Blast Off in the T20 – The Vitality Blast is here

Summer marks the beginning of the 2024 domestic cricket season as players up and down the country return from their overseas duties over the winter. There are three domestic competitions that the county sides will compete in, including the traditional County Championship, One-Day Cup (50 overs) and the T20 Blast. We take a look at the start of the T20 Blast campaign and who might be emerging as early favourites to win the competition!

Get to know the T20 Blast

The T20 Blast is the shortest format in English County Cricket. Characterised by its high intensity, big-hitting and fast-paced action, it is beginning to become England’s most popular format attracting thousands of fans at cricket grounds across the country. Promoted by its atmosphere and interactive crowd engagements in an attempt to mirror the success of the Australian Big Bash League, the format offers something for everyone allowing you to get up close to the action. The T20 Blast has attracted some of the world’s best players over the years including AB De Villiers, Mitch Santner and Shahid Afridi to name a few. This season will be no different.

Teams compete in two groups, North and South. Upon completion of these groups, the top four sides in each group will advance to the quarter finals, where they will battle it out for a place at Finals Day. Finals Day consists of two semi-finals, before the grand finale with fans enjoying three top class games of cricket, and not to mention the all important Mascot Race!

Who won the T20 Blast in 2023? The South Group

It was Somerset who came out on top last year in an all South group final, defeating Essex at Edgbaston. After setting a target of 145 courtesy of a Sean Dickson 53 runs off 35 deliveries, Essex battled hard but ran out of wickets. They saw their tenth man fall on 131 runs, as a Matt Henry 4-for handed the South West club the trophy.

The sides have already faced each other in the 2024 format with a not too dissimilar outcome with Somerset coming out on top again. A 4 wicket victory for Somerset was enough to take the win in Essex, however, the champions haven’t had a perfect start to their title defence. Last year’s semi-finalists, Surrey, were dominant winners by 57 runs when they hosted Somerset at The Oval. It’s Surrey, the only team with a 100% record this year, who top the South group, closely followed by Kent Spitfires while Gloucestershire round off the top 3 based on run-rate.

The North Group

Meanwhile in the North group Lancashire Lightning have emerged as the early leaders. Thumping victories over Derbyshire and Durham, Lightning look to be early favourites, however, defeat to Worcestershire Rapids suggest they’re certainly not untouchable. There were no teams from the North present on finals day last year but in 2022, Lancashire were runners-up to Hampshire in a thrilling contest, losing by just one run. The last northern team to be crowned champions were Nottinghamshire Outlaws in 2020 beating Surrey in a rain-interrupted contest. The Outlaws have made a winless start to the campaign alongside Durham as they occupy the bottom two North group places.

Elsewhere, Birmingham Bears have made the perfect start to the campaign with wins over the Outlaws and Durham. The Bears are building a strong case for a trip to Finals Day this year for the first time since they won the competition back in 2014. Meanwhile Yorkshire Vikings and Northamptonshire Steelbacks also boast 2 wins with 1 defeat each.

Who’s going to win in 2024?

At this stage of the season, it’s far too early to predict a winner, but the favourites are appearing to top their respective groups. With Finals Day not until September 14th, there is plenty of time for teams to have a massive turn in form. Who do you think will be at Edgbaston in September? And who will lift the coveted Blast trophy? Find out from the best seats in the house with Engage Hospitality, check out their range of hospitality options for Old Trafford, Lords and of course Finals Day!

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What is the T20 World Cup?

The tournament in the West Indies and USA gets underway on Sunday 2nd June, with the American hosts taking on neighbours Canada in the opening fixture. England will also be facing local rivals in their first game and there will no doubt be plenty of sun cream in use as they face Scotland in Barbados.

Buttler and co. will also play Oman and Namibia in the group stage, as well as old rivals Australia, who won the 50-over World Cup last year. Meanwhile, Pakistan will face hosts USA, India, Canada and Ireland.

