English one-day cricket competitions

English domestic one-day cricket has a rich history. In 1963, the competition, which soon became known as the Gillette Cup, started and was a great success, leading to the popularisation of limited-over cricket throughout the world. To this day, the Cricket World Cup is contested under this format. The aim of this site is to summarise, in an accessible way, all such competitions (known as List A cricket) which have taken place in this country. At present, this format is in something akin to the doldrums, with only one competition (the Metro Bank Trophy) and that taking place in August, with most of the best players engaged in franchise cricket elsewhere. Nonetheless, there is a solid link between this competition and the very first exploration of this format, and this should be emphasised and celebrated – I hope this page will make a small contribution.

Worcestershire being my county, all mentions of their name are highlighted. Finals where I was lucky enough to be present are marked with an asterisk.

The Victor Ludorum – the main competition

The main English one-day competition has taken many structures, many formats and many sponsors. There is however, a thread joining them all together, a continuous chain of competitions involving all first-class counties, with the trophy being decided in a showpiece final at a major ground. I have whimsically called this sequence of competitions the Victor Ludorum (winner of the games) to indicate its stature, in whatever incarnation, as the foremost trophy of English one-day cricket.

Year	Name of Trophy	Number of participating teams	Structure	Number of overs	Location of final	Winners	Runners up	Link to scorecard		Notes
1963	The Knock-out Cup	17	Knock-out	65	Lord's	Sussex	Worcestershire	VL#1
1964	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Sussex	Warwickshire	VL#2		The previous season's top five Minor Counties teams added to those taking part.
1965	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Yorkshire	Surrey	VL#3
1966	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Warwickshire	Worcestershire	VL#4	*
1967	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Kent	Somerset	VL#5
1968	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Warwickshire	Sussex	VL#6	*
1969	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Yorkshire	Derbyshire	VL#7
1970	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Lancashire	Sussex	VL#8
1971	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Lancashire	Kent	VL#9	*
1972	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Lancashire	Warwickshire	VL#10	*
1973	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Gloucestershire	Sussex	VL#11
1974	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Kent	Lancashire	VL#12
1975	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Lancashire	Middlesex	VL#13
1976	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Northamptonshire	Lancashire	VL#14
1977	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Middlesex	Glamorgan	VL#15
1978	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Sussex	Somerset	VL#16
1979	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Somerset	Northamptonshire	VL#17	*
1980	Gilette Cup	22	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Middlesex	Surrey	VL#18		Ireland included.
1981	NatWest Trophy	23	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Derbyshire	Northamptonshire	VL#19
1982	NatWest Trophy	23	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Surrey	Warwickshire	VL#20
1983	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Somerset	Kent	VL#21		Scotland, more Minor Counties and Cricket Board XIs added.
1984	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Middlesex	Kent	VL#22
1985	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Essex	Nottinghamshire	VL#23	*
1986	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Sussex	Lancashire	VL#24	*
1987	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Nottinghamshire	Northamptonshire	VL#25
1988	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Middlesex	Worcestershire	VL#26
1989	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Warwickshire	Middlesex	VL#27	*
1990	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Lancashire	Northamptonshire	VL#28	*
1991	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Hampshire	Surrey	VL#29	*
1992	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Northamptonshire	Leicestershire	VL#30	*
1993	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Warwickshire	Sussex	VL#31	*
1994	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Worcestershire	Warwickshire	VL#32	*
1995	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Warwickshire	Northamptonshire	VL#33
1996	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Lancashire	Essex	VL#34	*
1997	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Essex	Warwickshire	VL#35	*
1998	NatWest Trophy	32	Knock-out	60	Lord's	Lancashire	Derbyshire	VL#36
1999	NatWest Trophy	60	Knock-out	50	Lord's	Gloucestershire	Somerset	VL#37
2000	NatWest Trophy	60	Knock-out	50	Lord's	Gloucestershire	Warwickshire	VL#38
2001	C&G Trophy	56	Knock-out	50	Lord's	Somerset	Leicestershire	VL#39	*	First two rounds of the 2002 tournament played at the end of 2001.
2002	C&G Trophy	60	Knock-out	50	Lord's	Yorkshire	Somerset	VL#40	*
2003	C&G Trophy	60	Knock-out	50	Lord's	Gloucestershire	Worcestershire	VL#41	*
2004	C&G Trophy	60	Knock-out	50	Lord's	Gloucestershire	Worcestershire	VL#42	*
2005	C&G Trophy	32	Knock-out	50	Lord's	Hampshire	Warwickshire	VL#43		Coloured clothing introduced, although only for first-class sides.
2006	C&G Trophy	20	Two group of ten then final	50	Lord's	Sussex	Lancashire	VL#44
2007	C&G Trophy	20	Two group of ten then final	50	Lord's	Durham	Hampshire	VL#45
2008	C&G Trophy	20	Two group of ten then final	50	Lord's	Essex	Kent	VL#46
2009	C&G Trophy	20	Two group of ten then final	50	Lord's	Hampshire	Sussex	VL#47
2010	Clydesdale Bank 40	21	Three groups of seven then semi-finals	40	Lord's	Warwickshire	Somerset	VL#48
2011	Clydesdale Bank 40	21	Three groups of seven then semi-finals	40	Lord's	Surrey	Somerset	VL#49
2012	Clydesdale Bank 40	21	Three groups of seven then semi-finals	40	Lord's	Hampshire	Warwickshire	VL#50
2013	Yorkshire Bank 40	21	Three groups of seven then semi-finals	40	Lord's	Nottinghamshire	Glamorgan	VL#51
2014	Royal London One-Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then quarter-finals	50	Lord's	Durham	Warwickshire	VL#52
2015	Royal London One-Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then quarter-finals	50	Lord's	Gloucestershire	Surrey	VL#53
2016	Royal London One-Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Lord's	Warwickshire	Surrey	VL#54
2017	Royal London One-Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Lord's	Nottinghamshire	Surrey	VL#55
2018	Royal London One-Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Lord's	Hampshire	Kent	VL#56
2019	Royal London One-Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Lord's	Somerset	Hampshire	VL#57
2020	Cancelled
2021	Royal London One-Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Trent Bridge	Glamorgan	Durham	VL#58		Scheduled to take place at the same time as the Hundred franchise competition, so many top players unable to take part.
2022	Metro Bank One Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Trent Bridge	Kent	Lancashire	VL#59
2023	Metro Bank One Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Trent Bridge	Leicestershire	Hampshire	VL#60
2024	Metro Bank One Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Trent Bridge	Glamorgan	Somerset	VL#61
2025	Metro Bank One Day Cup	18	Two groups of nine then play-offs, then semi-finals	50	Trent Bridge	Worcestershire	Hampshire	VL#62	*

