The Second XI Championship is a season-long cricket competition in England that is competed for by the reserve teams of those county cricket clubs that have first-class status. The competition started in 1959 and has been contested annually ever since. All the then 17 first-class counties contested the first two competitions in 1959 and 1960; the next season when all 17 entered was 1977, though the number of teams in any one year was never lower than 14 (in 1971). Gloucestershire and Somerset entered a combined team for two seasons, 1967 and 1968.