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106-482: The County Ground , known for sponsorship reasons as Cooper Associates County Ground , is a cricket ground in Taunton , Somerset . It is the home of Somerset County Cricket Club , who have played there since 1882. The ground, which is located between Priory Bridge Road and St James Street, has a capacity of 8,500. The ground was originally built as part of a sports centre by Taunton Athletic Club in 1881, and became

212-826: A Grade II* listed building . The exhibits and displays in the museum primarily cover the cricket club's history including Test match players such as Ian Botham and Marcus Trescothick . It also has a section devoted to the England women's cricket team , due to the County Ground being their headquarters. The museum also hosts a collection of I Zingari memorabilia, a club to whom current chairman Charles Clive Ponsonby-Fane has strong family links. In June 2010, Somerset County Cricket Club officially reopened 'The Colin Atkinson Pavilion' after undergoing GBP1.25 million ($ 1.8 million) of redevelopment – this, together with

318-528: A Kent supporter celebrating a victory over Hampshire in terms of "(we shall) bring down the pride of the Hambledon Club". Analysis of 18th century matches has identified a number of strong teams who actually or effectively proclaimed their temporal superiority. The most successful county teams were Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. But there was often a crossover between town and county with some strong local clubs tending at times to represent

424-455: A certain number of runs or taking a certain number of wickets in the first 110 overs of each first innings (the number of overs has changed at various times, but has been 110 since 2010). In an effort to prevent early finishes, points have been awarded for draws since 1996. From 1974 to 1981 there was a limit of 200 overs for the first two innings; the team batting first were restricted to 100 overs and any unused overs were added to those allowed to

530-409: A corporate-purchased name must always be referred to in all event-related media (including live broadcasts) by a generic name (e.g., General Motors Place was referred to as "Canada Hockey Place" during the 2010 Winter Olympics ). On the other hand, Toyota Stadium was referred to as "City of Toyota Stadium" during the 2019 Rugby World Cup to avoid confusion as a form of ambush marketing; the stadium

636-595: A covered section of the ground with a shallow incline. The eastern side of the ground holds both the Family Stand and the front of main scoreboard stand. Between the two are the Ondaatje Pavilion and the Andy Caddick pavilion, the newest of the pavilions on the ground, and the one currently that currently houses the team's changing room facilities. To the north of the front of main scoreboard stand

742-594: A day before he then played at the Diamond Jubilee Concert in London. In October 2008, as part of Marcus Trescothick 's benefit season, the ground was converted into a baseball field, and a team of cricketers led by Trescothick, known as 'Marcus Trescothick's Bangers' took on the Great Britain national baseball team . Great Britain won 21–1. There are six ODI centuries that have been scored at

848-565: A grandstand and pavilion on the ground ready for a 15-mile bicycle race between French champion Frédéric de Civry and John Keen in August 1881. Known as the Taunton Athletic Ground, Somerset County Cricket Club played their maiden first-class game there in 1882. Originally a nomadic club, Somerset played their home matches across the county, relying on the good will of other people. Four first-class matches were played at

954-488: A means of deciding the champion. This was a method that, in a modified form, permeated through to the official championship when one point was awarded for a win but one was deducted for a defeat. It was discontinued after 1909 as it was deemed to be inherently unsatisfactory and a points per win method replaced it in 1910. As Derek Birley describes, the papers did not use standard criteria and so there were several seasons in which any title must be considered "shared", as there

1060-552: A name of the sponsor as their team or club name (see List of sports clubs named after a sponsor). In association football , leagues and cup competitions sometimes adopt the name of their sponsors. For example, England 's Premier League was known as the Barclays Premier League until 2016, and its FA Cup is officially the Emirates FA Cup. The Premier League announced in 2015 that it would not accept

1166-469: A particular club as the "Champion County", an archaic term which now has the specific meaning of a claimant for the unofficial title prior to 1890. In contrast, the term "County Champions" applies in common parlance to a team that has won the official title. The most usual means of claiming the unofficial title was by popular or press acclaim. In the majority of cases, the claim or proclamation was retrospective, often by cricket writers using reverse analysis via

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1272-417: A particular team and recorded at the time; (b) reverse analysis performed by a writer who was trying to establish the best team in a given season by reference to the known fixtures and results. It must be stressed that the purpose of such lists when published has never been to ascribe any kind of ruling but rather to provoke discussion. No real credibility can be attached to such claims except to acknowledge that

1378-488: A points system was introduced but it has been subject to several variations. In the 1891 season, Somerset competed in the championship and in 1895 Derbyshire , Essex , Hampshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire all joined; the rules were changed so each side had to play at least 16 matches per season. Until World War II , counties played differing numbers of matches, except that all counties were required to play 28 matches in each season from 1929 to 1932 inclusive. When

