1981 County Championship

1981 County Championship

Dates	6 May – 15 September 1981
Administrator	England and Wales Cricket Board
Cricket format	First-class cricket
Tournament format	League system
Champions	Nottinghamshire (3rd title)
Participants	17
Matches	187
Most runs	Zaheer Abbas, (Gloucestershire) 2,230
Most wickets	Richard Hadlee, (Nottinghamshire) 105

The 1981 Schweppes County Championship was the 82nd officially organised running of the County Championship. Nottinghamshire won the Championship title.

The number of points awarded for a win was increased to 16. The Championship was sponsored by Schweppes for the fourth time.

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
• Bonus points awarded in the first 100 overs of the first innings
  • Batting: 150 runs - 1 point, 200 runs - 2 points 250 runs - 3 points, 300 runs - 4 points
  • Bowling: 3-4 wickets - 1 point, 5-6 wickets - 2 points 7-8 wickets - 3 points, 9-10 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 on most wins.
• Each team plays 22 matches.

	Team	P	W	L	D	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Nottinghamshire	22	11	4	7	56	72	304
2	Sussex	22	11	3	8	58	68	302
3	Somerset	22	10	2	10	54	65	279
4	Middlesex	22	9	3	10	49	64	257
5	Essex	22	8	4	10	62	64	254
6	Surrey	22	7	5	10	52	72	236
7	Hampshire	22	6	7	9	45	65	206
8	Leicestershire	22	6	6	10	45	58	199
9	Kent	22	5	7	10	51	58	189
10	Yorkshire	22	5	9	8	41	66	187
11	Worcestershire	22	5	9	8	44	52	172
12	Derbyshire	22	4	7	11	51	57	172
13	Gloucestershire	22	4	3	15	51	55	170
14	Glamorgan	22	3	10	9	50	69	167
15	Northamptonshire	22	3	6	13	51	67	166
16	Lancashire	22	4	7	11	47	57	164
17	Warwickshire	22	2	11	9	56	47	135