Cricket Dec 07, 2025

Vitality Blast: More double-headers and first Women's Finals Day part of historic T20 summer in 2025

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Vitality Blast: More double-headers and first Women's Finals Day part of historic T20 summer in 2025

All 18 first-class counties will host at least one women’s and men’s Vitality Blast double-header next season as part of a historic 2025 domestic T20 summer.

The 2025 season will be the first time all women's and men's county teams will play side by side in the Vitality Blast, with the men's competition entering its 22nd year and the women's teams playing across two Vitality Blast competitions.

The eight counties from Tier One will compete in the Vitality Blast Women's competition and the Vitality Blast Women's League 2 will feature the 10 remaining counties, with a total of 52 women's and men's double-headers staged across 20 venues next season.

The Blast-Off weekend from May 29-June 1 will kick-start the new-look competition, with 10 double-headers and all eight of the Vitality Blast women's competition counties involved. Rivals Week will also continue in the men's competition, with the oldest county rivalries taking centre stage.

The group stage will then come to a high-stakes conclusion with 'Friday Finale' on July 18, with eight men's and eight women's matches scheduled, where the women race for the three Finals Day spots and the men have a last chance to book their place in the quarter-finals.

, while Vitality Blast Men's Finals Day takes place at Edgbaston on Saturday September 13.

There will be 17 scheduled Vitality Blast men's competition matches on a Tuesday or Wednesday, an increase from five last summer, while the number of back-to-back games has also been reduced by almost a third.

Each men's county side plays 14 group-stage matches against the counties in their respective groups. The top four teams in each group progress to the quarter-finals, with those winners then qualifying for Finals Day.

North Group: Bears, Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Notts Outlaws, Worcestershire Rapids, Yorkshire Vikings.

South Group: Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire Hawks, Kent Spitfires, Middlesex, Somerset, Sussex Sharks, Surrey.

The eight sides in the Vitality Blast women's competition play 14 group-stage matches, playing every team home and away, with the top three in the round-robin group then securing a spot at Finals Day.

Group: Bears, Durham, Essex, Hampshire Hawks, Lancashire Thunder, Somerset, Surrey, The Blaze.

The other ten teams competing in the Vitality Blast Women's League 2 are split into two groups of five, with each county playing eight group-stage matches and the top two from both qualifying for Finals Day.

North Group: Derbyshire Falcons, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Worcestershire Rapids, Yorkshire.

South Group: Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Middlesex, Sussex Sharks.

Thursday, May 29

Men - Lancashire Lightning vs Worcestershire Rapids (Emirates Old Trafford)

Men - Middlesex vs Sussex Sharks (Lord's)

Women's League 2 - Middlesex vs Sussex Sharks (Lord's)

Friday, May 30

Men - Gloucestershire vs Kent Spitfires (The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol)

Women - Hampshire Hawks vs Essex (Utilita Bowl)

Men - Hampshire Hawks vs Essex (Utilita Bowl)

Men - Leicestershire Foxes vs Derbyshire Falcons (Uptonsteel County Ground)

Men - Notts Outlaws vs Bears (Trent Bridge)

Women - The Blaze vs Bears (Trent Bridge)

Men - Somerset vs Surrey (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

Women - Somerset vs Surrey (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

Men - Yorkshire vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (Headingley)

Saturday May 31

Men - Bears vs Durham Cricket (Edgbaston)

Women - Bears vs Durham Cricket (Edgbaston)

Men - Lancashire Lightning vs Notts Outlaws (Emirates Old Trafford)

Women - Lancashire Thunder vs The Blaze (Emirates Old Trafford)

Sunday June 1

Men - Durham Cricket vs Lancashire Lightning (Seat Unique Riverside)

Women - Durham Cricket vs Lancashire Thunder (Seat Unique Riverside)

Men - Worcestershire Rapids vs Yorkshire (Visit Worcestershire New Road)

Men - Essex vs Somerset (The Cloud County Ground)

Women - Essex vs Somerset (The Cloud County Ground)

Men - Middlesex vs Glamorgan (Merchant Taylors' School)

Women's League 2 - Middlesex vs Glamorgan (Merchant Taylors' School)

Men - Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Leicestershire Foxes (The County Ground Northampton)

Women's League 2 - Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Leicestershire (The County Ground Northampton)

Men - Sussex Sharks vs Gloucestershire (The 1st Central County Ground, Hove)

Women's League 2 - Sussex Sharks vs Gloucestershire (The 1st Central County Ground, Hove)

Women's League 2 - Yorkshire vs Derbyshire Falcons (Headingley)

Tags:

cricket news id:13257376

Share this article

Related Posts

The Ashes: England cope with the chaos on and off the field to give fans some Christmas cheer in astonishing MCG Test

The Ashes: England cope with the chaos on and off the field to give fans some Christmas cheer in astonishing MCG Test

Here is a little rundown for you.England's week has been more eventful than Craig David's in '7 Days' but, like that musician, they were then able to...

England T20 World Cup squad: Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue named in provisional group for 2026 tournament but no Jamie Smith or Brydon Carse

England T20 World Cup squad: Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue named in provisional group for 2026 tournament but no Jamie Smith or Brydon Carse

Jofra Archer has been included in England's provisional T20 World Cup squad after his Ashes-ending injury, with fellow fast bowler Josh Tongue also na...

England Women cricket fixtures and results 2026: T20 World Cup, India Test match at Lord's and more

England Women cricket fixtures and results 2026: T20 World Cup, India Test match at Lord's and more

Full fixtures for England's women's side in 2026, including the home T20 World Cup.All times UK and Ireland 🕰️

The Ashes: Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton on whether MCG pitch was acceptable with Cricket Australia set to lose millions of dollars

The Ashes: Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton on whether MCG pitch was acceptable with Cricket Australia set to lose millions of dollars

The drought is over.After 15 years, England have finally won another Test in Australia, coming out on the right side of a fast-moving, two-day clash a...

Sir Alastair Cook says 'zero contact' regarding England coaching role - but would want to be involved 'at some stage in my life'

Sir Alastair Cook says 'zero contact' regarding England coaching role - but would want to be involved 'at some stage in my life'

Sir Alastair Cook says there has been "zero contact" with England regarding a possible role on the coaching staff - but that he would like to work wit...

Usman Khawaja hits out at 'racial stereotypes' after retirement announcement - 'Australian cricket still very white'

Usman Khawaja hits out at 'racial stereotypes' after retirement announcement - 'Australian cricket still very white'

Usman Khawaja has hit out against a culture of "racial stereotypes" in coverage of Australian cricket, declaring the sport is "still very white" as he...