Bob Willis Trophy

Bob Willis Trophy
Countries England
 Wales
AdministratorEngland and Wales Cricket Board
FormatFirst-class cricket
First edition2020
Latest edition2021
Tournament formatFinal
Number of teams2
Current championWarwickshire (1st title)
Most successfulWarwickshire
Essex
(1 title each)

The Bob Willis Trophy was a domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales for the eighteen first-class counties, organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

It was established in the 2020 English cricket season. The tournament was named the Bob Willis Trophy[1] in honour of former England cricket captain and fast bowler Bob Willis, who died in December 2019.[2]

While in 2020 it was promoted as being a one-off competition,[3] the Bob Willis Trophy was contested again in 2021 as a five-day final between the top two teams in County Championship Division One.[4] In January 2022, the ECB announced that the Bob Willis Trophy would not be played to end that year's championship; managing director of county cricket Neil Snowball said that the ECB was discussing the future format of the trophy with Willis's family.[5]

From 2022 the trophy was adopted by the Cricket Writers' Club, to be presented to their England's player of the year. The inaugural winner was Jonny Bairstow.[6]

Results

Year Format Final
Venue Winners Result Runners-up
2020 Leagues and final Lord's Essex
337/8 & 179/6 		Essex won on first innings scores after match drawn
Scorecard 		Somerset
301 & 272/7d
2021 Single match Lord's Warwickshire
518 		Warwickshire won by an innings and 199 runs
Scorecard 		Lancashire
78 & 241

References

  1. ^ "All First-Class Counties committed to playing same red-ball and white-ball competitions". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Bob Willis Trophy: Shortened red-ball competition named after ex-England captain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Everything you need to know about the Bob Willis Trophy". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  4. ^ "County Championship: Competition returns in 2021 alongside Bob Willis Trophy". BBC Sport. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  5. ^ "County Championship: More June and July games scheduled in 2022 fixtures". BBC Sport. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Jonny Bairstow wins Cricket Writers' Club Bob Willis Trophy". BBC Sport. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2023.