The NatWest t20 Blast is a Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales run by the ECB from 2014. The league consists of the 18 first-class county teams divided into two divisions of nine teams each. This setup, which was first announced in November 2013, replaced the Friends Life t20 competition as the main domestic Twenty20 competition in England and Wales.[1]
The semi-finals and final of the competition are played consecutively on the same day and at the same ground, at the end of the competition. During finals day, there is a mascot derby, which is a race between mascots representing all 18 counties. Finals day is usually held at Edgbaston.[2]
Competition format
There are 18 clubs competing for the t20 title. These clubs are initially split into 2 divisions (North and South), each containing 9 teams, for the group stage of the competition. During the group stage (from May to July)[3] each club plays 6 of the other teams in the same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents. They play the other two teams only once, for a total of 14 games each. Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a tie or if the match is abandoned. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then net run rate. At the end of the group stage, the top four teams from each group enter the knockout stage.[4][5]