Dates | 27 August – 4 October 2020 |
---|---|
Administrator(s) | England and Wales Cricket Board |
Cricket format | Twenty20 |
Tournament format(s) | Group stage and knockout |
Champions | Notts Outlaws (2nd title) |
Participants | 18 |
Matches | 97 |
Most runs | Daniel Bell-Drummond (423) |
Most wickets | Jake Ball (19) |
Official website | Vitality Blast |
The 2020 Vitality Blast was the eighteenth edition of the T20 Blast currently known as the Vitality Blast,[1] a professional Twenty20 cricket league being played in England and Wales.[2] run by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which was branded as the Vitality Blast due to the tournament's sponsorship deal.[3][4] On 12 August 2020, following a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ECB confirmed the fixtures for the tournament.[5]
In the North Group, the Notts Outlaws and Lancashire Lightning qualified for the quarter-finals.[6][7] In the Central Group, Gloucestershire became the first team to qualify.[8] The South Group saw Surrey and Kent Spitfires qualify.[9][10] Following the conclusion of the group stage, the Northants Steelbacks, the Leicestershire Foxes and the Sussex Sharks had also confirmed their spots in the quarter-finals.[11][12]
Surrey,[13] Lancashire Lightning[14] and Gloucestershire[15] all won their quarter-final matches to progress to Finals Day. The match between the Leicestershire Foxes and the Notts Outlaws finished in a tie.[16] The Notts Outlaws advanced to Finals Day after they had scored more runs in the powerplay.[17]
For the first time in the tournament's history, Finals Day was washed out, with all the matches rescheduled to be played on 4 October 2020, the designated reserve day.[18] If no play was possible on the reserve day, the ECB announced that the matches would have been played on 7 October 2020.[19] Play was delayed further on the reserve day due to rain, and as a result the two semi-finals were reduced to 11 overs per side, and the final was shortened to 16 overs per side.[20] Surrey beat Gloucestershire by six wickets in the first semi-final,[21] and the Notts Outlaws beat Lancashire Lightning by five wickets in the second semi-final.[22] In the final, the Notts Outlaws beat Surrey by six wickets to win the tournament and their second domestic T20 title.[23]