County Championship 2023 schedule: Champions Surrey to begin title defence against Lancashire

LV= Insurance County Championship to begin on April 6 and follow the same format as in 2022; with five rounds of fixtures in June and July; Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixture list has doubled in size, while Charlotte Edwards Cup will also see an extra fixture per team

Image: Surrey won the 2022 LV= Insurance County Championship title

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the men's county and women's regional fixtures for the 2023 season.

The men's LV= Insurance County Championship campaign begins on April 6 and each county will play 14 fixtures, with reigning champions Surrey opening their title defence away to Lancashire - the venue where they lifted the trophy last season.

All 18 counties are in action during the opening week of fixtures and the first seven rounds are played on successive weeks, all from Thursday to Sunday, while each county will have a week off during the first five rounds of the season.

A round of fixtures will be played the week before the first Ashes Test gets under way at Edgbaston on June 16, with the final round of fixtures beginning on September 26.

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The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixture list has doubled in size, with twice the number of 50-over fixtures per season, while there will also be 20 double-headers across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Vitality Blast.

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Defending champions Northern Diamonds begin at home to Western Storm at Headingley, while the Blaze - the new home of women's regional cricket in the East Midlands - begin their new era on April 22. The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final will be played on September 24 at The County Ground in Northampton.

Highlights of the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy final between Northern Diamonds and the Southern Vipers

The Vitality Blast follows the same format as last season as each county plays 14 group-stage matches and the top four in each section progress to the quarter finals, with Edgbaston hosting the opening fixtures on May 20 and a sold-out Finals Day on July 15.

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The One-Day Cup group stage will be played alongside The Hundred, beginning on August 1, with defending champions Kent opening away to Yorkshire at Scarborough.

All 18 first-class counties will play against a national county in warm-up games on July 30, with Sussex and Somerset playing a further game each on August 1, while eight outgrounds are set to host One-Day Cup fixtures ahead of the final at Trent Bridge on September 16.

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