It is important to caveat this first of all by saying the structure for the 2026 County Championship has yet to be confirmed, and as such the teams finishing in the bottom two of Division One, who might ordinarily be relegated to the second tier, may yet have a reprieve. All will be revealed soon, we hope.
Whatever happens in the final round, One-Day Cup winners Worcestershire will finish bottom of Division One, though there are five sides above them still vying to avoid finishing second-bottom going into the final round.
Sussex head to New Road on Wednesday sitting in fifth place with 150 points, 10 more than Durham, who currently occupy ninth spot.
Durham travel to Headingley to face Yorkshire in a potential humdinger, trailing the Tykes by just six points in the standings.
After receiving an eight-point deduction earlier this month, Hampshire are sandwiched between the two sides, two points ahead of the bottom two. They face the difficult prospect of hosting Surrey in their final game.
Essex are only 10 points above Durham before their final home game against Somerset.
Barring any unforeseen penalties, for Sussex and Essex, the equation is simple: avoid defeat and they will be out of the bottom two, a draw would almost certainly be enough for Yorkshire too, unless Durham were to claim seven more bonus points than the hosts from their encounter in Leeds.
To avoid slipping into the bottom two, Hampshire need to match whatever result Durham achieve, though if Durham were to pick up a three-point swing via bonus points at Headingley then that would lift them above their southern rivals.
Calculators and pencils at the ready, the final round is one not to miss, and of course we’ll be here with live updates throughout the four days, starting at 10:00 BST on Wednesday, making sure you don’t miss a thing.
