2020 T20 Blast

2020 Vitality Blast
Dates27 August – 4 October 2020
Administrator(s)England and Wales Cricket Board
Cricket formatTwenty20
Tournament format(s)Group stage and knockout
ChampionsNotts Outlaws (2nd title)
Participants18
Matches97
Most runsDaniel Bell-Drummond (423)
Most wicketsJake Ball (19)
Official websiteVitality Blast
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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]

  1. ^ "T20 Blast 2020: No crowds and few overseas stars as tournament set to start". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  2. ^ "First-Class Counties agree formats for shortened men's domestic season". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. ^ "All First-Class Counties committed to playing same red-ball and white-ball competitions". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Bob Willis Trophy: Shortened red-ball competition named after ex-England captain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Vitality Blast 2020 fixtures: Edgbaston Finals Day to conclude domestic season". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Notts Outlaws ease past Derbyshire Falcons in Vitality Blast". Ilkeston Advertiser. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Liam Livingstone leads Lancashire into quarter-finals despite all-round Joe Root show". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  8. ^ "T20 Blast: Gloucestershire reach quarter-finals after Northants lose to Worcestershire". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Vitality Blast: Surrey reach quarter-finals after beating Sussex". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  10. ^ "T20 Blast: Surrey and Kent reach quarter-finals while Sussex on the verge". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Who's in the Vitality Blast quarter-finals?". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  12. ^ "T20 Blast: Northants Steelbacks, Leicestershire and Sussex reach quarter-finals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Hashim Amla, Jason Roy build Surrey up, before Will Jacks cuts Kent down". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Lancashire spinners sink Sussex as Jason Gillespie reign ends with a rout". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Gloucestershire romp to Finals Day with seven-wicket demolition of Northants". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Leicestershire let Finals Day appearance slip as Samit Patel hauls Notts through". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  17. ^ "T20 Blast: Notts, Surrey, Lancashire & Gloucestershire through to Finals Day". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Extra reserve day added after washout, as Finals Day heads into overtime". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  19. ^ "T20 Blast Finals Day heads into reserve day for first time, with October 7 on standby". The Cricketer. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  20. ^ "T20 Blast Finals Day: First semi-final to begin at 15:15 at Edgbaston". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  21. ^ "Liam Plunkett, Ben Foakes ease Surrey into Blast final". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Dan Christian's brutality takes Nottinghamshire into Blast final against Surrey". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  23. ^ "T20 Blast: Notts Outlaws beat Surrey to win trophy for second time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 October 2020.