112 - Surrey v Durham (Kia Oval),

Match 113 - Warwickshire v Essex (Edgbaston). 

Division 2: 

Match 114 - Derbyshire v Middlesex (Derby),

Match 115 - Glamorgan v Yorkshire (Sophia Gardens),

Match 116 - Gloucestershire v Sussex (Bristol),

Match 117 - Northamptonshire v Leicestershire (Northampton)

Round 15: September 26-29

Division 1:

Match 118 - Durham v Kent (Chester-Le-Street),

Match 119 - Essex v Surrey (Chelmsford),

Match 120 - Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire (Trent Bridge),

Match 121 - Somerset v Hampshire (Taunton),

Match 122 - Worcestershire v Lancashire (New Road). 

Division 2: 

Match 123 - Glamorgan v Gloucestershire (Sophia Gardens),

Match 124 - Leicestershire v Derbyshire (Grace Road),

Match 125 - Sussex v Middlesex (Hove)

Match 126 - Yorkshire v Northamptonshire (Headingley)

County Championship 2024 Squads:

Durham

Alex Lees, Ben McKinney, Graham Clark, Jonathan Bushnell, Michael Jones, Bas de Leede, Ben Raine, Ben Stokes, Colin Ackermann, Paul Coughlin, Scott Borthwick (c), David Bedingham (wk), Ollie Robinson (wk), Brandon Glover, Brydon Carse, Callum Parkinson, George Drissell, Mark Wood, Matthew Potts, Nathan Sowter, Oliver Gibson, Scott Boland

Essex

Charlie Allison (c), Dean Elgar, Feroze Khushi, Nick Browne, Robin Das, Aaron Beard, Daniel Sams, Jamal Richards, Luc Benkenstein, Matt Critchley, Noah Thain, Paul Walter, Tom Westley, Adam Rossington (wk), Jordan Cox (wk), Michael Pepper (wk), Ben Allison, Jamie Porter, Sam Cook, Shane Snater, Simon Harmer

Hampshire

Ali Orr, Felix Organ, Fletcha Middleton, James Vince (c), Joe Weatherley, Nick Gubbins, Toby Albert, Benny Howell, Ian Holland, James Fuller, Keith Barker, Liam Dawson, Michael Neser, Tom Prest, Ben Brown (wk), Ben McDermott, Joseph Eckland (wk), Brad Wheal, Chris Wood, John Turner, Kyle Abbott, Mohammad Abbas, Naveen-ul-Haq

Kent

Ben Compton, Daniel Bell-Drummond (c), Harry Finch, Jack Leaning, Joe Denly, Tawanda Muyeye, Zak Crawley, Grant Stewart, Jaydn Denly, Joey Evison, Marcus O’Riordan, Sam Billings (wk), Arafat Bhuiyan, Fred Klaassen, George Garrett, Hamidullah Qadri, Jaskaran Singh, Matt Parkinson, Matt Quinn, Michael Cohen, Nathan Gilchrist, Wes Agar, Xavier Bartlett

Lancashire

Josh Bohannon, Keaton Jennings (c), Luke Wells, Mitchell Stanley, Tom Bruce, George Balderson, Harry Singh, Liam Livingstone, Steven Croft, Tom Aspinwall, George Bell, George Lavelle (wk), Jos Buttler (wk), Matthew Hurst, Phil Salt (wk), Jack Blatherwick, James Anderson, Joshua Boyden, Luke Wood, Nathan Lyon, Saqib Mahmood, Tom Bailey, Tom Hartley, Will Williams

Nottinghamshire

Alex Hales, Ben Slater, Benjamin Martindale, Dane Schadendorf, Haseeb Hameed (c), Jack Haynes, Tom Loten, Will Young, Lyndon James, Steven Mullaney, Ben Duckett (wk), Joe Clarke (wk), Tom Moores (wk), Benjamin Lister, Brett Hutton, Calvin Harrison, Dane Paterson, Dillon Pennington, Fateh Singh, Fazalhaq Farooqi, James Hayes, Josh Tongue, Liam Patterson-White, Luke Fletcher, Matthew Carter, Matthew Montgomery, Olly Stone, Sam King, Toby Pettman

Somerset

Andrew Umeed, George Thomas, Sean Dickson, Tom Abell, Tom Banton, Tom Kohler- Cadmore, Tom Lammonby, Will Smeed, Ben Green, Josh Davey, Kasey Aldridge, Lewis Goldsworthy, Lewis Gregory (c), Ned Leonard, Roelof van der Merwe, James Rew (wk), Alfie Ogborne, Craig Overton, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir, Sonny Baker

Surrey

Ben Geddes, Cameron Steel, Dan Lawrence, Dominic Sibley, Jason Roy, Josh Blake, Laurie Evans, Ollie Pope, Rory Burns (c), Ryan Patel, Jordan Clark, Sam Curran, Thomas Lawes, Tom Curran, Tom Ealham, Will Jacks, Ben Foakes (wk), Jamie Smith (wk), Amar Virdi, Chris Jordan, Conor McKerr, Daniel Worrall, Gus Atkinson, James Taylor, Jamie Overton, Matt Dunn, Nathan Barnwell, Reece Topley, Yousef Majid

