T20 Blast

T20 Blast

The current Vitality Blast logo
Countries	England & Wales
Administrator	England and Wales Cricket Board
Format	Twenty20
First edition	2003
Latest edition	2024
Next edition	2025
Tournament format	Group stage and knockout
Number of teams	18
Current champion	Gloucestershire (1st title)
Most successful	Leicestershire Foxes (3 titles) Hampshire Hawks (3 titles)
TV	Sky Sports Fox Cricket (Australia) BeIN Sports 3 EN (MENA). - Sony Sports Network (India)
Website	ECB Vitality Blast

Season
2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024

The T20 Blast, officially known as the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. T20 Blast is the oldest domestic T20 league in the world. It is one of the top-level Twenty20 league in the world. Vitality Blast comprises 18 teams, with 17 in the England and 1 in Wales. The competition has been known by a variety of names due to commercial sponsorship. It was known as the Twenty20 Cup from 2003 to 2009, the Friends Provident t20 and Friends Life t20 from 2010 to 2013, and the Natwest t20 Blast from 2014 to 2017. The competition has been sponsored by insurance company Vitality since 2018 and is known as the Vitality Blast. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

History

When the Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002, the ECB sought another one-day competition to fill with the younger generation in response to dwindling crowds and reduced sponsorship. The Board wanted to deliver fast-paced, exciting cricket accessible to fans who were put off by the longer versions of the game. ^[4] Stuart Robertson, the marketing manager of the ECB, proposed a 20-over per innings game to county chairmen in 2001, and they voted 11–7 in favour of adopting the new format. ^[5]

The first Twenty20 Cup was held in 2003 and was marketed with the slogan "I don't like cricket, I love it" – a line from the cricket-themed pop song Dreadlock Holiday by 10cc.

Twenty20 Cup

The first official Twenty20 Cup matches were played on 13 June 2003. The first season of Twenty20 in England was a success, with the Surrey Lions defeating the Warwickshire Bears by nine wickets in the final to win the first Twenty20 Cup Final. On 15 July 2004 Middlesex versus Surrey (the first Twenty20 Cup game to be held at Lord's) attracted a crowd of 26,500, the largest attendance for any county cricket game other than a one-day final since 1953. ^[6] The tournament saw six different winners in its seven years.

By the end of 2009, the ECB had decided to implement a larger competition for the T20 format of the game. The Twenty20 English Premier League was a proposed cricket league to be run by the ECB consisting of 18 county teams and two overseas teams divided into two divisions with promotion and relegation. ^{[7] [8]} The proposal was influenced by the success of the Indian Premier League and by Allen Stanford who had organised the Stanford Super Series in the Caribbean. After the collapse of Stanford's series, the proposals were scrapped. Instead of a modified 40 over league, the Clydesdale Bank 40 was implemented.

Friends Provident/FriendsLife T20

The Friends Provident T20 (renamed the FriendsLife T20 after just one season) was introduced in 2010. The competition initially divided the eighteen counties into North and South groups, before reverting to the previous model of three divisions of six teams. This period of Twenty20 cricket in England and Wales saw Leicestershire and Hampshire becoming the most successful sides, and in 2013 Northants won their first trophy for two decades.

NatWest T20 Blast

NatWest became the tournament sponsors in 2014, renewing the bank's longstanding relationship with the county game. The first year of the tournament saw 700,000 spectators attend the games, the most in the competition's history. ^[9] The tournament was won in 2014 by the Birmingham Bears, Warwickshire County Cricket Club's name for the purposes of Twenty20 cricket, making it the first time a county trophy had been won by a team using a city name. The final victors of this branding of the tournament in 2017 were Notts Outlaws.

Vitality Blast

Vitality became the tournament sponsors in 2018, signing an initial deal to sponsor the competition for four years, with the competition becoming known as the Vitality Blast. ^[2] The most recent iteration, the 2023 Vitality Blast, was the 20th season of the domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in England and Wales. The tournament started on 20 May 2023 and ended on 15 July 2023, when Somerset were crowned the champions.

