1988 County Championship

The 1988 Britannic Assurance County Championship was the 89th officially organised running of the County Championship. Worcestershire won the Championship title. Matches played over four days were introduced to the competition this season. Each county was scheduled to play sixteen three-day matches, one against each other county, and six four-day matches. The four-day matches were played at the start and end of the season. This resulted in a total of twenty-two games for each county, a decrease of two from the number played in 1987.
The Championship was sponsored by Britannic Assurance for the fifth time.

Table

16 points for a win
8 points to each team for a tie
8 points to team still batting in a match in which scores finish level
Bonus points awarded in the first 100 overs of the first innings
*Batting: 150 runs – 1 point, 200 runs – 2 points 250 runs – 3 points, 300 runs – 4 points
*Bowling: 3–4 wickets – 1 point, 5–6 wickets – 2 points 7–8 wickets – 3 points, 9–10 wickets – 4 points
No bonus points awarded in a match starting with less than 8 hours' play remaining. A one-innings match is played, with the winner gaining 12 points.
Position determined by points gained. If equal, then decided on most wins.

Team	Pld	Won	Lost	Drawn	Batting bonus	Bowling bonus	Points
Worcestershire	22	10	3	9	55	75	290
Kent	22	10	5	7	57	72	289
Essex	22	9	5	8	61	69	282
Surrey	22	7	5	10	57	72	241
Nottinghamshire	22	8	8	6	34	71	229
Warwickshire	22	6	8	8	48	74	218
Middlesex	22	7	3	12	49	54	215
Leicestershire	22	6	3	13	56	63	215
Lancashire	22	6	7	9	41	67	212
Gloucestershire	22	6	7	8	52	59	207
Somerset	22	5	6	11	48	65	201
Northamptonshire	22	5	7	10	48	71	199
Yorkshire	22	4	6	12	48	65	177
Derbyshire	22	4	3	15	53	54	171
Hampshire	22	4	6	12	33	69	166
Sussex	22	3	11	8	37	65	150
Glamorgan	22	1	8	12	42	53	111