Yorkshire’s bid to win back-to-back County Championship titles for the first time in almost half a century will begin with a trip to Worcestershire, who finished as runners-up in Division Two last season.
The White Rose ended a 13-year wait to be crowned champions again when they sealed last season’s trophy with a game to spare. That was a record 32nd championship for the county and now they will aim to do something no Yorkshire side has managed since the 1960s: defend their title.
In the 2015 fixtures, which were released on Friday after being put back 24 hours as a mark of respect following the death of Phillip Hughes, Yorkshire kick things off with the traditional curtain-raiser against the MCC in Abu Dhabi, a four-day match which starts on 22 March.
A series of three-day warm-up games involving the counties and university sides follow, before the season proper starts on Sunday 12 April with four Division One and two Division Two matches.
In Division One, 2013 champions Durham also go to Somerset, Middlesex host Nottinghamshire and Hampshire – who pipped Worcestershire to the Division Two title – take on Sussex.
The two Second Division matches pit relegated Northamptonshire against Gloucestershire, while the bottom two teams from 2014, Leicestershire and Glamorgan, face each other at Grace Road. Neither Northamptonshire nor Leicestershire won a single championship match last season.
The six teams not involved in the opening set of fixtures – Derbyshire, Essex, Kent, Lancashire, Warwickshire and Surrey – all begin their Championship campaigns on Sunday 19 April.
Lancashire, with a new cricket director and head coach in Ashley Giles, start off against Derbyshire as they again attempt to bounce back at the first attempt after relegation. The Red Rose were Division One winners in 2011, relegated in 2012, Division Two winners in 2013, and then suffered the ignominy of the drop last term.
Kent, meanwhile, make the hop to Chelmsford to face Essex, Surrey go to Glamorgan and Warwickshire host Hampshire.
The final round of championship fixtures begins on Tuesday, September 22 and include Yorkshire facing Sussex at Headingley and 2012 champions Warwickshire going to Somerset, who also have a new director of cricket in Matthew Maynard.
Warwickshire will again be hoping to mount a challenge for all three trophies, having finished runners-up in the championship and Royal London One-Day Cup last season while winning the inaugural NatWest T20 Blast.
Warwickshire, in their guise as Birmingham Bears, will open the defence of their T20 title on Friday 15 May with a tough-looking trip to Nottinghamshire.
Among the other seven matches on that Friday, defeated 2014 finalists Lancashire face former champions Leicestershire, while limited-overs powerhouses Hampshire take on Essex.
In last season’s competition, Middlesex made history by playing two T20 group stage matches on the same day in the opening round, but there are no double-headers planned for 2015.
Of the 126 T20 matches next season, 87 will be played on Friday nights.
The 50-over Royal London One-Day Cup gets up and running at the end of July with last season’s finalists Durham and Warwickshire both involved in the first two matches.
Durham, who won a low-scoring 2014 final at Lord’s by three wickets, have a trip to Northamptonshire first up while Warwickshire – as they do in the T20 – take on Nottinghamshire, both games taking place on Saturday 25 July.
The T20 finals day is scheduled for Saturday, 29 August at Edgbaston, while the Royal London One-Day Cup final is on Saturday, 19 September at Lord’s.
Opening Division One fixtures
Sunday 12 April Hampshire v Sussex, Rose Bowl; Middlesex v Nottinghamshire, Lord’s; Somerset v Durham, Taunton; Worcestershire v Yorkshire, New Road
Sunday 19 April Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire, Trent Bridge; Sussex v Worcestershire, Hove; Warwickshire v Hampshire, Edgbaston; Durham v Sussex, Riverside
Sunday 26 April Hampshire v Nottinghamshire, Rose Bowl; Somerset v Middlesex, Taunton; Yorkshire v Warwickshire, Headingley
Opening Division Two fixtures
Sunday 12 April Leicestershire v Glamorgan, Grace Road; Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire, Northampton
Sunday 19 April Derbyshire v Lancashire, Derby; Essex v Kent, Chelmsford; Glamorgan v Surrey, Swalec Stadium
Sunday 26 April Gloucestershire v Derbyshire, Bristol; Lancashire v Kent, Old Trafford; Leicestershire v Northamptonshire, Grace Road; Surrey v Essex, The Oval