1484-603: A property in recognition of the financial support. This is not a financial transaction in the style of the private sector. For example, in honor of the more than $ 60 million donated over the years by one donor to the National Air and Space Museum properties, the directors of the Smithsonian Institution chose to name its satellite facility in Loudoun County, Virginia , after the donor, calling it

1590-418: A similar meeting in private, and unanimously decided to apply the same rule to minor county cricket". The first-ever official cricket County Championship match began on 12 May 1890: Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. James Cranston (Gloucestershire) scored the first century in the competition. The final positions in 1890 were based on number of wins minus the number of losses. Later,

1696-537: A sorry plight", were considering building their own ground. Athletics was booming in the town, and it was an amalgamation of sporting clubs that leased seven and a half acres of land known as "Rack Field" from local gentleman farmer John Winter for £50 per year. A cricket pitch, cycling-track and running-track were all laid on the ground with great difficulty; with the land lying next to the River Tone . Although Edward Western promised that Somerset could play fixtures on

1802-531: A study of known results. The unofficial title was not proclaimed in every season up to 1889 because in many cases there were not enough matches or there was simply no clear candidate. Having already been badly hit by the Seven Years' War , county cricket ceased altogether during the Napoleonic Wars and there was a period from 1797 to 1824 during which no inter-county matches took place. The concept of

1908-474: A team was especially strong over a number of years: e.g., Kent in the 1720s; London in the 1730s; Hampshire in the 1770s and 1780s; Sussex in the 1820s; Kent in the 1840s; and Surrey in the 1850s. From 1864 to 1889, the county championship title remained unofficial except that the idea was widely promoted by individuals in the contemporary press and that had not happened hitherto apart from occasional points of view. Each journalist tended to have his own ideas about

2014-620: A title sponsorship beginning in the 2016–17 season. Since 2020, the French Professional Football Ligue adopted the name of Ligue 1 Uber Eats . In college football , most bowl games have modified their traditional names in favor of title sponsors, and in some cases have abandoned their traditional names. While most include their traditional name in some form (e.g. the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential ), some have moved to sponsor-only names (e.g.

2120-527: A whole county. Examples are London , which often played against county teams and was in some respects almost a county club in itself; Slindon , which was for a few years in the 1740s effectively representative of Sussex as a county; Dartford , often representative of Kent; and the Hambledon Club , certainly representative of Hampshire and also perhaps of Sussex. Other good county teams in the 18th century were Berkshire , Essex and Middlesex . Using

2226-603: Is Willis Tower in Chicago which was and often still is referred to as the "Sears Tower", even though the building was sold in 1994 (but retained its former name until 2003). Sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup , UEFA Euro , Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games prohibit the use of corporate-sponsored name on stadiums, construing the practice as a form of ambush marketing . Any stadium that uses

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2332-500: Is not named after Toyota Motor Corporation , but the name of the city in which the stadium is located (though the city was named after the company). The regular corporate signage of a site, including billboards and deck advertising, is usually covered up in these cases; in the FIFA case the signage is replaced solely with FIFA sponsors. However, with the near-universal use of LED ribbon boards, scoreboards, and sideline boardings since

2438-458: Is a commercial company that since 1979 has sold unofficial naming rights to stars ( i.e. , the astronomical objects ). The naming services are limited to an entry in a book, and carry no scientific or official authenticity according to professional astronomers. In some places, and especially in the UK and United States, the naming or renaming of arenas or events is usually met with disapproval from

2544-690: Is best known to the non-farming public for its insurance business, acquired the naming rights to the University of Kentucky 's new baseball park in 2018. The Farm Bureau in turn donated those naming rights to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture , naming the venue Kentucky Proud Park . The sponsored name is the brand used by said state agency in its marketing campaign for agricultural products produced in that state. Naming rights in United States may have been traced back to 1912 with

2650-632: Is closely related. Probably the most notable example of this is Friends Arena , a major stadium in Stockholm . The facility was originally known as Swedbank Arena, but in 2012 that company donated those rights to the Friends Foundation, an organization heavily sponsored by Swedbank that seeks to combat school bullying . More recently, the Kentucky Farm Bureau , an organization promoting the interests of Kentucky farmers that

2756-472: Is largely traced to the family names of company founders. The record for the highest amount paid for naming rights belongs to Crypto.com Arena . On November 17, 2021, a 20-year, US$ 700 million sponsorship deal was reached between Anschutz Entertainment Group and Singapore-based Crypto.com to rename Los Angeles's Staples Center (the Staples office supply store chain was the previous naming rights holder to

2862-541: Is located at the southern end of the ground, and has a small number of seats on its upper tier. On the ground floor, it houses a bar and restaurant. Between the Old Pavilion and the Somerset Stand is Gimblett's Hill, an area that backs onto the churchyard of St. James Church. This section of the ground has a small number of wooden benches at ground-level. To the east of the Old Pavilion is St James Street Stand,