Warwickshire

Amir Khan, Dan Mousley, Hamza Shaikh, Robert Yates, Sam Hain, Chris Woakes, Jacob Bethell, Moeen Ali, Will Rhodes, Alex Davies (c & wk), Chris Benjamin (wk), Michael Burgess (wk), Che Simmons, Chris Rushworth, Craig Miles, Danny Briggs, Ed Barnard, George Garton, Hasan Ali, Jake Lintott, Liam Norwell, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Richard Gleeson

Worcestershire

Adam Hose, Ed Pollock, Jake Libby, Olly Cox, Rob Jones, Ben Gibbon, Brett D’Oliveira (c), Ethan Brookes, Jason Holder, Joe Leach, Josh Cobb, Kashif Ali, Matthew Waite, Rehaan Edavalath, Tom Taylor, Gareth Roderick (wk), Henry Cullen (wk), Adam Finch, Josh Baker, Nathan Smith, Usama Mir, Yadvinder Singh

Derbyshire

David Lloyd (c), Harry Came, Matthew Lamb, Mitchell Wagstaff, Ross Whiteley, Wayne Madsen, Alex Thomson, Anuj Dal, Luis Reece, Samit Patel, Aneurin Donald (wk), Brooke Guest (wk), Ben Aitchison, Blair Tickner, Jack Morley, Mohammad Amir, Nick Potts, Pat Brown, Samuel Conners, Zak Chappell

Glamorgan

Sam Northeast (c), Asa Tribe, Billy Root, Colin Ingram, Eddie Byrom, Kiran Carlson, Marnus Labuschagne, Thomas Bevan, Andy Gorvin, Ben Kellaway, Daniel Douthwaite, James Harris, Alex Horton (wk), Chris Cooke (wk), Henry Hurle (wk), William Smale (wk), Ben Morris, Harry Podmore, Jamie Mcllroy, Mason Crane, Mir Hamza, Prem Sisodiya, Timm van der Gugten, Zain-ul-Hassan

Gloucestershire

Graeme van Buuren (c), Cameron Bancroft, Chris Dent, Jack Taylor, Joe Phillips, Miles Hammond, Tom Price, Tommy Boorman, Ahmed Syed, Beau Webster, Ben Charlesworth, Ed Middleton, Luke Charlesworth, Oliver Price, Zaman Akhter, Ben Wells (wk), James Bracey (wk), Ajeet Dale, Archie Bailey, David Payne, Dominic Goodman, Josh Shaw, Marchant de Lange, Matt Taylor, Tom Smith, Zafar Gohar

Leicestershire

Marcus Harris, Rishi Patel, Sam Evans, Sol Budinger, Ben Mike, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Scriven, Wiaan Mulder, Ben Cox (wk), Harry Swindells (wk), Lewis Hill (c & wk), Louis Kimber (wk), Peter Handscomb (wk), Chris Wright, Josh Hull, Liam Trevaskis, Matt Salisbury, Roman Walker, Sam Wood, Scott Currie

Middlesex

Joshua De Caires, Leus du Plooy, Mark Stoneman, Max Holden, Sam Robson, Luke Hollman, Martin Andersson, Nathan Fernandes, Ryan Higgins, Jack Davies, Joe Cracknell, Robbie White, Stephen Eskinazi (wk), Blake Cullen, Ethan Bamber, Henry Brookes, Ishaan Kaushal, Noah Cornwell, Thilan Walallawita, Toby Roland-Jones (c), Tom Helm

Northamptonshire

Emilio Gay, George Bartlett, James Sales, Karun Nair, Prithvi Shaw, Saif Zaib, David Willey, Gus Miller, Luke Procter, Ravi Bopara, Rob Keogh, Sikandar Raza, Lewis McManus (wk), Ricardo Vasconcelos (wk), Alex Russell, Ben Sanderson, Chris Tremain, Freddie Heldreich, George Gowler, George Scrimshaw, Jack White, George Weldon.

Sussex

John Simpson (c & wk), Cheteshwar Pujara, Danial Ibrahim, Daniel Hughes, Harrison Ward, Tom Clark, Tom Haines, Zach Lion-Cachet, Bertie Foreman, Danny Lamb, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Henry Rogers, James Coles, Charlie Tear, Oliver Carter, Tom Alsop (wk), Archie Lenham, Aristides Karvelas, Bradley Currie, Henry Crocombe, Jack Carson, Jayden Seales, Jaydev Unadkat, Jofra Archer, Nathan McAndrew, Ollie Robinson, Sean Hunt, Tymal Mills.

Yorkshire

Shan Masood (c), Adam Lyth, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, James Wharton, Joe Root, Matthew Revis, William Luxton, George Hill, Jaffer Chohan, Jordan Thompson, Yash Vagadia, Donovan Ferreira (wk), Finlay Bean (wk), Harry Duke (wk), Jonathan Tattersall (wk), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Adil Rashid, Ben Coad, Benjamin Cliff, Matthew Fisher, Daniel Moriarty, Dom Bess, Dominic Leech, Mickey Edwards, Matt Milnes.

Where to watch the County Championship 2024 matches?

In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports has taken the responsibility for broadcasting the County matches live. However, it will also be available to stream on the BBC Sports.

Meanwhile, worldwide, the matches can streamed online at the official YouTube channels of the teams, for example, the matches of Durham will be available here.