The Friends Provident Trophy
is a one-day cricket competition in the United Kingdom. [1] The 2009 final was won by Hampshire. It is one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen first-class counties compete each season. They are joined by teams from Scotland and Ireland. The competition has previously been known as the C&G Trophy
(2000-2006), the NatWest Trophy
(1981-2000) and the Gillette Cup
(1963-1980). For a short period following the 2006 season, the competition was known as the ECB Trophy
because no sponsors were forthcoming when Cheltenham and Gloucester decided to end their association with the competition after the 2006 season.
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FRIENDS PROVIDENT TROPHY TICKETS
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Format
As of 2008, a new format has been introduced for the competition. The 18 counties, plus Scotland and Ireland, are split into 4 groups of 5. Each team plays the other in the group home once and away once, with the top 2 counties in the group going into the quarter finals.
[2]
For the 2006 and 2007, the eighteen English and Welsh first-class sides, plus Scotland and Ireland, were split into two groups of ten by geographical location. These were known as the North and South Conferences and were played in a
league format. Teams played each other only once, in 50 over games, gaining two points for a win, one point for a
no result and no points for a loss. Once the league positions were decided, the top teams from each Conference competed for the trophy in a final at
Lord's. In the 2007 season this involved a semi-final knock-out stage, the winner in each conference playing the runners-up in the other.
The competition is played in the first half of the cricket season with the final taking place in August. The other main domestic one-day competition, the
Natwest Pro 40 League, is played in the second half of the season.
History
Until the 2006 season, the competition was a straight
knock-out competition. Thirty-two teams were involved, including the
minor counties. The competition was played through the whole of the cricket season, and culminated in a final at
Lord's in September.
The tournament was introduced as the Gillette Cup in 1963. It was the first top level
one day competition to be introduced in English and Welsh cricket, amid concern about falling attendances at
County Championship matches in the early 1960s. In the inaugural season the matches were 65
overs per side, but this was reduced to 60 in 1964. In 1999 the number of overs was cut to 50 per side to give English and Welsh cricketers more experience of playing matches the same length as
One Day Internationals. In line with one day international cricket, teams played in coloured clothing since 2005.
This competition was cricketing version of football's
FA Cup with Minor Counties, Ireland and Scotland playing against the First Class Counties in the 1st round. Most times the established teams beat the part timers but very occasionally there was some "giant killing". Between 1963 and 2005 there were 15 "upsets" with
Durham as a minor county beating major counties twice and the most successful
Hertfordshire beating
Essex in 1976,
Middlesex in 2001 and winning a bowl-out versus
Derbyshire in 1991.
One of the most famous matches in the competition was the 1971 Gillette Cup semi final at
Old Trafford.
David Hughes of
Lancashire coming out to bat at 8.45 pm (before floodlights) and scoring 24 in one over to beat
Gloucestershire.
The tournament was always the more prestigious of the two "full length" one day cup competitions. The other was the
Benson & Hedges Cup, which was abolished in 2002 and replaced with the
Twenty20 Cup.
On August 27 2009, the ECB announced that in 2010 there will be a 40-overs per innings tournament replacing both the
Pro40 and the Friends Provident Trophy. This along with the
English County Championship and the
Twenty20 Cup will be English cricket's three domestic competitions.
[3]
The Final
The competition final was played at the beginning of September near the end of the domestic season. All finals have been played at
Lord's in London. Appearing in a Lord's final, especially this competition, was seen as the highlight of a county cricketer's career.
In later years, it bowling first at Lord's was seen as an advantage due to the late season conditions. This was a reason the final was moved to August. The 2009 final was played in July due so there was not a big gap in time between the group matches and the final match.
