Yorkshire win 21st English men’s county championship

Yorkshire won the English Men’s County Championship for the 21st time, beating Hampshire 5.5-3.5 in a final day showdown at Sandwell Park in Staffordshire.

Although Yorkshire dominate the list of past winners, this is their first victory for nine years and the victory was sweet, especially after the boys’ and women’s teams narrowly lost their county finals. Team captain Darryl Berry, who has previously played in two winning sides, said: “This is great for the team and for all our supporters. It’s been a brilliant team effort, the lads have been great.”

The result meant disappointment for Hampshire who have now come away empty-handed from seven County Finals since 2002. Team captain Martin Young said: “I’m disappointed now, but we’re getting closer and I’m proud of what the team has done and we’ve got four young lads who have never played at this level before.”

The play-off for third place was won by Warwickshire who beat Cornwall 5.5-3.5. It’s the first time they’ve finished above fourth in their last five visits to County Finals and team captain Stuart Bloxham said: “Hopefully this will be good momentum to take us forward and we’ll get back to County Finals next year, when the qualifier is on home ground.”

The images shows the winning Yorkshire team. Copyright Leaderboard Photography.