2968-461: Is necessary to increase the boundaries. In October 2012, the ECB granted Somerset approval to move the County Ground to the technical specifications required for international one day cricket, paving the way for smaller international fixtures to be held at the ground in the future. Phase 2 (as above) is currently under-way. The Old Pavilion and adjacent St James Street Stand were demolished shortly after

3074-428: Is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as a two-league system . The tournament is contested by eighteen clubs representing the historic counties of England and (in one case) Wales . The reigning champions are Surrey . The earliest known inter-county match was played in 1709. Until 1889, the concept of an unofficial county championship existed whereby various claims would be made by or on behalf of

3180-569: Is the Colin Atkinson Pavilion. A member's area, this has a small number of seats and accommodates the member's bar and restaurant. The second tier, formerly the player's changing rooms, has been converted into a Long Room which seats over 180 spectators. The Sir Ian Botham Stand is at the northern end of the ground, and provides covered member's seating. To the west of this is the Marcus Trescothick Stand, which

3286-471: The 1890 season and at first involved just the eight leading clubs: Gloucestershire , Kent , Lancashire , Middlesex , Nottinghamshire , Surrey , Sussex and Yorkshire . Subsequently, the championship has been expanded to 18 clubs by the additions at various times of Derbyshire , Durham , Essex , Glamorgan , Hampshire , Leicestershire , Northamptonshire , Somerset , Warwickshire and Worcestershire . Counties without first-class status compete in

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3392-536: The 2020 and 2021 seasons, there was no promotion or relegation due to the revised formats brought around by the COVID-19 pandemic . Durham finished fourth in 2016 but were relegated as a penalty by the ECB over financial issues, replacing Hampshire who finished eighth. Since the expansion of the Championship from 9 counties to 14 in 1895, the wooden spoon for finishing bottom has been 'won' by

3498-588: The Busch Memorial Stadium in 1966 , shortened in the 1970s to "Busch Stadium" and remained the stadium's name until it closed in 2005. By that time, Major League Baseball 's policy had changed – with Coors Field in Denver and Miller Park in Milwaukee going up in that span – and Anheuser-Busch (who retained the naming rights after selling the team) was able to use the same name for

3604-641: The Emirates Stadium , their previous ground being Arsenal Stadium . In cricket, the most famous example is The Oval , home of Surrey County Cricket Club . It has had several sponsors over the years, and is currently known as "The Kia Oval", having originally been known as the "Kennington Oval", after the district of London in which it is located. While the highest prices have traditionally been paid for stadium rights, many companies and individuals have found that selling their naming rights can be an important consideration in funding their business. Since

3710-591: The Gator Bowl was known for four playings as the TaxSlayer Bowl), a move that generally is treated with consternation from fans. Some newer bowl games have been named after title sponsors since inception—for example, the Blockbuster Bowl , original named after Blockbuster Video when it debuted in 1990, has gone through multiple sponsorship and naming changes; for its December 2023 playing, it

3816-605: The MBTA 's State Street station by Citizens Bank lasted from 1997 to 2000. In Tampa , naming rights for both streetcar stations and rolling stock are available. In December 2016, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a naming rights policy for its facilities and routes, but later rescinded the policy two months later over potential lawsuits for skipping sponsors. Examples outside of

3922-524: The National Counties Cricket Championship . It is difficult to know when the concept of a county championship originated. While early matches were often between teams named after counties, they were not the club teams the usage would imply today. Rowland Bowen states in his history that the earliest usage of the term "County Championship" occurred in 1837 re a match between Kent and Nottingham Cricket Club which for

4028-598: The New York Giants and New York Jets in East Rutherford, New Jersey , US, was expected to eclipse both deals, with experts estimating it would value US$ 25–30 million annually. It ultimately fell short of that benchmark, with MetLife Stadium earning $ 17 million annually from its naming rights deal with MetLife . Occasionally, the purchaser of a stadium's naming rights may choose to donate those rights to an outside organization, typically one to which it

4134-757: The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center . Walgreen Coast , a portion of the coast of Antarctica , was so named because the Walgreens pharmacy chain sponsored the Byrd Antarctic Expedition . County Championship The County Championship , currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Vitality County Championship , is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it

4240-718: The Winston Cup Series featured sponsor names (including the Daytona 500 , which was given a presenting sponsor as the Daytona 500 by STP ), with little or no reference to the original names. As of the 2010s, very few exceptions remain in NASCAR (such as the Daytona 500, which no longer uses the presenting sponsor), and typically races without sponsor names only lack them because a suitable sponsor could not be secured in enough time. IndyCar follows suit, with most races (except

4346-502: The roundarm trial matches , although the team's involvement in these matches had more to do with the fact that Sussex was the prime mover in the " roundarm revolution". Kent, which had a celebrated team at the time, has long been acknowledged as a champion county in most seasons of the 1840s but in other years there is no clear-cut contender. The middle years of the 19th century are the period of county club formation. So, when title "claims" were made on behalf of Sussex in 1826 and 1827, it

