The Vitality Blast will look a little different in 2020 – here’s everything you need to know about the tournament.
When does the Vitality Blast start?
The opening matches in the 2020 Vitality Blast take place on Thursday, 27 August. Fourteen counties make their first appearances on the Thursday, with the remaining four starting their campaigns the following day.
What is the format of the tournament?
As with the Bob Willis Trophy, the Vitality Blast will be played in three regionalised groups this year, consisting of six teams per group. Each county will play the others in their group twice, meaning 10 group-stage matches for each county.
The top two counties in each group will progress to the quarter-finals, where they will be joined with the two best third-place teams.
Fixtures can be found by clicking here.
Which counties are grouped together?
NORTH GROUP: Derbyshire Falcons, Durham Cricket, Lancashire Lightning, Leicestershire Foxes, Notts Outlaws , Yorkshire Vikings.
CENTRAL GROUP: Birmingham Bears, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Steelbacks, Worcestershire Rapids.
SOUTH GROUP: Essex Eagles, Kent Spitfires, Hampshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex Sharks.
How will the quarter-finals be decided?
The eight quarter-finalists will be determined and seeded as follows:
1. Best group winner
2. Second best group winner
3. Third best group winner
4. Best second place
5. Second best second place
6. Third best second place
7. Best third place
8. Second best third place
Quarter-final ties will be:
1v8, 2v7, 3v6, 4v5.
Will the point-scoring system be different from previous Vitality Blasts?
No, the points system remains the same, with two points for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss.
Given matches are to be played behind closed doors, how can I watch them?
Ten group-stage matches will be televised live on Sky Sports. Each county will feature in a televised match at least once, with the Sky games being staged at Emerald Headingley, Edgbaston, Kia Oval, Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford.
Throughout the tournament matches will be live streamed on the ECB website and on individual county websites.
Highlights of the televised games will be published on the ECB website, with the best clips from all of the matches posted on the Vitality Blast social media channels.
BBC Local Radio will feature live commentary of every match in the 2020 Vitality Blast, with select matches broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
What are the official social media channels?
In case you are not already, here’s where you can follow the Vitality Blast:
ECB WEBSITE: https://www.ecb.co.uk/t20-blast
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZfrO7EBlvevjFLErUu0bzA
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/VitalityBlast
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/vitalityblast/