The Bob Willis Trophy is the 121st season of first-class cricket in England and Wales. It is a one-off first-class tournament that is separate from the County Championship, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. The eighteen county cricket teams have been split into three groups of six, with the two groups winners with the most points advancing to a final held at Lord's. After a delay due to the pandemic, counties passed a majority vote to start the season on 1 August 2020, with the tournament finishing as late as 3 October 2020. The tournament was named the Bob Willis Trophy, in honour of Bob Willis, who died in December 2019.
Background
The first round of matches in the County Championship were originally scheduled to start on 12 April, with the final round of matches finishing on 25 September. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced in March 2020 that the season would be delayed until at least 28 May 2020. The following month, Abu Dhabi Cricket suggested using facilities in the United Arab Emirates between October and January as a possible solution to playing some fixtures. On 24 April 2020, the ECB confirmed that no professional cricket would be played in England before 1 July 2020. As a result of the pandemic, the vast majority of clubs placed players and staff on furlough. In late May 2020, the ECB looked at the idea of starting the County Championship in August, split into three groups of six teams, with a final at Lord's. The ECB also confirmed that no domestic cricket would be played before 1 August 2020. In June 2020, some clubs raised concerns about the logistics of travelling and the financial viability of playing first-class cricket, with 50-over matches being a more realistic possibility. On 29 June 2020, the ECB confirmed that the domestic cricket season would begin on 1 August 2020, with the format to be agreed in early July. On 7 July 2020, the majority of counties voted to start the season on 1 August 2020. On 26 July 2020, a crowd of 1,000 spectators were allowed to watch a test event at The Oval in London, the first time people had been to see a live cricket match since the start of the pandemic. Following the success of the trial, a pilot scheme would have allowed up to 2,500 fans to attend the first two days of play of Surrey and Warwickshire's first matches. However, on 31 July 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced crowds would not be allowed to attend sporting events following an increase in COVID-19 infection rates.
