Minor County qualifiers named for 2005 competition

The Minor Counties Cricket Association has confirmed the qualifiers for next year's Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy. The ECB has decided to cut out the first round, which included all the Minor County teams, with the result that only ten places were available for 2005.

The ten qualifiers are the Minor Counties Championship finalists (Bedfordshire and Devon), the finalists in the MCCA Trophy (Berkshire and Northumberland), and the top three remaining teams from each division, which brought in Buckinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Wales Minor Counties and Wiltshire. They are all likely to face first-class opposition in their first match of next year's competition.

The draw - which will also include Denmark, Holland, Ireland and Scotland, as well as the 18 first-class counties - will be made after the final round of National League games.