2020 T20 Blast Explained

2020 Vitality Blast
Fromdate:27 August
Todate:4 October 2020
Administrator:England and Wales Cricket Board
Cricket Format:Twenty20
Tournament Format:Group stage and knockout
Champions:Notts Outlaws
Count:2
Participants:18
Matches:97
Most Runs:Daniel Bell-Drummond (423)
Most Wickets:Jake Ball (19)
Previous Year:2019
Previous Tournament:2019 T20 Blast
Next Year:2021
Next Tournament:2021 T20 Blast
Website:Vitality Blast

The 2020 Vitality Blast was the eighteenth edition of the T20 Blast currently known as the Vitality Blast,[1] a professional Twenty20 cricket league being played in England and Wales.[2] run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which was branded as the Vitality Blast due to the tournament's sponsorship deal.[3] [4] On 12 August 2020, following a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ECB confirmed the fixtures for the tournament.[5]

In the North Group, the Notts Outlaws and Lancashire Lightning qualified for the quarter-finals.[6] [7] In the Central Group, Gloucestershire became the first team to qualify.[8] The South Group saw Surrey and Kent Spitfires qualify.[9] [10] Following the conclusion of the group stage, the Northants Steelbacks, the Leicestershire Foxes and the Sussex Sharks had also confirmed their spots in the quarter-finals.[11] [12]

Surrey,[13] Lancashire Lightning[14] and Gloucestershire[15] all won their quarter-final matches to progress to Finals Day. The match between the Leicestershire Foxes and the Notts Outlaws finished in a tie.[16] The Notts Outlaws advanced to Finals Day after they had scored more runs in the powerplay.[17]

For the first time in the tournament's history, Finals Day was washed out, with all the matches rescheduled to be played on 4 October 2020, the designated reserve day.[18] If no play was possible on the reserve day, the ECB announced that the matches would have been played on 7 October 2020.[19] Play was delayed further on the reserve day due to rain, and as a result the two semi-finals were reduced to 11 overs per side, and the final was shortened to 16 overs per side.[20] Surrey beat Gloucestershire by six wickets in the first semi-final,[21] and the Notts Outlaws beat Lancashire Lightning by five wickets in the second semi-final.[22] In the final, the Notts Outlaws beat Surrey by six wickets to win the tournament and their second domestic T20 title.[23]

Background

The tournament was scheduled to start on 28 May 2020, and finish on 5 September 2020.[24] [25] [26] However, on 24 April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that no professional cricket would be played in England before 1 July 2020.[27] [28] In late May 2020, the ECB looked at the scheduling of domestic cricket for the summer, with the t20 Blast likely to go ahead, including the traditional Final's Day at Edgbaston.[29] The ECB also confirmed that no domestic cricket would be played before 1 August 2020.[30] [31] On 29 June 2020, the ECB confirmed that the county cricket season would begin on 1 August 2020,[32] with the format agreed in early July.[33]

On 7 July 2020, the majority of counties voted to start the tournament on 27 August 2020,[34] with Finals Day taking place at Edgbaston on 3 October 2020.[35]

Teams

The teams were placed into the following groups. The top two teams in each group progressed to the quarter-finals, where they were joined by the two best third-placed teams:[36]

