According to a press release by the England Cricket Board, they have announced the fixtures for this summer’s Royal London Cup and Vitality Blast. The Vitality Blast will begin on June 9th with champions Notts Outlaws defending their title against 2018 winners Worcestershire Rapids. The tournament is set to return to its 14 match group stage format with First Class Counties split into North and South groups. The Royal London Cup will also be returning this summer following a break in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The schedule for the women’s Regional 50 and T20 competitions will be announced soon. The ECB Managing Director of County Cricket, Neil Snowball had this to say, “The stage is set for an exciting and important summer of domestic cricket for the First-Class Counties and the women’s regional teams. “I know how much county members and supporters eagerly anticipate the release of fixtures and I am pleased that we have been able to plan a complete schedule for men’s and women’s cricket.
“The Vitality Blast has established itself as a much-loved tournament while the return of the Royal London Cup, alongside the remodelled County Championship for this season, will be warmly welcomed as we all look forward to the summer.
“I am also delighted that we will shortly release the schedule for the women’s Regional 50 over and T20 competitions. These competitions will not only showcase the deepening pool of talent in women’s cricket, but also further strengthen the professional pathway for our female players.”
The ECB and the First Class Counties is working closely with the government to ensure the safety of all the supporters attending matches at the venues in England and Wales. Schedule
Vitality Blast
2021 Vitality Blast Groups
North: Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Yorkshire Vikings, Notts Outlaws, Worcestershire Rapids, Birmingham Bears, Derbyshire Falcons, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks.
South: Hampshire, Sussex Sharks, Kent Spitfires, Essex Eagles, Middlesex, Surrey, Glamorgan, Somerset, Gloucestershire.
Group Stage
The Group Stage is set to run from 9 June – 18 July.
Knockout Stage
Quarter-finals: 24-27 August. Finals Day: 18 September. All knockout stage matches will have a reserve day assigned.
Royal London Cup
2021 Royal London Groups
Group A: Essex, Worcestershire, Sussex, Middlesex, Kent, Durham, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Lancashire
Group B: Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Yorkshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset.
The Royal London Cup groups were randomly drawn. The order that they were drawn appears in the above list and has determined the home and away ties.
Example: The first team in the Group will play at home to the second, third, fourth and fifth teams drawn, and away to sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth. This continues – another example is the team drawn seventh; this team will play at home to teams drawn eighth, ninth, first, second, and away to teams drawn third, fourth, fifth, sixth.
Group Stage
The Group Stage is set to run from 22 July – 12 August
Knockout Stage
Quarter-finals: 14 August; Semi-Finals: 17 August. Final: 19 August at Trent Bridge.