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4452-605: The 10 largest football stadiums have their naming rights sold to corporate sponsors. The practice is widening in the United Kingdom; for instance the current stadium of Bolton Wanderers is the Toughsheet Community Stadium (after 17 years as Reebok Stadium, 4 as Macron Stadium and 5 as the University of Bolton stadium) and Arsenal Football Club 's stadium (opened for the 2006/2007 season) is

4558-479: The 1873 season but that is a convenient date decided upon many years later" because 1873 was "the first season in which rules of county qualification were in operation". Webber acknowledges the difficulties posed from 1873 to 1890 by varying programmes with some county clubs playing many more matches than others. For example, in 1874 when Derbyshire was held by some to have won the title, they played only four matches while Yorkshire played twelve. A list of champions for

4664-544: The Bob Willis Trophy in a five-day final at Lords. The County Championship works on a points system, with the winner being the team with most points in the first division. The points are currently awarded as follows, with a draw being increased to 8 points from 2024 after a reduction to 5 points in 2023: Win : 16 points + bonus points Tie : 8 points + bonus points Draw : 8 points + bonus points Loss : Bonus points Bonus points may be earned during

4770-571: The Cardinals' new stadium which opened on April 4, 2006. Foxboro Stadium , the home of the New England Patriots between 1971 and 2001, was an early example of a team selling naming rights to a company that did not own it, naming the stadium Schaefer Stadium after the beer company from its opening until 1983. The public reaction to this practice is mixed. Naming rights sold to new venues have largely been accepted, especially if

4876-461: The Cardinals, " Budweiser Stadium". When this idea was rejected by Ford Frick , the Commissioner of Baseball at that time, Anheuser-Busch then proposed the title "Busch Stadium" after one of the company's founders. The name was readily approved, and Anheuser-Busch subsequently released a new product called "Busch Bavarian Beer" (now known as Busch Beer ). The name would later be shifted to

4982-477: The County Ground from 1961 to 1979. The track was constructed around the perimeter of the cricket pitch and was used from 8 December 1961 until 3 May 1979. The track was known as the Priory Greyhound Stadium with racing was on Tuesday and Friday evenings at 7.30pm. It was described as a pear shaped track with distances of 275, 400, 500, 525, 750 and 900 yards. The circumference was 485 yards and

5088-687: The County Ground is surrounded by a number of stands and pavilions. The members' areas, situated at the River End of the ground consists of the Colin Atkinson Pavilion, the Sir Ian Botham Stand and the Marcus Trescothick stand. The non-members' areas, covering the rest of the ground consists of the front of main scoreboard stand, the Family Stand, St James Street Stand, Old Pavilion, Gimblett 's Hill and

5194-487: The Evraz steel company – mistakenly believing that the company's North American division was based there. However, the main motivation for accelerating the name change was the perceived need to disassociate with the steel company, largely owned by Russian oligarchs, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . A nonprofit organization has the option to recognize a major gift from a donor by bestowing naming rights to

5300-567: The Game (1882–1889). The final tally over these 26 seasons was, therefore, Nottinghamshire (8 titles plus 7 shared); Gloucestershire (3/1); Surrey (3/1); Yorkshire (2/3); Lancashire (1/3); Middlesex (1/0). Prior to 1873, it was quite common for players to compete for both their county of birth and county of residence during a single season. Beginning in December 1872, three meetings were convened at which qualification rules were established, with

5406-463: The Somerset Stand. The largest stand at the County Ground is the Somerset Stand, which was opened at the start of the 2009 season. The stand was built as the first stage of a ground development project, and can accommodate over 3,000 spectators. Behind the Somerset Stand is the Pegasus Court development, containing 65 luxury retirement apartments overlooking the cricket ground. The Old Pavilion

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5512-627: The United States include Madrid Metro where the metro line Line 2 and the station Sol was renamed from 2013 to 2016 after the mobile phone operator Vodafone , and Monumento Station in the Manila Light Rail Transit System in the Philippines , which was renamed Yamaha Monumento Station on February 14, 2018, after renovations. Naming rights in the realm of sports is common for both stadiums and sports competitions and series. In addition, some sports teams adopt

5618-469: The absence of their regular user. For the less well off, hard benches were placed around much of the ground, and the floor was used by many others, particularly under some chestnut trees . A public bar was erected soon after, and was well used, especially after the First World War. In 1925, some of the seats were removed in one corner of the ground, and a hill was built to provide a superior view of

5724-420: The aim of mitigating the impact of COVID-19. This consisted of three seeded groups of six teams playing home and away, after which the final three divisions were allocated, and the teams played the four teams they had not already played in their new division home and away. The top team in the top division at the end of the season were crowned Champions, with the top two teams in the top division going on to play for

