T20 Blast: Four days of men's and women's T20 games to kick off competition
- Published
Two-time defending Charlotte Edwards Cup winners, Southern Vipers, will play Western Storm in the opening double-header on 30 May at Ageas Bowl
The T20 Blast will kick off in 2024 with four days of double-headers with the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
From 30 May to 2 June, there will be seven men's and women's double headers, with a match from each competition.
As happened this year, Edgbaston will stage two men's matches on Saturday, 1 June in what will again be called 'Blast Off'.
The full schedule for county cricket in 2024 will be announced on Thursday, 23 November.
All eight teams in the Charlotte Edwards Cup will play at least once over the opening few days, while 13 of the 18 teams in the T20 Blast will also feature.
Defending champions Southern Vipers kick off the women's competition at the Ageas Bowl on Thursday, 30 May when they take on Western Storm before Hampshire Hawks face Surrey in the first T20 Blast game.
Also on that opening day, Thunder play Central Sparks and Lancashire Lightning play Durham in a double-header in Manchester.
T20 Blast holders Somerset headline the second day of action as they welcome Essex to Taunton, in a repeat of last year's final. Western Storm play Sunrisers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup on the same bill.
There are also double-headers that day at Trent Bridge and Seat Unique Riverside.
Birmingham Bears v Yorkshire Vikings was one of the two fixtures in the T20 Blast Off staged at Edgbaston in 2023
Edgbaston takes centre stage on the Saturday, 1 June as Birmingham Bears play Notts Outlaws after Derbyshire Falcons face Leicestershire Foxes. In the inaugural Blast Off in 2023, more than 14,000 fans attended with entertainment on and off the pitch during the day.
Finally on Sunday, action will be at the Kia Oval and Northampton's County Ground.
"We have scheduled some of the highest-profile men's and women's games during the four-day window, which will also launch the new Blast season in style," said ECB managing director of county cricket Neil Snowball.
He added: "We saw how successful Blast Off was this summer when Edgbaston did a remarkable job, as they always do, to put on a show for fans on and off the field and we're determined to build on that.
Fixtures:
Thursday, 30 May:
Ageas Bowl:
Southern Vipers v Western Storm (Charlotte Edwards Cup)
Hampshire Hawks v Surrey (T20 Blast)
Emirates Old Trafford:
Thunder v Central Sparks (Charlotte Edwards Cup)
Lancashire Lightning v Durham (T20 Blast)
Friday, 31 May:
Seat Unique Riverside:
Northern Diamonds v South East Stars (Charlotte Edwards Cup)
Durham v Birmingham Bears (T20 Blast)
Trent Bridge:
The Blaze v Central Sparks (Charlotte Edwards Cup)
Notts Outlaws v Northamptonshire Steelbacks (T20 Blast)
Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton:
Western Storm v Sunrisers (Charlotte Edwards Cup)
Somerset v Essex Eagles (T20 Blast)
Saturday, 1 June:
Edgbaston:
Derbyshire Falcons v Leicestershire Foxes (T20 Blast)
Birmingham Bears v Notts Outlaws (T20 Blast)
Sunday, 2 June:
The Kia Oval:
South East Stars v Southern Vipers (Charlotte Edwards Cup)
Surrey v Somerset (T20 Blast)
County Ground, Northampton:
Sunrisers v Northern Diamonds (Charlotte Edwards Cup)
Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Yorkshire Vikings (T20 Blast)