Footnote – In 1962 there was a 65-over competition called the “Midlands Knockout Competition” featuring Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Northamptonshire, won by Northamptonshire. This was effectively a trial run for the full competition.

One day cricket league

Such was the success of the limited-overs game that there was a clear demand for more. With the straight knock-out format prevailing, teams were only guaranteed one match, quite possible away from home. Meanwhile, an exhibition team called the International Cavaliers who played on Sunday afternoons, were proving very popular. The attraction of a Sunday league was obvious, John Player were recruited as sponsors and it became a great success, with one match televised live every week. Over time, it moved away from Sundays to some extent, and eventually the competition disappeared at the end of 2009, Twenty20 having overtaken its appeal.

Year	Name of Trophy	Number of teams	Number of divisions	Number of overs	Winners	Relegated	Division 2 winners	(Also) Promoted	Notes
1969	John Player's County League	17	1	40	Lancashire	Not applicable
1970	John Player League	17	1	40	Lancashire	Not applicable
1971	John Player League	17	1	40	Worcestershire	Not applicable
1972	John Player League	17	1	40	Kent	Not applicable
1973	John Player League	17	1	40	Kent	Not applicable
1974	John Player League	17	1	40	Leicestershire	Not applicable
1975	John Player League	17	1	40	Hampshire	Not applicable
1976	John Player League	17	1	40	Kent	Not applicable
1977	John Player League	17	1	40	Leicestershire	Not applicable
1978	John Player League	17	1	40	Hampshire	Not applicable
1979	John Player League	17	1	40	Somerset	Not applicable
1980	John Player League	17	1	40	Warwickshire	Not applicable
1981	John Player League	17	1	40	Essex	Not applicable
1982	John Player League	17	1	40	Sussex	Not applicable
1983	John Player League	17	1	40	Yorkshire	Not applicable
1984	John Player Special League	17	1	40	Essex	Not applicable
1985	John Player Special League	17	1	40	Essex	Not applicable
1986	John Player Special League	17	1	40	Hampshire	Not applicable
1987	Refuge Assurance League	17	1	40	Worcestershire	Not applicable
1988	Refuge Assurance League	17	1	40	Worcestershire	Not applicable
1989	Refuge Assurance League	17	1	40	Lancashire	Not applicable
1990	Refuge Assurance League	17	1	40	Derbyshire	Not applicable
1991	Refuge Assurance League	17	1	40	Nottinghamshire	Not applicable			First match not on a Sunday
1992	Sunday League	18	1	40	Middlesex	Not applicable
1993	AXA Equity & Law League	18	1	50	Glamorgan	Not applicable			Coloured clothing, white ball introduced.
1994	AXA Equity & Law League	18	1	40	Warwickshire	Not applicable
1995	AXA Equity & Law League	18	1	40	Kent	Not applicable
1996	AXA Equity & Law League	18	1	40	Surrey	Not applicable
1997	AXA Life League	18	1	40	Warwickshire	Not applicable
1998	AXA League	18	1	40	Lancashire	Not applicable
1999	CGU National League	18	2	45	Lancashire	Warwickshire, Hampshire, Essex	Sussex	Somerset, Northamptonshire
2000	Norwich Union National League	18	2	45	Gloucestershire	Worcestershire, Lancashire, Sussex	Surrey	Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire
2001	Norwich Union League	18	2	45	Kent	Gloucestershire, Surrey, Northamptonshire	Glamorgan	Durham, Worcestershire
2002	Norwich Union League	18	2	45	Glamorgan	Somerset, Durham, Nottinghamshire	Gloucestershire	Surrey, Essex
2003	National League	19	2	45	Surrey	Leicestershire, Yorkshire, Worcestershire	Lancashire	Northamptonshire, Hampshire	Scotland participated for this and the next two years.
2004	totesport League	19	2	45	Glamorgan	Warwickshire, Kent, Surrey	Middlesex	Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire
2005	totesport League	19	2	45	Essex	Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Hampshire	Sussex	Durham, Warwickshire
2006	NatWest Pro40	18	2	40	Essex	Glamorgan, Durham, Middlesex	Gloucestershire	Worcestershire, Hampshire
2007	NatWest Pro40	18	2	40	Worcestershire	Warwickshire, Essex, Northamptonshire	Durham	Somerset, Middlesex
2008	NatWest Pro40	18	2	40	Sussex	Middlesex, Lancashire	Essex	Yorkshire
2009	NatWest Pro40	18	2	40	Sussex	Not applicable	Warwickshire	Not applicable