Final Results
Gillette Cup
| Year
| Final
|
| Winner
| Result
| Runner-up
|
1963
Details
65 overs max
| Sussex
168 (60.2 overs)
| Sussex won by 14 runs
| Worcestershire
154 (63.2 overs)
|
1964
Details
60 overs max
| Sussex
131 for 2 (41.2 overs)
| Sussex won by 8 wickets
| Warwickshire
127 (48 overs)
|
1965
Details
60 overs max
| Yorkshire
317 for 4 (60 overs)
| Yorkshire won by 175 runs
| Surrey
142 (40.4 overs)
|
1966
60 overs max
| Warwickshire
159 for 5 (56.4 overs)
| Warwickshire won by 5 wickets
| Worcestershire
155 for 8 (60 overs)
|
1967
60 overs max
| Kent
193 (59.4 overs)
| Kent won by 32 runs
| Somerset
161 (54.5 overs)
|
1968
60 overs max
| Warwickshire
215 for 6 (57 overs)
| Warwickshire won by 4 wickets
| Sussex
214 for 7 (60 overs)
|
1969
60 overs max
| Yorkshire
219 for 8 (60 overs)
| Yorkshire won by 69 runs
| Derbyshire
150 (54.4 overs)
|
1970
60 overs max
| Lancashire
185 for 4 (55.1 overs)
| Lancashire won by 6 wickets
| Sussex
184 for 9 (60 overs)
|
1971
60 overs max
| Lancashire
224 for 7 (60 overs)
| Lancashire won by 24 runs
| Kent
200 (56.2 overs)
|
1972
60 overs max
| Lancashire
235 for 6 (56.4 overs)
| Lancashire won by 4 wickets
| Warwickshire
234 for 9 (60 overs)
|
1973
60 overs max
| Gloucestershire
248 for 8 (60 overs)
| Gloucestershire won by 40 runs
| Sussex
208 (56.5 overs)
|
1974
60 overs max
| Kent
122 for 6 (46.5 overs)
| Kent won by 4 wickets
| Lancashire
118 (60 overs)
|
1975
60 overs max
| Lancashire
182 for 3 (57 overs)
| Lancashire won by 7 wickets
| Middlesex
180 for 8 (60 overs)
|
1976
60 overs max
| Northamptonshire
199 for 6 (58.1 overs)
| Northamptonshire won by 4 wickets
| Lancashire
195 for 7 (60 overs)
|
1977
60 overs max
| Middlesex
178 for 5 (55.4 overs)
| Middlesex won by 5 wickets
| Glamorgan
177 for 9 (60 overs)
|
1978
60 overs max
| Sussex
211 for 5 (53.1 overs)
| Sussex won by 5 wickets
| Somerset
207 for 7 (60 overs)
|
1979
60 overs max
| Somerset
269 for 8 (60 overs)
| Somerset won by 45 runs
| Northamptonshire
224 (56.3 overs)
|
1980
60 overs max
| Middlesex
202 for 3 (53.5 overs)
| Middlesex won by 7 wickets
| Surrey
201 (60 overs)
|
NatWest Trophy
| Year
| Final
|
| Winner
| Result
| Runner-up
|
1981
60 overs max
| Derbyshire
235 for 6 (60 overs)
| Match tied
Derbyshire won having lost fewer wickets
| Northamptonshire
235 for 9 (60 overs)
|
1982
60 overs max
| Surrey
159 for 1 (33.4 overs)
| Surrey won by 9 wickets
| Warwickshire
158 (57.2 overs)
|
1983
60 overs max
| Somerset
193 for 9 (60 overs)
| Somerset won by 24 runs
| Kent
169 (47.1 overs)
|
1984
60 overs max
| Middlesex
236 for 6 (60 overs)
| Middlesex won by 4 wickets
| Kent
232 for 6 (60 overs)
|
1985
60 overs max
| Essex
280 for 2 (60 overs)
| Essex won by 1 run
| Nottinghamshire
279 for 5 (60 overs)
|
1986
60 overs max
| Sussex
243 for 3 (58.2 overs)
| Sussex won by 7 wickets
| Lancashire
242 for 8 (60 overs)
|
1987
60 overs max
| Nottinghamshire
231 for 7 (49.3 overs)
| Nottinghamshire won by 3 wickets
Reserve day used; match reduced to 50 overs per innings
| Northamptonshire
228 for 3 (50 overs)
|
1988
60 overs max
| Middlesex
162 for 7 (55.3 overs)
| Middlesex won by 3 wickets
