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The 1998 Britannic Assurance County Championship was the 99th officially organised running of the County Championship. Leicestershire won the title,[1][2] and were the first undefeated Champion since Hampshire in 1973.[3]

The Championship was sponsored by Britannic Assurance for the fifteenth and last time.[4]

Table

  • 16 points for a win
  • 8 points to each team for a tie
  • 8 points to team still batting in a match in which scores finish level
  • 3 points for a draw
  • Bonus points awarded in first 120 overs of first innings
    • Batting:
      • 200 runs – 1 point
      • 250 runs – 2 points
      • 300 runs – 3 points
      • 350 runs – 4 points
    • Bowling:
      • 3 or 4 wickets – 1 point,
      • 5 or 6 wickets – 2 points
      • 7 or 8 wickets – 3 points
      • 9 or 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 by the following tiebreakers in order:[5]
  1. Most wins
  2. Fewest losses
  3. Most points in head-to-head contests
  4. Most wickets taken over whole season
  5. Most runs scored over whole season
County Championship table
Team Pld Won Lost Drawn Batting bonus Bowling bonus Points
1 Leicestershire 17 11 0 6 47 51 292
2 Lancashire 17 11 1 5 30 56 277
3 Yorkshire 17 9 3 5 47 63 269
4 Gloucestershire 17 11 5 1 23 65 267
5 Surrey 17 10 5 2 38 57 261
6 Hampshire 17 6 5 6 27 61 202
7 Sussex 17 6 7 4 30 63 201
8 Warwickshire 17 6 8 3 35 60 200
9 Somerset 17 6 7 4 30 54 192
10 Derbyshire 17 6 7 4 28 55 191
11 Kent 17 5 5 7 18 59 178
12[i] Glamorgan 17 4 6 7 36 55 176
13[i] Worcestershire 17 4 6 7 32 59 176
14 Durham 17 3 9 5 30 65 158
15 Northamptonshire 17 4 5 8 31 52 146[ii]
16 Nottinghamshire 17 3 10 4 20 60 140
17 Middlesex 17 2 9 6 28 52 130
18 Essex 17 2 11 4 16 58 118

Notable events

  • May 23–24: Northamptonshire’s second innings total of 712 against Glamorgan at Northampton was the highest second-innings total in English first-class cricket, surpassing Cambridge University‘s 703 for 9 against Sussex in 1890.[6]
    • Malachy Loye‘s 322 during this innings was the highest innings played by any batsman during a second innings in English first-class cricket, surpassing Emrys Davies‘ 287 for Glamorgan against Gloucestershire in 1939.
  • June 21: Andrew Flintoff of Lancashire takes 38 runs[iii] off an over by Surrey’s Alex Tudor, breaking the English first-class record of 36 by Garfield Sobers from 1968.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Glamorgan finished ahead of Worcestershire by virtue of having taken more wickets over the whole season.[5]
  2. ^ Northamptonshire lost 25 points for preparing a pitch deemed unsuitable for first-class cricket
  3. ^ This includes four runs for two no-balls

References

  1. ^ Engel, Matthew, ed. (2004). Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack (141st ed.). John Wisden & Company Ltd. pp. 493–494. ISBN 0-947766-83-9.
  2. ^ Lee, Alan (21 September 1998). “Leicestershire united in triumph”. The Times. London.
  3. ^ Engel, Matthew, ed. (1998). “Leicestershire in 1998”. Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack (136th ed.). p. 559.
  4. ^ “That’s out: the sponsors who walked”. The Guardian. 20 August 1999. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b Engel, Matthew, ed. (1999). “Brittanic Assurance County Championship, 1998”. Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack (136th ed.). pp. 436–438.
  6. ^ Engel, Matthew, ed. (1999). “Northamptonshire in 1998”. Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack (136th ed.). pp. 593–594.
  7. ^ Engel, Matthew, ed. (1999). “Lancashire in 1998”. Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack (136th ed.). p. 553.