Benson and Hedges Cup kicks of competitive cricket season

The Benson and Hedges Cup will open the competitive First Class County cricket season when group matches begin on Saturday 15 April. It will give the British public its first chance to see County sides in action in domestic competition this year.

On show will be the newly-contracted England players as well as some of the best one-day cricketers from around the world such as Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Shane Warne, recently nominated by Wisden as one of the five cricketers of the 20th Century.

The Benson and Hedges Cup returns to its traditional format, albeit with a new group structure. The 18 First Class Counties are split into three regional groups of six teams with each team playing the other teams in its group once. After the group matches, the top two teams from each group and the two third-placed teams achieving the most points will progress to the quarter-finals. The top team from each group and the second placed team achieving the most points will receive home quarter-final draws.

The quarter-finals take place on Tuesday 9 May, the semi-finals on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 May, and the final will be played at Lord's on Saturday 10 June. The winning team will receive a cheque for £52,000 with the losers taking home £26,000. The losing semi-finalists will receive £15,500 and the losing quarter-finalists £10,500.

The first round of PPP healthcare County Championship matches start on Wednesday 26 April, on completion of the Benson and Hedges Cup group matches.

North: Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire

Midlands/Wales/West: Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Worcestershire, Warwickshire

South: Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Sussex, Surrey.