The Vitality Blast returns to Sky Sports Cricket at the end of August and the broadcaster has announced the first batch of 10 games it will show live from the T20 competition.
Sky Sports will show every county at least once in the Blast this season, starting with Yorkshire Viking’s home clash against Notts Outlaws at Headingley on 27 August, culminating with Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, 3 October.
Forming a key part of the summer’s shortened county cricket season, the Vitality Blast has been regionalised into the same three groups used in the four-day Bob Willis Trophy domestic competition, with each county set to play 10 group stage matches behind closed doors.
Headingley, Edgbaston and The Oval will host eight of the 10 Sky-televised group matches, which will include neutral double-headers at each of those venues.
The Ageas Bowl and Old Trafford, which have hosted men’s England internationals this summer, will also stage televised derby matches.
The quarter-finals will all be played on Thursday, 1 October, with one of those to be shown live on Sky Sports Cricket, along with all three matches on Finals Day in full two days later.
Vitality Blast matches that are not televised on Sky Sports may be available via the First-Class Counties’ live streaming services across their digital channels, with a full breakdown of how to follow all the action to be available via the ECB website.
In addition to the Vitality Blast, Sky Sports will also broadcast live coverage of all four days of the Bob Willis Trophy Final at Lord’s on 23-26 September, but there has been no confirmation as to whether Sky will televise matches from the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the one-off women’s domestic 50-over competition which starts on 29 August.
Commenting on the return of the Vitality Blast and televised county cricket, Tom Harrison, ECB chief executive, said:
“It promises to be a thrilling climax to the season, and something members, fans and everyone involved in the game can look forward to. Finals Day at Edgbaston will also ensure the men’s county cricket finishes the season on a high.
“The fact we’ve been able to get so much domestic cricket played this summer owes to the collaborative efforts of the county network and their willingness to find a way to get the game on in the safest way possible for all involved.
“There will be many more challenges ahead, but the unity and spirit shown during this summer has been a tribute to the county network as we work together to grow our sport.”
Sky Sports’ coverage of the 2020 Vitality Blast will feature live presentation and commentary from the grounds, led by Nick Knight, alongside Sky Sports Cricket regulars including Rob Key, Nasser Hussain, David Lloyd and Ebony Rainford-Brent.
Full details of the confirmed live Vitality Blast matches on Sky Sports Cricket this summer can be found below.
For a full list of all forthcoming cricket on the box, visit SOTB’s dedicated cricket TV listings page.
–
THURSDAY 27th AUGUST
Yorkshire Vikings v Notts Outlaws
|
18:35 |
|
–
MONDAY 31st AUGUST
Derbyshire Falcons v Lancashire Lightning
|
14:00 |
|
Leicestershire Foxes v Durham
|
18:00 |
|
–
WEDNESDAY 2nd SEPTEMBER
Birmingham Bears v Gloucestershire
|
18:35 |
|
–
THURSDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER
Worcestershire Rapids v Somerset
|
14:00 |
|
Northants Steelbacks v Glamorgan
|
18:30 |
|
–
SATURDAY 5th SEPTEMBER
Essex Eagles v Kent Spitfires
|
14:00 |
|
Surrey v Middlesex
|
18:35 |
|
–
THURSDAY 10th SEPTEMBER
Hampshire v Sussex Sharks
|
18:35 |
|
–
THURSDAY 17th SEPTEMBER
Lancashire Lightning v Yorkshire Vikings
|
18:35 |
|
–
THURSDAY 1st OCTOBER
Quarter-Finals (1 live match)
|
|
–
SATURDAY 3rd OCTOBER
Vitality Blast Finals Day
|
|
–
–