There are 18 teams that compete in the tournament, divided into two groups of nine.

Each team plays 14 group games, playing six teams in their group twice (both home and away) and two teams once (one at home, the other away).

The top four teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals, with the four winners progressing to finals day.

Competition format

The 18 first-class counties compete for the title, initially playing in two or three geographical divisions, the number varying across the years. In 2018, matches were moved to be played in a block during July and August with the aim of attracting large crowds during the school summer holidays. In seasons with three divisions the top two teams in each division and the two best third place teams qualify for the playoff stage, in seasons with two divisions the top four teams in each division qualify for the playoff stage, with a set of quarter-finals leaving four teams in the competition.

The two semi-finals and the final are played on one finals day at Edgbaston in September. In 2020, due to the delay in the start of the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, matches started on 27 August in a three division format, with the quarter finals played on 1 October and the semi-finals and finals on 4 October (postponed due to rain on the third). ^[10]

Two division format

North Group Derbyshire Falcons Durham Lancashire Lightning Leicestershire Foxes Northamptonshire Steelbacks Notts Outlaws (Nottinghamshire) Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire) Worcestershire Rapids Yorkshire Vikings

South Group Essex Eagles Glamorgan Gloucestershire Hampshire Hawks Kent Spitfires Middlesex Somerset Surrey Sussex Sharks

Three division format

Northern Division Derbyshire Falcons Durham Lancashire Lightning Leicestershire Foxes Notts Outlaws (Nottinghamshire) Yorkshire Vikings

Central Division Glamorgan Gloucestershire Northamptonshire Steelbacks Somerset Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire) Worcestershire Rapids

Southern Division Essex Eagles Hampshire Hawks Kent Spitfires Middlesex Surrey Sussex Sharks

Winners

Main article: List of English Twenty20 cricket champions

Finals day has been held annually towards the end of the English cricket season.

Season	Winner	Winning Margin	Runner-up	Venue	City	Source
2003	Surrey Lions	Won by 9 wickets	Warwickshire Bears	Trent Bridge	Nottingham	Scorecard
2004	Leicestershire Foxes	Won by 7 wickets	Surrey Lions	Edgbaston	Birmingham	Scorecard
2005	Somerset Sabres	Won by 7 wickets	Lancashire Lightning	The Oval	London	Scorecard
2006	Leicestershire Foxes	Won by 4 runs	Notts Outlaws	Trent Bridge	Nottingham	Scorecard
2007	Kent Spitfires	Won by 4 wickets	Gloucestershire Gladiators	Edgbaston	Birmingham	Scorecard
2008	Middlesex Crusaders	Won by 3 runs	Kent Spitfires	Rose Bowl	Southampton	Scorecard
2009	Sussex Sharks	Won by 63 runs	Somerset Sabres	Edgbaston	Birmingham	Scorecard
2010	Hampshire Royals	Won by losing fewer wickets (scores level)	Somerset	Rose Bowl	Southampton	Scorecard
2011	Leicestershire Foxes	Won by 18 runs	Somerset	Edgbaston	Birmingham	Scorecard
2012	Hampshire Royals	Won by 10 runs	Yorkshire Carnegie	Sophia Gardens	Cardiff	Scorecard
2013	Northants Steelbacks	Won by 102 runs (D/L)	Surrey	Edgbaston	Birmingham	Scorecard
2014	Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire)	Won by 4 runs	Lancashire Lightning			Scorecard
2015	Lancashire Lightning	Won by 13 runs	Northants Steelbacks			Scorecard
2016	Northants Steelbacks	Won by 4 wickets	Durham Jets			Scorecard
2017	Notts Outlaws	Won by 22 runs	Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire)			Scorecard
2018	Worcestershire Rapids	Won by 5 wickets	Sussex Sharks			Scorecard
2019	Essex Eagles	Won by 4 wickets	Worcestershire Rapids			Scorecard
2020	Notts Outlaws	Won by 6 wickets	Surrey			Scorecard
2021	Kent Spitfires	Won by 25 runs	Somerset			Scorecard
2022	Hampshire Hawks	Won by 1 run	Lancashire Lightning			Scorecard
2023	Somerset	Won by 14 runs	Essex Eagles			Scorecard
2024	Gloucestershire	Won by 8 wickets	Somerset			Scorecard