5830-649: The arena, having held them since the venue's opening in 1999). The home of the NHL 's Los Angeles Kings and NBA 's Los Angeles Lakers became known as Crypto.com Arena on December 25, 2021. Prior to the Crypto.com Arena deal, the record belonged to Toronto's Scotiabank Arena (formerly the Air Canada Centre, which opened in 1999), which garnered a deal of CA$ 800 million (US$ 517 million) over 20 years starting in 2018. The New Meadowlands Stadium, shared home of

5936-690: The buyer is well-established and has strong local connections to the area, such as the cases of Rich Stadium (now Highmark BlueCross BlueShield Stadium ) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park , Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh , and Coors Field in Denver . Selling the naming rights to an already-existing venue has been notably less successful, as in the attempt to rename Candlestick Park in San Francisco to 3Com Park. The general public (and some media outlets) continued to call

6042-461: The calculation method and the matches to be included, but there was a certain amount of consensus in the main, generally favouring the team with fewest defeats. The list below gives the champions quoted by the most prominent sources, including W. G. Grace (1864–1889), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (1864–1889), John Lillywhite's Cricketer's Companion (1865–1884), James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual (1871–1889) and Cricket: A Weekly Record of

6148-459: The championship adopted a two-divisional format with promotion and relegation each season. The ECB announced that, from 2017, Division One would contain eight teams and Division Two ten teams, with only one team being promoted from Division Two in 2016. The two-up, two-down arrangement applied for 2017 and 2018, but it was then decided to reverse the sizes of the divisions with effect from 2020, with three teams to be promoted and only one relegated at

6254-419: The championship resumed in 1946, teams played 26 matches per season, and the pattern of a fixed number of matches has continued since then, although the number has varied, but again there was an exception. From 1960 to 1962 inclusive, counties could choose whether to play 28 or 32 matches. The original points system was simply wins minus losses but with the expansion in 1895 the points system was modified so that

6360-511: The club for £2,000. Under the administration of club secretary Henry Murray-Anderdon , the small ground was developed, with trees planted along the boundary. By the start of the twentieth century, the ground was, according to Roebuck, "an intimate and lovely place". A section of the ground known as the "Hen Coop" was used by the important families in Taunton, and although there were no official seat reservations, no one else occupied these seats in

6466-492: The conclusion of the 2014 season, to make way for the new Somerset Pavilion, which was completed in time for the 2016 season. The new pavilion includes a dedicated media centre, the Stragglers Bar, an increase in seating by around 500 and also extends the boundary – allowing for international cricket to be played once again at the County Ground. Independent (unaffiliated to a governing body) greyhound racing took place at

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6572-503: The construction of the Marcus Trescothick Stand (in 2008), the Somerset Stand (in 2009), and the Ondaatje Pavilion (in 2011) has enhanced the capacity of the County Ground to 8,500; it is part of phased development plans which will eventually see the venue expand to a capacity of up to 15,000 (including temporary seating) and capable of hosting Test matches. It hosted three matches at the 2019 Cricket World Cup . The pitch at

6678-577: The early 2000s, many new categories have opened up, such as the selling of the rights to name a new monkey species for $ 650,000. Naming rights to public transit stations have been sold in Las Vegas and Philadelphia ( NRG station , Jefferson Station , and Penn Medicine station ). Such sales have been contemplated in New York and Boston , and ruled out in San Francisco. A sponsorship for

6784-432: The end of the 2019 season. From 2016 to 2019 there was no mandatory toss , with the away side having the option to bowl first. If the away side declined to bowl first, the toss still took place. This regulation was introduced on an experimental basis for the 2016 season but retained from 2017 to 2019 after being judged a success in its objectives of making games last longer and encouraging spin bowling. The mandatory toss

6890-552: The facility what it had been known as for over three decades – i.e. Candlestick Park. After the agreement with 3Com expired, the rights were resold to Monster Cable , and the stadium was renamed Monster Park . San Francisco voters responded by passing an initiative (Proposition H) in the November 2004 elections that essentially stipulated the name must revert to Candlestick Park once the contract with Monster expired in 2008. The initiative proved largely ceremonial, however, and it

6996-519: The final day shortened, so that teams with fixtures elsewhere on the following day could travel at sensible hours. The exception to this was the 1919 season, when there was an experiment with two-day matches played over longer hours, up to nine o'clock in the evening in mid-summer. This experiment was not repeated. From 1988 to 1992 some matches were played over four days, with each county playing six four-day and sixteen three-day games. From 1993 onwards, all matches have been scheduled for four days. In 2000,

7102-572: The future location of the cricket club, or redevelopment of the existing ground, the club obtained a grant from the South West Regional Development Agency to fund a feasibility study. The aim of the study was to identify how the development of a new stadium could guarantee the future long-term well-being of Somerset CCC through the construction of modern international standard cricket facilities. The feasibility study found that both through financial deliberations and