They’re targeting their second T20 World Cup win, having claimed the trophy in the competition’s second edition, beating Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s back in 2009. They’ve lost twice in the final, including against England last time out.

Should England progress through their group, they’ll need to navigate their way through the Super 8s group, followed by the semi-finals. The final takes place on Saturday 29th June.

England face Pakistan in T20 World Cup warm-up series

If being World Cup holders didn’t add enough pressure, all eyes will be on England this summer as they look to put a disastrous 50-over World Cup campaign behind them.

Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler’s side looked toothless in India last autumn and will be looking to avoid embarrassment when the T20 edition commences next month. In preparation for the tournament, they’ll face Pakistan in a four-match series on home soil in what will be a rematch of the final that saw England become world champions in 2022.

England v Pakistan T20 series

●    Wednesday 22nd May – Headingley
●    Saturday 25th May – Edgbaston
●    Tuesday 28th May – Sophia Gardens
●    Thursday 30th May – Kia Oval

With the weather finally changing for the better, we’re set for four days of glorious cricket and you can enjoy the action from the best seats in the house with Engage’s exclusive hospitality packages. And if you’re in the mood for more cricket, there are plenty more opportunities to watch in style later in the year.

The four matches will give us a good indication of what to expect when the World Cup kicks off in June. The 15-man provisional squad has already been selected but with the official deadline not for another few weeks, England’s managing director Rob Key has stressed that there could still be changes.

Pakistan are also looking to build some momentum as they prepare for the World Cup. They performed slightly better than England in India last autumn despite losing to them, winning four of their matches, but they only finished fifth, narrowly missing out on a spot in the semi-finals.

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Archer returns but Stokes misses out

While England will be looking to knock themselves into form, one man will be using the warm-up games to prove his fitness. After more than a year in the wilderness due to a long-term elbow injury, Jofra Archer is set to make his return to the international stage.

The fast bowler was a key part of England’s 50-over World Cup win in 2019 but he missed out on the T20 format. Archer was also absent for last summer’s thrilling Ashes series with Australia and following England’s dismal showing on their last World Cup appearance, Buttler will be hoping the 29-year-old’s return can galvanise his side.

Elsewhere, Chris Jordan is also back in the squad after missing out on the winter tour to the West Indies. The bowler has been picked ahead of Chris Woakes, while Jamie Overton misses out with injury. Spin bowler Tom Hartley is also included, despite never playing for England in a T20 international.

At the top of the order, England look strong with the likes of Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Will Jacks all impressive with the bat in the IPL. For so long, England have relied on Ben Stokes to rescue them with some magic but somebody else will have to step up this time. The Test captain will not be on the plane having asked not to be considered as he recovers from a knee operation.

As England look to mix things up in an effort to avoid a repeat of what happened in India, one casualty is Dawid Malan. The experienced batsman struggled at the World Cup and misses out on the squad.

While in previous years these warm-up games would have been seen as just that, this time it’s different. England are a force in world cricket and they’ll be desperate to prove just that heading into the World Cup. Poor results against Pakistan may not mean anything in theory, but they could have disastrous consequences if they breed another embarrassing campaign.

Provisional England T20 squad

Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.

When is the T20 World Cup?

The tournament in the West Indies and USA gets underway on Sunday 2nd June, with the American hosts taking on neighbours Canada in the opening fixture. England will also be facing local rivals in their first game and there will no doubt be plenty of sun cream in use as they face Scotland in Barbados.

Buttler and co. will also play Oman and Namibia in the group stage, as well as old rivals Australia, who won the 50-over World Cup last year. Meanwhile, Pakistan will face hosts USA, India, Canada and Ireland.

They’re targeting their second T20 World Cup win, having claimed the trophy in the competition’s second edition, beating Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s back in 2009. They’ve lost twice in the final, including against England last time out.

Should England progress through their group, they’ll need to navigate their way through the Super 8s group, followed by the semi-finals. The final takes place on Saturday 29th June.

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