ECB unveils ‘bigger and better’ Blast with 52 men’s and women’s double-headers

All 18 first-class counties will host at least one men’s and women’s double-header in a “bigger and better” Vitality Blast in 2025.

Next season will be the first time in the tournament’s history that all women’s and men’s county teams will play side by side in the Blast, while the women’s competition will be split into two.

One competition will be contested by eight counties from Tier One – who will play alongside the men in the Blast – while the remaining 10 counties will play in the Vitality Blast Women’s League Two.

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In total, 52 men’s and women’s double-headers will be staged next season.

The tournament begins with the ‘Blast-Off weekend’ from Thursday, May 29 until Sunday June 1, with 10 double-headers taking place over that period.

The opening day will see Lancashire Lightning hosting Worcestershire Rapids at Old Trafford in the men’s tournament, while Middlesex and Sussex Sharks will meet at Lord’s in the first double-header.

Reigning champions Gloucester kick off their title defence the following day against Kent Spitfires in Bristol, and there are three more double-headers set as Hampshire Hawks face Essex, Somerset host Surrey, while Notts Outlaws and women’s counterparts the Blaze take on the Bears.

More double-headers follow on Saturday as the Bears face Durham at Edgbaston while Lancashire come up against Notts.

The weekend finishes with five double-headers on Sunday, including Durham’s clash with Lancashire and Essex’s meeting with Somerset.

Next year’s Blast will see ‘Rivals Week’ continue in the men’s competition, with the focus being on the oldest county rivalries.

There will also be 17 scheduled games in the men’s competition staged on a Tuesday or Wednesday, while the number of back-to-back matches has been reduced by nearly a third.

The group stages will conclude with the ‘Friday Finale’ on July 18, where the women’s teams will compete for three Finals Day spots and the men’s teams will aim to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

The men’s Finals Day will take place on September 13 at Edgbaston, while the first-ever women’s Finals Day will be staged at the Kia Oval on July 27.

ECB director of the women’s professional game Beth Barrett-Wild said: “It’s so exciting to announce Vitality Blast women’s fixtures alongside the men’s fixtures.

“It’s one of the clearest demonstrations to date of our aligned ‘one game’ approach to the delivery of men’s and women’s domestic cricket moving forwards, truly marking the beginning of a new era for professional cricket – one with gender balance at its core – in this country.”

ECB managing director of competitions and major events Neil Snowball, added: “The Vitality Blast is going to be bigger and better next season with the introduction of two women’s competitions and some key dates in the domestic calendar from the Blast-Off weekend, to Friday Finale and of course Finals Day for the men’s and women’s competitions.

“It has also been important that while putting the schedule together we have listened to the players by reducing the number of back-to-back games in the men’s competition.

“We have had constructive conversations with the PCA to meet those understandable needs while also balancing the commercial value of the Vitality Blast to counties.”