All you need to know for the County Championship finale

And so, 173 days on from the start of the domestic cricket season and after 117 matches, it all comes down to this...

The 2025 County Championship season enters its final round on Wednesday and it remains to be seen who will lift the trophy, and who can stay out of the Division One basement.

Nottinghamshire's dramatic 20-run win at Surrey on the final afternoon of the penultimate round of fixtures put them in the driving seat for silverware and severely dented Surrey's quest for a fourth consecutive title.

There was a slight boost for the defending champions after the game finished, however, as Notts were deducted a point for a slow over rate at the Kia Oval, which cut their lead at the summit from 15 points to 14 going into this week's final round.

At the other end, five sides are battling to avoid joining Worcestershire in the bottom two before the potential post-season restructure of the county game, details of which have not yet been announced.

The champagne bottles have already been polished off and recycled in Division Two.

Leicestershire have been crowned champions, securing a top-flight return for the first time since 2003, and Glamorgan clinched the runners-up spot in the penultimate round, while Kent will finish bottom of the pile, no matter what happens in the final four days of the campaign.

Realistically, it is a two-horse race, with Nottinghamshire's fate in their own hands as they seek to win their first title since 2010.

Notts need 11 points from their final match, at home to Warwickshire, to ensure they cannot be caught by Surrey.

A win, worth 16 points, would be more than enough, but eight points for a draw, coupled with three of the available eight bonus points accrued via either bat, ball or some combination of the two, would also do the job for Peter Moores' men.

Batting bonus points are achieved by reaching 250, 300, 350, 400 or 450 runs inside 110 overs of a side's first innings. Bowling points are earned by picking up three, six or nine wickets in the same 110-over span of a first innings.

Surrey need to win at Hampshire to stand any realistic chance. However, if Notts were to somehow lose and emerge without any bonus points at Trent Bridge, then a draw and seven bonus points would secure another title for Gareth Batty's charges against all the odds.

Should the top two somehow end up level on points, the tie-breaker is the number of wins they have achieved over the season, with Notts' current six wins, two more than Surrey, meaning they would take the title.

T20 Blast winners Somerset once again took their fight for a first title to the dying embers of the season, but a determined rearguard action from Hampshire and the announcement on Friday of a four-point deduction by the Independent Cricket Discipline Panel for a sub-par pitch at Taunton for their game against Durham in July ended their slim hopes.

That is barring any further points deductions, and then only if both sides above them lose their final game while they take a maximum 24 points from their trip to Essex.

It is important to caveat this first of all by saying the structure for the 2026 County Championship has yet to be confirmed, and as such the teams finishing in the bottom two of Division One, who might ordinarily be relegated to the second tier, may yet have a reprieve. All will be revealed soon, we hope.

Whatever happens in the final round, One-Day Cup winners Worcestershire will finish bottom of Division One, though there are five sides above them still vying to avoid finishing second-bottom going into the final round.

Sussex head to New Road on Wednesday sitting in fifth place with 150 points, 10 more than Durham, who currently occupy ninth spot.

Durham travel to Headingley to face Yorkshire in a potential humdinger, trailing the Tykes by just six points in the standings.

After receiving an eight-point deduction earlier this month, Hampshire are sandwiched between the two sides, two points ahead of the bottom two. They face the difficult prospect of hosting Surrey in their final game.

Essex are only 10 points above Durham before their final home game against Somerset.

For Sussex, Essex and Yorkshire, the equation is simple: win and they will be out of the bottom two, though a draw would almost certainly be enough too.

To avoid slipping into the bottom two, Hampshire need to match whatever result Durham achieve, though if Durham were to pick up a three-point swing via bonus points at Headingley then that would lift them above their southern rivals.

Calculators and pencils at the ready, the final round is one not to miss, and of course we'll be here with live updates throughout the four days, starting at 10:00 BST on Wednesday, making sure you don't miss a thing.

Notts head coach Peter Moores: "We will go and try to win the game. I think trying to play safe on games of cricket doesn't work, we will go out there and play aggressive cricket again because that is the best thing we can do."

Surrey head coach Gareth Batty: "Credit to Notts, they beat us on our patch and we've got some work to do.

"Every time we put a shirt on for Surrey it's our job and we try to put on a performance and win a game.

"Eighty-odd thousand people have come through the gates to watch us this season so we'll be doing everything humanly possible to make sure we're on the right end of a result."

Durham batter Emilio Gay: "We've had a chat about it - it's a huge one, I can't wait for it to be honest. Four-day cricket is the absolute pinnacle, I've been looking forward to this month for a while.

"Yorkshire will probably be looking for a draw so the chat's about how we can put pressure on and take 20 wickets."

Hampshire head coach Adi Birrell: "The eight-point deduction really hurt us and we have been playing under pressure for a while. Now we have taken things to the very last game.

"At Somerset it was as if we had to get ourselves into a really dark corner before showing some fight. The players showed a lot of character."

Division One

Essex v Somerset - Chelmsford

Hampshire v Surrey - Southampton

Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire - Trent Bridge

Worcestershire v Sussex - Worcester

Yorkshire v Durham - Headingley

Division Two

Glamorgan v Lancashire - Cardiff

Kent v Derbyshire - Canterbury

Middlesex v Gloucestershire - Lord's

Northamptonshire v Leicestershire - Northampton