Warwickshire take title as Somerset finish second again

Somerset have finished second again.

Warwickshire clinched the 2026 County Championship in the final match, leaving Somerset as runners-up after a season that slipped away late. The County Championship is England's four-day domestic league, played in divisions across the summer BBC Sport.

With two games left, Somerset led the table by four points. They controlled their fate. Then came Headingley.

Somerset lost to Yorkshire there in their penultimate game. It was only their second defeat of the season. The loss on 18 September sealed their fate and opened the door for Warwickshire.

The near-miss fits a painful pattern. This was Somerset's sixth second-place finish since 2010. They remain one of three counties never to have won the Championship trophy.

Captain Lewis Gregory told BBC Radio Somerset that two mid-season games defined the loss. In his view, Somerset lacked ruthlessness when it mattered.

Director of cricket Andy Hurry pointed to the same stretch in May. He spoke to BBC 5 Live hours before Warwickshire were confirmed as champions. He named back-to-back defeats as the key moments.

First, Yorkshire beat Somerset at Taunton after overturning a 112-run first-innings deficit. That means Yorkshire trailed by 112 after each side had batted once, then fought back to win by 75 runs. Next, Glamorgan beat Somerset by two wickets in Cardiff. Two wickets is a narrow margin. It means only two batters remained when the winning run was scored.

What makes this stand out is the thin line between first and second. Somerset lost only twice all year. Warwickshire still passed them.

For fans, this means another winter of what-ifs. Somerset stayed in front for much of the 14-round season, which ran from April to late September. They could not land the final blow.