Footnote – during 1987-1991, the last four years of the period of Refuge Assurance’s sponsorship, a spin-off competition was run. This was known as the Refuge Assurance Cup and consisted of a knock-out competition between the top four finishers in the league. The finals were held at a test match ground, and the outcomes were:

• 1988 – Lancashire beat Worcestershire at Edgbaston RA#1 *
• 1989 – Essex beat Nottingham at Edgbaston RA#2
• 1990 – Middlesex beat Derbyshire at Edgbaston RA#3
• 1991 – Worcestershire beat Lancashire at Old Trafford RA#4 *

The Benson and Hedges Cup – the secondary knock-out competition

With the Gillette Cup and the Sunday league going well, there was considered to be potential for another trophy, this time combining elements of both league and knock-out structure, all leading to another Lord’s final, this one being held in mid-season. Again, it was to prove a success, the prestige of winning only marginally less than that applying to the Gillette Cup. Benson and Hedges stayed with it for 31 years, making it the longest continuous spell of sponsorship in English cricket history.

In its latter years it increasingly came under fire, critics arguing it was one competition too many and increasing legislation against tobacco advertising gave the authorities the chance to quietly kill it off. In its place came a new format, Twenty20, and the rest is history.

Year	Number of teams	Structure	Number of overs	Winner	Runners up	Link to scorecard		Notes
1972	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Leicestershire	Yorkshire	BH#1
1973	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Kent	Worcestershire	BH#2	*
1974	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Surrey	Leicestershire	BH#3
1975	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Leicestershire	Middlesex	BH#4
1976	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Kent	Worcestershire	BH#5	*
1977	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Gloucestershire	Kent	BH#6
1978	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Kent	Derbyshire	BH#7
1979	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Essex	Surrey	BH#8
1980	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Northamptonshire	Essex	BH#9
1981	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Somerset	Surrey	BH#10
1982	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Somerset	Nottinghamshire	BH#11
1983	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Middlesex	Essex	BH#12
1984	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Lancashire	Warwickshire	BH#13
1985	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Leicestershire	Essex	BH#14
1986	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Middlesex	Kent	BH#15
1987	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Yorkshire	Northamptonshire	BH#16
1988	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Hampshire	Derbyshire	BH#17
1989	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Nottinghamshire	Essex	BH#18
1990	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Lancashire	Worcestershire	BH#19	*
1991	20	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Worcestershire	Lancashire	BH#20	*
1992	21	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Hampshire	Kent	BH#21	*
1993	21	Knock-out	55	Derbyshire	Lancashire	BH#22	*
1994	22	Knock-out	55	Warwickshire	Worcestershire	BH#23
1995	22	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	55	Lancashire	Kent	BH#24	*
1996	22	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	50	Lancashire	Northamptonshire	BH#25
1997	22	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	50	Surrey	Kent	BH#26
1998	22	Four zonal groups then eight team knock-out	50	Essex	Leicestershire	BH#27	*
1999	8	Knock-out	50	Gloucestershire	Yorkshire	BH#28		Only top eight sides from previous County Championship participated. A one-off absurdity.
2000	18	Three zonal groups then eight team knock-out	50	Gloucestershire	Glamorgan	BH#29
2001	18	Three zonal groups then eight team knock-out	50	Surrey	Gloucestershire	BH#30
2002	18	Three zonal groups then eight team knock-out	50	Warwickshire	Essex	BH#31

A few statistics

• To date, 97 List A finals have been held, including the four Refuge Assurance Cup finals, but excluding the 1962 Midland Counties Tournament.
• I have attended thirty of them. Not bad.
• Worcestershire have appeared in fourteen finals, winning four and losing ten.
• Adding in the league competition, there have been a total of 138 titles contested.
• Worcestershire have won eight of them – 6%, more or less their ‘fair share’. But only just.