It’s getting right to the pointy end of the season and there’s a few teams all fighting for promotion into Division One.
With three teams going up and just one coming down this year, there’s plenty of things to factor in. So, let’s try and make sense of it all.
Firstly, here’s how the points system works.
A win gives you 16 points, you take away 5 points for a draw and nothing for losing. You’ll also get any bonus points you score in the first 110 overs of each team’s first innings, regardless of the result. There’s a maximum of 3 bowling bonus points available and up to 5 batting points.
With me so far? Now let’s look at what Northamptonshire need to do to be promoted. There’s 2 options really.
The simple option is to just keep winning. Two more wins from the remaining two games guarantees a second-place finish and promotion, lovely.
One win from the final two games should also be enough to see Northamptonshire head into Division 1. Even with the minimum possible 16 points for a win, Northamptonshire’s total would reach 177 and be a tough mountain to climb for the chasing pack. Add in a handful of bonus points from both games and Northamptonshire should stay out of reach and finish in the top three.
The upshot of it all is that it’s very much in Northamptonshire’s hands. If they keep winning, it doesn’t matter what happens in other games!