| Worcestershire
161 for 9 (60 overs)
|
1989
60 overs max
| Warwickshire
211 for 6 (59.4 overs)
| Warwickshire won by 4 wickets
| Middlesex
210 for 5 (60 overs)
|
1990
60 overs max
| Lancashire
173 for 3 (45.4 overs)
| Lancashire won by 7 wickets
| Northamptonshire
171 (60 overs)
|
1991
60 overs max
| Hampshire
243 for 6 (59.4 overs)
| Hampshire won by 4 wickets
| Surrey
240 for 5 (60 overs)
|
1992
60 overs max
| Northamptonshire
211 for 2 (49.4 overs)
| Northamptonshire won by 8 wickets
| Leicestershire
208 for 7 (60 overs)
|
1993
60 overs max
| Warwickshire
322 for 5 (60 overs)
| Warwickshire won by 5 wickets
| Sussex
321 for 6 (60 overs)
|
1994
60 overs max
| Worcestershire
227 for 2 (49.1 overs)
| Worcestershire won by 8 wickets
| Warwickshire
223 for 9 (60 overs)
|
1995
60 overs max
| Warwickshire
203 for 6 (58.5 overs)
| Warwickshire won by 4 wickets
| Northamptonshire
200 (59.5 overs)
|
1996
60 overs max
| Lancashire
186 (60 overs)
| Lancashire won by 129 runs
| Essex
57 (27.2 overs)
|
1997
60 overs max
| Essex
171 for 1 (26.3 overs)
| Essex won by 9 wickets
| Warwickshire
170 (60 overs)
|
1998
60 overs max
| Lancashire
109 for 1 (30.2 overs)
| Lancashire won by 9 wickets
| Derbyshire
108 (36.4 overs)
|
1999
| Gloucestershire
230 for 8 (50 overs)
| Gloucestershire won by 50 runs
| Somerset
180 (45.1 overs)
|
2000
| Gloucestershire
122 for 3 (29.4 overs)
| Gloucestershire won by 22 runs (D/L method)
Rain stopped play after 29.4 overs; Gloucestershire target revised to 101.
| Warwickshire
205 for 7 (50 overs)
|
C&G Trophy
| Year
| Final
|
| Winner
| Result
| Runner-up
|
2001
| Somerset
271 for 5 (50 overs)
| Somerset won by 41 runs
| Leicestershire
230 (45.4 overs)
|
2002
| Yorkshire
260 for 4 (48 overs)
| Yorkshire won by 6 wickets
| Somerset
256 for 8 (50 overs)
|
2003
| Gloucestershire
150 for 3 (20.3 overs)
| Gloucestershire won by 7 wickets
| Worcestershire
149 (46.3 overs)
|
2004
Details
| Gloucestershire
237 for 2 (43.5 overs)
| Gloucestershire won by 8 wickets
| Worcestershire
236 for 9 (50 overs)
|
2005
Details
| Hampshire
290 (50 overs)
| Hampshire won by 18 runs
| Warwickshire
272 (49.2 overs)
|
2006
Details
| Sussex
172 (47.1 overs)
| Sussex won by 15 runs
| Lancashire
157 (47.2 overs)
|
Friends Provident Trophy
| Year
| Final
|
| Winner
| Result
| Runner-up
|
2007
Details
| Durham
312/5 (50 overs)
| Durham won by 125 runs
Rain stopped play after 32.2 overs; Reserve day used
| Hampshire
187 (41 overs)
|
2008
Details
| Essex
218/5 (48.5 overs)
| Essex won by 5 wickets
| Kent
214 (50 overs)
|
2009
Details
| Hampshire
221/4 (40.3 overs)
| Hampshire won by 6 wickets
| Sussex
219/9 (50 overs)
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Wins by county 1963-2008
- 7 wins: Lancashire
- 5 wins: Gloucestershire; Sussex; Warwickshire
- 4 wins: Middlesex
- 3 wins: Somerset; Yorkshire; Essex; Hampshire
- 2 wins: Kent; Northamptonshire
- 1 win: Derbyshire; Durham; Nottinghamshire; Surrey; Worcestershire
First class counties with no wins:
Glamorgan and
Leicestershire
References
- [1]
- 2008 fixtures announced - Media Releases - News - ECB
- English game dumps 50 overs cricket - Cricinfo