Fixtures

North Group

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Central Group

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South Group

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Standings

South Group

Knock-out stage

Quarter-finals

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Finals Day

Semi-finals

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Final

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: T20 Blast 2020: No crowds and few overseas stars as tournament set to start . BBC Sport . 27 August 2020.
  2. Web site: First-Class Counties agree formats for shortened men's domestic season . England and Wales Cricket Board . 7 July 2020.
  3. Web site: All First-Class Counties committed to playing same red-ball and white-ball competitions . England and Wales Cricket Board . 10 July 2020.
  4. News: Bob Willis Trophy: Shortened red-ball competition named after ex-England captain . BBC Sport . 10 July 2020.
  5. Web site: Vitality Blast 2020 fixtures: Edgbaston Finals Day to conclude domestic season . England and Wales Cricket Board . 12 August 2020.
  6. Web site: Notts Outlaws ease past Derbyshire Falcons in Vitality Blast . Ilkeston Advertiser . 18 September 2020.
  7. Web site: Liam Livingstone leads Lancashire into quarter-finals despite all-round Joe Root show . ESPN Cricinfo . 18 September 2020.
  8. News: T20 Blast: Gloucestershire reach quarter-finals after Northants lose to Worcestershire . BBC Sport . 18 September 2020.
  9. Web site: Vitality Blast: Surrey reach quarter-finals after beating Sussex . Sky Sports . 18 September 2020.
  10. News: T20 Blast: Surrey and Kent reach quarter-finals while Sussex on the verge . BBC Sport . 18 September 2020.
  11. Web site: Who's in the Vitality Blast quarter-finals? . England and Wales Cricket Board . 20 September 2020.
  12. News: T20 Blast: Northants Steelbacks, Leicestershire and Sussex reach quarter-finals . BBC Sport . 20 September 2020.
  13. Web site: Hashim Amla, Jason Roy build Surrey up, before Will Jacks cuts Kent down . ESPN Cricinfo . 2 October 2020.
  14. Web site: Lancashire spinners sink Sussex as Jason Gillespie reign ends with a rout . ESPN Cricinfo . 2 October 2020.
  15. Web site: Gloucestershire romp to Finals Day with seven-wicket demolition of Northants . ESPN Cricinfo . 2 October 2020.
  16. Web site: Leicestershire let Finals Day appearance slip as Samit Patel hauls Notts through . ESPN Cricinfo . 2 October 2020.
  17. News: T20 Blast: Notts, Surrey, Lancashire & Gloucestershire through to Finals Day . BBC Sport . 2 October 2020.
  18. Web site: Extra reserve day added after washout, as Finals Day heads into overtime . ESPN Cricinfo . 3 October 2020.
  19. Web site: T20 Blast Finals Day heads into reserve day for first time, with October 7 on standby . The Cricketer . 3 October 2020.
  20. News: T20 Blast Finals Day: First semi-final to begin at 15:15 at Edgbaston . BBC Sport . 4 October 2020.
  21. Web site: Liam Plunkett, Ben Foakes ease Surrey into Blast final . ESPN Cricinfo . 5 October 2020.
  22. Web site: Dan Christian's brutality takes Nottinghamshire into Blast final against Surrey . ESPN Cricinfo . 5 October 2020.
  23. News: T20 Blast: Notts Outlaws beat Surrey to win trophy for second time . BBC Sport . 4 October 2020.
  24. Web site: ECB announce domestic fixtures for 2020 . England and Wales Cricket Board . 25 November 2019 . 26 November 2019.
  25. News: County Championship fixtures: Essex start against Yorkshire . BBC Sport . 26 November 2019.
  26. Web site: Championship and Hundred take centre stage in 2020 fixture list . ESPN Cricinfo . 26 November 2019.
  27. Web site: ECB announces further delay to the professional cricket season . England and Wales Cricket Board . 24 April 2020.
  28. News: Season delayed until July as England-West Indies postponed . BBC Sport . 24 April 2020.
  29. Web site: County Championship could include Lord's final with hopes for August start . ESPN Cricinfo . 27 May 2020.
  30. Web site: ECB update on the domestic and recreational game . England and Wales Cricket Board . 28 May 2020.
  31. Web site: Counties wait for ECB approval on August restart plan . ESPN Cricinfo . 8 June 2020.
  32. Web site: Update on return to play for men's and women's domestic cricket . England and Wales Cricket Board . 29 June 2020.
  33. News: County cricket: Delayed season given green light to begin on 1 August . BBC Sport . 29 June 2020.
  34. News: Counties vote to play red and white ball cricket when season starts on 1 August . BBC Sport . 7 July 2020.
  35. Web site: T20 Blast knockouts to be staged in October to boost chance of fans attending . ESPN Cricinfo . 12 August 2020.
  36. News: T20 Blast: Finals Day on 3 October and Bob Willis Trophy final on 23 September . BBC Sport . 12 August 2020.
  37. Web site: 2021-05-16. Lord's T20 Blast Statistics and Records. 2021-06-02. T20 Head to Head. en-GB.

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