7208-409: The general public. Some people see it as an example of a selling out , especially when they see no obvious benefit to themselves. They often refuse to use a new name, preferring instead to use a non-branded name, especially in colloquial situations. Rebranding can also lead to confusion. In such cases, there may be a lengthy period during which the property is known by both names. A common example

7314-619: The great assistance offered by Taunton Deane Borough Council , that Chairman Giles Clarke announced in April 2006 that the long-term future lies at the County Ground. The project costs total approximately £60 million and will deliver a cricket capacity of up to 15,000. It commenced on 17 January 2008. In order for the club to remain financially viable, the development is to be conducted in phases (see below) in order to allow cricket and other club business to proceed with minimal interruption. Also, in order to fit an international standard pitch on site, it

7420-492: The ground in 1882; after a five-wicket victory over Hampshire County Cricket Club in the first match, Somerset failed to win any of the remaining games, culminating in an innings and 19 run loss against the touring Australians . Somerset lost their briefly held first-class status in 1886, but in the same year took out a nineteen-year lease on the Athletic Ground. The more loyal members of the club had decided that there

7526-411: The ground, he acknowledged that the cricket pitch belonged to Taunton Cricket Club. The new sports centre was opened on Whit Monday 1881, with an athletics fixture held on the newly laid running-track to mark the occasion. Although some cricket was played at the ground in 1881, it was not yet ready for first-class matches. Taunton Athletic Society, thanks to money raised by Western, funded the erection of

7632-623: The ground, using 400 lorry-loads of earth. During the Second World War, the ground, like many others in the country, was lent to the military. It was used by local soldiers and firemen alike, but the groundsman was careful to maintain the cricket surface throughout the war, in preparation for use again at its conclusion. In 1989 the Somerset Cricket Museum was opened at the ground within the Old Priory Barn,

7738-491: The hare system was an 'outside McKee'. It was closed by the promoter at the time, Dan Pipe. On 18 June 2006, the Cricket Ground hosted an open-air concert by Elton John to a sell-out 23,000 crowd. Elton John's dedication of one of his songs to Ian Botham revealed the retired English cricketer to be in the audience, watching from his namesake pavilion. Elton John then performed at the County Ground again on 3 June 2012,

7844-565: The home of the previously nomadic Somerset County Cricket Club soon after. Having leased the ground for ten years, the club bought the ground in 1896, under the guidance of club secretary Henry Murray-Anderdon . The ground ends are the River End to the north and the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End to the south. Somerset played their first match of first-class cricket on the ground over 8–10 August 1882, beating Hampshire County Cricket Club by five wickets. Later in

7950-529: The initial 110 overs of each team's first innings, and are retained whatever the match outcome. The minimum number of runs required to earn batting points was increased from 200 to 250 in 2023. Occasionally, a team may have points deducted. Reasons for points deductions are as follows: If any sides have equal points, tie-breakers are applied in the following order: most wins, fewest losses, team achieving most points in contests between teams level on points, most wickets taken, most runs scored. Yorkshire have won

8056-462: The leading nine counties being represented either in writing or in person. At the last of these sessions, held at the Oval on 9 June 1873, it was decided: It was in the 1870s that newspapers began to print tables of inter-county results and then proclaim a champion on the basis of their chosen criteria. In Arthur Haygarth 's Scores and Biographies , reference is often made to "least matches lost" as

8162-523: The method by which the county championship should in future be decided. The meeting was, we understand, not quite unanimous, but a majority were in favour of ignoring drawn games altogether and settling the question of championship by wins and losses. As it was agreed to abide by the views of the majority, this decision was accepted as final. Subsequently representatives of the following eight minor counties – Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Hampshire, Somersetshire, Staffordshire, Durham and Essex – held

8268-410: The mid-2000s in most major league sites where only known sponsors have advertising displayed, "neutralizing" an arena has become a much easier process than in the past. Regina, Saskatchewan 's REAL District was formerly named " Evraz Place"; when discussing its 2022 rebranding, its owner Regina Exhibition Association Limited stated that it had sometimes received shipments and communications meant for

8374-417: The most County Championships with 32 outright titles and one shared. Three current first-class counties (Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Somerset) have never won the official title, although Gloucestershire had claim to three unofficial titles in the 1870s. Since 2000, there have been two divisions, and promotion and relegation between them. Every county has experienced both divisions at some stage. For

8480-475: The name of the corporation or brand at the end (or, sometimes, beginning) of a generic, usually traditional, name (e.g. Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome ); or, a title sponsor replaces the original name of the property with a corporate-sponsored one (as is the case with most sponsored sports venues), with no reference to the previous name. Stadium naming may have shifted in recent years to promoting corporate trade names, but in earlier decades

