Cricket is one of the most popularly watched sports worldwide and when it comes to this, only a few leagues stand out. The IPL, the Cricket World Cup, and the Vitality T20 Blast are just some of the most-followed cricket matches.

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The IPL is coming back this year on April 9 and aside from this, Vitality Blast T20 is also something to look forward to. The Vitality Blast is a professional Twenty20 cricket competition that is participated by the English and Welsh first-class counties and this year, it is scheduled to take start on June 9.

This cricket competition has been around since 2003 and is one of the most followed and wagered on cricket leagues since then. Vitality T20 Betting and Odds are offered on numerous sportsbooks because of their popularity.

2021 T20 Vitality Blast Teams, Schedule, and Format

The competition is called Vitality Blast because the company Vitality has been the tournament’s title sponsor since 2018. This will be the case until only this year as Vitality signed a deal to become the title partner for four years. Unless, of course, they renew the sponsorship contract with Vitality.

This year, there are a total of 18 participants and they are placed in two different groups. The North Group consists of defending champions Notts Outlaws, Birmingham Bears, Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Leicestershire Foxes, Northants Steelbacks, Worcestershire Rapids, and Yorkshire Vikings.

Meanwhile, the South Group has the teams Essex Eagles, Gloucestershire, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Kent Spitfires, Middlesex, Somerset, Surrey, and Sussex Sharks.

This season will start on June 9, 2021, Wednesday. The first match will be between Notts Outlaws and Worcestershire Rapids. It will be held at New Road and will be broadcasted by Sky Sports.

This year will have a 14-match group stage format. Each team or county will play seven matches at home and seven matches away. The top four counties will be the ones who will progress to the quarter-finals.  Regarding the quarter-finals, whoever will top in each group will host the fourth-ranked team from the South Group.

The four teams who will top the quarter-finals will then go to the finals which are scheduled for September 18. It will be held at Edgbaston. The knockout matches will have a reserve day as this is required. Regarding the accessibility of live matches, the league has not said anything official just yet. They want to welcome fans back in the stadiums but this is only if local governments and proper protocols will be in place by the time the matches start.

Here is the full schedule of this year’s matches:

June 09, 2021

Kent Spitfires vs Hampshire (Canterbury)

Lancashire Lightning vs Derbyshire (Emirates Old Trafford)

Worcestershire Rapids vs Notts Outlaws (New Road)

Somerset vs Essex Eagles (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

June 10, 2021            

Yorkshire Vikings vs Birmingham Bears (Emerald Headingley)

Lancashire Lightning vs Leicestershire Foxes (Emirates Old Trafford)

Middlesex vs Surrey (Lord's)

Glamorgan vs Gloucestershire (Sophia Gardens)

June 11, 2021  

Gloucestershire vs Sussex Sharks (Bristol County Ground)

Kent Spitfires vs Middlesex (Canterbury)

Durham vs Yorkshire Vikings (Emirates Riverside)

Essex Eagles vs Hampshire (The Cloudfm County Ground)

Somerset vs Surrey (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Worcestershire Rapids (The County Ground, Northampton)

Notts Outlaws vs Birmingham Bears (Trent Bridge)

Leicestershire Foxes vs Derbyshire (Upton steel County Ground)

June 12, 2021

Sussex Sharks vs Hampshire (The 1st Central County Ground)

June 13, 2021

Kent Spitfires vs Gloucestershire (Canterbury)

Worcestershire Rapids vs Lancashire Lightning (New Road)

Glamorgan vs Essex Eagles (Sophia Gardens)

Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Notts Outlaws (The County Ground Northampton)

Derbyshire vs Birmingham Bears (The Incora County Ground)

Leicestershire Foxes vs Durham (Upton steel County Ground)

June 14, 2021

Surrey vs Glamorgan (Kia Oval)

June 15, 2021

Yorkshire Vikings vs Leicestershire Foxes (Emerald Headingley)

Durham vs Notts Outlaws (Emirates Riverside)

Middlesex vs Hampshire (Venue TBC)

Essex Eagles vs Sussex Sharks (The Cloudfm County Ground)

Somerset vs Kent Spitfires (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Birmingham Bears (The County Ground Northampton)

Derbyshire vs Lancashire Lightning (The Incora County Ground)

June 16, 2021       

Worcestershire Rapids vs Yorkshire Vikings (New Road)

Glamorgan vs Kent Spitfires (Sophia Gardens)

Leicestershire Foxes vs Birmingham Bears (Upton steel County Ground)

June 17, 2021           

Durham vs Lancashire Lightning (Emirates Riverside)

Surrey vs Sussex Sharks (Kia Oval)

Middlesex vs Gloucestershire (Venue TBC)

Derbyshire vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (The Incora County Ground)

June 18, 2021  

Birmingham Bears vs Lancashire Lightning (Edgbaston)

Yorkshire Vikings vs Durham (Emerald Headingley)

Surrey vs Hampshire (Kia Oval)

Worcestershire Rapids vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (New Road)

Glamorgan vs Middlesex (Sophia Gardens)

Sussex Sharks vs Somerset (The 1st Central County Ground)

Essex Eagles vs Gloucestershire (The Cloudfm County Ground)

Notts Outlaws vs Derbyshire (Trent Bridge)

June 19, 2021

Somerset vs Glamorgan (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

June 20, 2021

Gloucestershire vs Hampshire (Bristol County Ground)

Kent Spitfires vs Essex Eagles (Canterbury)

