Nottinghamshire begin defence at home

Nottinghamshire will begin the defence of their County Championship title against Hampshire at Trent Bridge on April 14 after the fixtures for the 2011 English domestic season were confirmed. The campaign will be a week old by then, with the first round of four-day matches starting on April 8 while the CB40 begins on April 24 and the Friends Provident t20 on June 1.

The FP t20 finals day will take place at Edgbaston on August 27, while the season will come to its conclusion on September 17 with the final of the CB40 at Lord's. Next season that match will be a daytime encounter after criticism that the floodlit fixture in 2010 made it tough for fans to travel home and didn't take into account the early autumn weather.

The season will actually begin in Abu Dhabi when Nottinghamshire face MCC as the game is taken to the Middle East for the second season running. Nottinghamshire clinched the Championship title with the final ball of the season when they claimed their third wicket against Lancashire to secure a vital bonus point and deny Somerset.

Worcestershire and Sussex, who were promoted to Division One, are both in action in the opening round of four-day games. The FP t20 will begin with a rerun of the 2010 final as Hampshire, who won by losing fewer wickets, take on Somerset and the group stages will again be played in a concentrated period in June and July before quarter finals from August 6-8.

Counties are again left in the far from ideal situation where they will need to switch back to Championship mode in the midst of the t20 qualify stage. Attempts to restructure the domestic season in time for 2011 were shelved earlier this year with counties concerned they were losing valuable time to market and promote the campaign. Plans are in place to alter the structure from 2012, but next season is likely to be as difficult to follow as the last one.

2011 key dates
March 27 - MCC v Nottinghamshire, Abu Dhbai
April 8 - County Championship begins
April 25 - Clydesdale Bank 40 begins
June 1 - Start of Friends Provident t20
August 6-8 - FPt20 quarter-finals
August 27 - FPt20 Finals day, Edgbaston
September 12 - Final round of County Championship
September 17 - CB40 final, Lord's