8586-678: The opening of Fenway Park in Boston . The stadium's owner had owned a realty company called "Fenway Realty" (itself, like the stadium, named for a nearby parkland ), so the promotional value of the naming may have likely been considered. Despite this, it is more widely believed to have begun in 1926 when William Wrigley , the chewing gum magnate and owner of the Chicago Cubs , named his team's stadium " Wrigley Field ". In 1953, Anheuser-Busch head and St. Louis Cardinals owner August Busch, Jr. proposed renaming Sportsman's Park , occupied by

8692-420: The period would be subjective and in most seasons there would be strongly competing claims. In general, it may be asserted that Gloucestershire with all three Grace brothers were the strongest team in most of the 1870s; Nottinghamshire were in the ascendancy from about 1879 to 1886; and then Surrey from 1887 through the start of the official championship in 1890. When the annual meeting of county club secretaries

8798-408: The popularity of organised cricket grew throughout England, more county clubs came into contention and, by the mid-1860s, they included the short-lived Cambridgeshire , Hampshire, Lancashire, Middlesex and Yorkshire. At this time and into the 1870s, the press began to advocate some form of league system and various journals and individuals, including W. G. Grace , began publishing their views about who

8904-452: The program ; examples include The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour , Texaco Star Theatre and The Philco Television Playhouse . This form of sponsorship fell out of favor in the late 1950s, although later examples include Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom , which originally aired from 1963 to 1988. One of the last surviving examples is the now irregularly-airing Hallmark Hall of Fame , on the air since 1951. The International Star Registry

9010-610: The purposes of that match was called Nottingham shire . That may be so re the actual terminology but closer examination of the sources does indicate a much earlier expression of the idea. The earliest known inter-county match was in 1709 between Kent and Surrey but match results are unknown until the 1720s. The first time a source refers to the superiority of one county is in respect of a match between Edwin Stead 's XI from Kent and Sir William Gage 's XI from Sussex at Penshurst Park in August 1728. Stead's side won by an unknown margin and

9116-564: The ratio of points to finished games (games minus draws) decided the final positions. In 1910 the system was modified again so that the order was based on ratio of matches won to matches played, while from 1911 to 1967 a variety of systems were used that generally relied on points for wins and for first innings leads in games left unfinished. Since 1968, the basis has been wins (increased from 10 points in 1968, to 12 in 1976, to 16 in 1981, then back down to 12 in 1999, up to 14 in 2004 and currently 16) and "bonus points", which are earned for scoring

9222-448: The rise of Twenty20 cricket. Doubts have been raised over many decades concerning the competition's viability, yet it still survives. The Changing Face of Cricket (1966) by Sir Learie Constantine and Denzil Batchelor , made negative predictions about county cricket. All matches before 1988 were scheduled for three days, normally of a nominal six hours each plus intervals, but often with the first two days lengthened by up to an hour and

9328-407: The same month, the touring Australia national cricket team played a match against Somerset, becoming the first international side to play at the ground. The first international cricket to be played on the ground was in the 1983 Cricket World Cup , for a group-stage match between England and Sri Lanka . The ground also hosted two group-stage matches during the 1999 Cricket World Cup and venue for

9434-476: The same sort of reverse analysis, it is possible to compile a list of the most competitive teams from the recommencement of county cricket in 1825. Rowland Bowen published his ideas about this in the 1960s when he was the editor of the Cricket Quarterly periodical. He began by stating that Sussex was publicly acknowledged as the "best county" in the 1827 season when they played against All England in

9540-596: The source states that "this was the third time this summer that the Kent men have been too expert for those of Sussex". The following year, Gage's team "turned the scales" and defeated Stead's side, prompting a source to remark that "(the scale of victory) for some years past has been generally on the Kentish side". In 1730, a newspaper referred to the "Kentish champions". These statements indicate that inter-county matches had been played for many years previously and that there

9646-594: The team batting second. Of the current 18 sides in County Cricket the remaining four joined at the following dates: An invitation in 1921 to Buckinghamshire was declined, due to lack of proper playing facilities, and an application by Devon in 1948 to join was rejected. In the 21st century, questions have been raised about the future of the County Championship in the light of the shaky financial structure of many counties, poor attendances and

9752-567: The teams shown in the table below. Lancashire, Middlesex, and Surrey have never finished bottom. Leicestershire have shared last place twice, with Hampshire and Somerset. Records can be found at Cricket Archive – County Championship Records . (subscription required) A team has scored 800 or more runs in the County Championship on seven occasions, with Yorkshire holding the record for the highest score of 887 all out against Warwickshire in 1896. The County Championship has been sponsored since 2024 by Vitality Health and Life Insurance and titled