Yorkshire Vikings vs Derbyshire (Emerald Headingley)

Durham vs Birmingham Bears (Emirates Riverside)

Lancashire Lightning vs Notts Outlaws (Emirates Old Trafford)

Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Leicestershire Foxes (The County Ground Northampton)

June 21, 2021

Surrey vs Essex Eagles (Kia Oval)

June 22, 2021

Gloucestershire vs Kent Spitfires (Bristol County Ground)

Sussex Sharks vs Glamorgan (The 1st Central County Ground)

Derbyshire vs Leicestershire Foxes (The Incora County Ground)

Notts Outlaws vs Worcestershire Rapids (Trent Bridge)

June 23, 2021       

Yorkshire Vikings vs Worcestershire Rapids (Emerald Headingley)

Durham vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (Emirates Riverside)

Surrey vs Somerset (Kia Oval)

June 24, 2021           

Birmingham Bears v Derbyshire (Edgbaston)

Gloucestershire v Glamorgan (Bristol County Ground)

Middlesex v Essex Eagles (Lord's)

June 25, 2021  

Surrey vs Middlesex (Kia Oval)

Worcestershire Rapids vs Durham (New Road)

Sussex Sharks vs Gloucestershire (The 1st Central County Ground)

Essex Eagles vs Kent Spitfires (The Cloudfm County Ground)

Somerset vs Hampshire (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Lancashire Lightning (The County Ground Northampton)

Derbyshire vs Notts Outlaws (The Incora County Ground)

Leicestershire Foxes vs Yorkshire Vikings (Upton steel County Ground)

June 26, 2021

Birmingham Bears vs Durham (Edgbaston)

Yorkshire Vikings vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (Emerald Headingley)

Notts Outlaws vs Lancashire Lightning (Trent Bridge)

June 27, 2021

Worcestershire Rapids vs Leicestershire Foxes (New Road)

Middlesex vs Glamorgan (Venue TBC)

Sussex Sharks vs Surrey (The 1st Central County Ground)

 Monday, June 28, 2021

Hampshire vs Middlesex (Ageas Bowl)

Kent Spitfires vs Somerset (Canterbury)

June 29, 2021

Glamorgan vs Surrey (Sophia Gardens)

Sussex Sharks vs Kent Spitfires (The 1st Central County Ground)

Essex Eagles vs Somerset (The Cloudfm County Ground)

Leicestershire Foxes vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (Uptonsteel County Ground)

 

June 30, 2021       

Hampshire vs Surrey (Ageas Bowl)

Birmingham Bears vs Yorkshire Vikings (Edgbaston)

Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Durham (The County Ground Northampton)

July 01, 2021

Gloucestershire vs Somerset (Bristol County Ground)

Lancashire Lightning vs Worcestershire Rapids (Emirates Old Trafford)

Middlesex vs Sussex Sharks (Lord's)

Essex Eagles vs Glamorgan (The Cloudfm County Ground)

Notts Outlaws vs Leicestershire Foxes (Trent Bridge)

July 02, 2021    

Hampshire vs Gloucestershire (Ageas Bowl)

Kent Spitfires vs Surrey (Canterbury)

Birmingham Bears vs Notts Outlaws (Edgbaston)

Yorkshire Vikings vs Lancashire Lightning (Emerald Headingley)

Durham vs Leicestershire Foxes (Emirates Riverside)

Glamorgan vs Sussex Sharks (Sophia Gardens)

Somerset vs Middlesex (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

Derbyshire vs Worcestershire Rapids (The Incora County Ground)

July 09, 2021    

Hampshire vs Somerset (Ageas Bowl)

Gloucestershire vs Middlesex (Cheltenham)

Lancashire Lightning vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (Emirates Old Trafford)

Durham vs Derbyshire (Emirates Riverside)

Surrey vs Kent Spitfires (Kia Oval)

Worcestershire Rapids vs Birmingham Bears (New Road)

Sussex Sharks vs Essex Eagles (The 1st Central County Ground)

Notts Outlaws vs Yorkshire Vikings (Trent Bridge)

July 16, 2021    

Hampshire vs Essex Eagles (Ageas Bowl – afternoon match)

Hampshire vs Sussex Sharks (Ageas Bowl – evening match)

Gloucestershire vs Surrey (Cheltenham)

Birmingham Bears vs Worcestershire Rapids (Edgbaston)

Lancashire Lightning vs Durham (Emirates Old Trafford)

Middlesex vs Kent Spitfires (Lord's)

Glamorgan vs Somerset (Sophia Gardens)

Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Derbyshire (The County Ground Northampton)

Leicestershire Foxes vs Notts Outlaws (Upton steel County Ground)

 

July 17, 2021

Lancashire Lightning vs Yorkshire Vikings (Emirates Old Trafford)

July 18, 2021  

Hampshire vs Glamorgan (Ageas Bowl)

Kent Spitfires vs Sussex Sharks (Canterbury)

Derbyshire vs Yorkshire Vikings (Chesterfield)

Birmingham Bears vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks (Edgbaston)

Essex Eagles vs Middlesex (The Cloudfm County Ground)

Somerset vs Gloucestershire (The Cooper Associates County Ground)

Notts Outlaws vs Durham (Trent Bridge)

Leicestershire Foxes vs Worcestershire Rapids (Upton steel County Ground)

August 24 to 27 2021: Vitality Blast Quarter-finals

September 18, 2021

Vitality Blast Finals Day (Edgbaston)