Performance by county

Team	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Derbyshire	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	SF	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp
Durham	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	SF	QF	Gp	QF	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	RU	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF
Essex	Gp	QF	Gp	SF	Gp	SF	Gp	SF	Gp	QF	SF	QF	QF	QF	Gp	Gp	Won	Gp	Gp	QF	RU	Gp
Glamorgan	Gp	SF	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	QF	SF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp
Gloucestershire	SF	Gp	Gp	QF	RU	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	QF	QF	SF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Won
Hampshire	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Won	SF	Won	SF	SF	SF	Gp	SF	Gp	Gp	Gp	SF	Won	SF	Gp
Kent	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Won	RU	SF	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	QF	Won	Gp	Gp	Gp
Lancashire	Gp	SF	RU	Gp	SF	QF	QF	QF	SF	Gp	QF	RU	Won	Gp	Gp	SF	QF	SF	QF	RU	QF	QF
Leicestershire	SF	Won	SF	Won	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Won	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp
Middlesex	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Won	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp
Northamptonshire	Gp	Gp	QF	QF	Gp	QF	SF	QF	Gp	Gp	Won	Gp	RU	Won	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF
Nottinghamshire	Gp	Gp	Gp	RU	QF	Gp	Gp	SF	QF	QF	QF	QF	Gp	SF	Won	QF	SF	Won	QF	Gp	QF	Gp
Somerset	Gp	Gp	Won	Gp	Gp	Gp	RU	RU	RU	SF	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	SF	Gp	Gp	RU	SF	Won	RU
Surrey	Won	RU	SF	SF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	RU	SF	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	RU	Gp	QF	SF	SF
Sussex	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	SF	Gp	Won	QF	QF	SF	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	RU	QF	QF	SF	Gp	Gp	SF
Worcestershire	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp	QF	QF	Gp	Gp	Won	RU	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	Gp
Yorkshire	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	RU	Gp	Gp	Gp	SF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	SF	Gp	Gp
Warwickshire	RU	QF	QF	Gp	QF	QF	QF	QF	Gp	Gp	Gp	Won	SF	Gp	RU	Gp	Gp	Gp	QF	QF	QF	QF

References

1. "Vitality announced as new title partner for T20 cricket". England and Wales Cricket Board. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
2. "ECB announce Vitality as new T20 Blast sponsor". www.thecricketer.com. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
3. "Recent Match Report - Worcestershire vs Sussex, Twenty20 Cup (England), Final | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
4. Gardner, Alan (13 January 2015). "T20 timeline: Revolution to uncertainty". ESPNcricinfo . ESPN.
5. Brett, Oliver (11 September 2007). "The roots of Twenty20". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2020. Stuart Robertson was the marketing manager of the ECB when Twenty20 was launched. [...] His extensive research suggested women and children would only watch cricket if it was in a shorter format, and started in the late afternoon. [...] He also gave two presentations to the Professional Cricket Association's annual general meeting. [...] But it was only just enough to sway the counties, who voted 11-7 in favour of Twenty20.
6. "Ali backs Twenty20". Skysports. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
7. New-look English Twenty20 agreed, BBC Sport, 16 July 2008; Retrieved 17 March 2018
8. ECB unveils new Twenty20 tournament, CricInfo, 16 July 2008; Retrieved 17 March 2018
9. Freddie Wilde Blast promises to break 1m barrier, CricInfo, 14 May 2015; Retrieved 17 March 2018
10. "Vitality Blast 2020 fixtures: Edgbaston Finals Day to conclude domestic season". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 August 2020.