9858-533: The tournament in 2019 . Since 1997, women's international cricket has been played at the ground, and in 2006 it became the home of the England women's cricket team . The ground saw (men's) international cricket in 2017, with a Twenty20 International (T20I) tie between England and South Africa . In the winter of 1880, Somerset County Cricket Club , prompted by an article in the Somerset County Gazette describing cricket in Taunton as being "in

9964-417: The unofficial title has been utilised ad hoc and relied on sufficient interest being shown. The official County Championship was constituted on 16 December 1889, when secretaries of the major clubs gathered at Lord's to decide the following season's fixtures. Simultaneously, representatives of the eight leading countries met privately to determine how teams would be ranked. The new competition began in

10070-477: The venue. There are 4 five-wicket hauls in ODI matches have been taken at the venue. Naming rights#Stadium naming The distinctive characteristic for this type of naming rights is that the buyer gets a marketing property to promote products and services, promote customer retention and/or increase market share. There are several forms of corporate sponsored names. For example, a presenting sponsor attaches

10176-447: The very traditional Indianapolis 500 ) embracing title sponsorship. Sports media coverage (such as ESPN news reports) typically refer to races by the town in which the home race track is held, avoiding the use of sponsored names in news coverage. Television and radio series, especially in the early days of each medium in the early-mid 20th century, frequently sold the naming rights to their programs to sponsors, most of whom bankrolled

10282-406: Was a need to restructure the club and have a permanent home. Somerset regained their first-class status after an unbeaten season in 1890 , winning the so-called 'Second-class County Championship'. The first official County Championship match was played at the ground in 1891, a nine-wicket loss to Lancashire . In 1896, ten years after taking out the lease on the ground, the freehold was purchased by

10388-470: Was for the same loose association based on Brighton Cricket Club that had a successful season in 1792. But claims on behalf of Sussex from 1845 were by the Sussex county club, founded in 1839. A similar situation existed with both Kent and Surrey. Nottinghamshire is the only other claimant before the 1860s, starting in 1852, but all of its claims have been made by the county club which was founded in 1841. As

10494-411: Was held at Lord's on 10 December 1889, their purpose was to decide on a fixture programme for the 1890 season. As reported by Cricket: A Weekly Record of the Game : "While the secretaries were engaged in making the fixtures the representatives of the eight leading counties – Nottinghamshire, Surrey, Lancashire, Kent, Middlesex, Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, and Sussex – held a private meeting to discuss

10600-404: Was keen rivalry with each team seeking ascendancy. Inter-county cricket was popular throughout the 18th century although the best team, such as Kent in the 1740s or Hampshire in the days of the Hambledon Club , was usually acknowledged as such by being matched against an "All England" team . There were a number of contemporary allusions to the best county including some in verse, such as one by

10706-840: Was known as the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Team names and even whole leagues have occasionally been sold to corporate sponsors as well (examples include the New York Red Bulls in the former case, the NET10 Wireless Arena Football League for the latter), but this is generally rare in the United States and more common in other parts of the world. During the 1980s, sanctioned auto races in NASCAR and IndyCar began to abandon their traditional names in favor of exclusive sponsor names. The trend expanded rapidly in NASCAR such that in 1991, all 29 races in

10812-403: Was no universally recognised winner. With no consistency of approach, the issue inevitably led to argument, counter-arguments and confusion until the matter was taken in hand at the meeting of club secretaries in December 1889 where the official championship was constituted. In Roy Webber 's The County Cricket Championship , he asserts that the championship "is generally accepted as starting in

10918-613: Was opened in June 2008. Scoreboards are located in the north-east and south-west of the ground, and in addition to the restaurant facilities in the Old Pavilion and the Colin Atkinson Pavilion, food outlets are also located in the Somerset Stand, the Sir Ian Botham Stand and the front of the main scoreboard. The club shop is situated behind the St James Street Stand. After a long debate by Somerset members on

11024-426: Was overturned by the passage of Proposition C in 2009 in response to desperate economic times. The naming rights to the park were never resold and the stadium was closed and demolished in 2014. Sports stadiums with naming rights deals are most common in but not limited to the United States. "Named" stadiums can be found in countries including Australia, Japan, China, Finland, Canada, Israel and Germany, where 8 of

11130-485: Was reinstated from the 2020 season with the ECB taking the view that increased pitch penalties and changes to the seam of the ball would improve the balance between batting and bowling. The competition was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic , being replaced by an abbreviated competition called the Bob Willis Trophy . In 2021 for one season only, there was a revised Championship format , with

11236-632: Was the champion in a given season. Grace became interested after the Gloucestershire club was founded in 1870, with himself as captain, and laid several claims to the championship during the 1870s. In the 1870s, it became widely accepted that the side with fewest losses should be the champions. Various lists of unofficial champions began to be compiled by the contemporary press and others, but they are not usually in complete agreement. All "titles" claimed before 1864 are strictly unofficial and are based on (a) contemporary claims made by or on behalf of

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