The Vitality Blast begins on Saturday as the English T20 tournament picks up the mantle as the Indian Premier League draws to a close. Once again the 18 counties will battle it out over the next couple of months to try to land the title.
It was Hampshire who came out on top at Edgbaston last year and they will be looking to make a defence of the title but plenty of counties have made impressive signings and will be out to take the crown from them.
Recent Winners
2022 – Hampshire
2021 – Kent
2020 – Nottinghamshire
2019 – Essex
2018 – Worcestershire
2017 – Nottinghamshire
2016 – Northamptonshire
2015 – Lancashire
2014 – Birmingham Bears
2013 – Northamptonshire
The Format
We are using what is now the normal format for this competition. That means we have the two groups – North and South – with each team playing the other eight in their group once and then six of the teams once more giving 14 group matches per county. The top four from each group at the end of the first phase will go into the quarter finals where we have N1 vs S4 N2 vs S3 S2 vs N3 S1 vs N4. The winners of those quarter finals will head to Finals Day which once again is at Edgbaston on July 15.
North Group
2022 was a better year for the North Group with two of the teams in it reaching finals day but neither of them could get over the line. Lancashire were the team beaten in the most dramatic final of them all and they will be back for another piece of this tournament. They should be much stronger with Jos Buttler likely to be around for a lot longer and the Kiwi duo of Daryl Mitchell and Colin de Grandhomme being solid options. Saqib Mahmood didn’t bowl a single ball in the tournament either so it would be no surprise if Lancashire go one better this time around.
Yorkshire were beaten by Lancashire in the semi-final a year ago but have already lost Tom Kohler-Cadmore from that side while England will see a lot more of Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Harry Brook than Yorkshire will. Shan Masood and David Wiese aren’t really upgrades on Finn Allen, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan either. Nottinghamshire usually go well in the group stage but then you are taking your life in your own hands backing them in the knockout stages but the periods that Shaheen Shah Afridi is in town could be significant, although Dan Christian is a huge loss and England will surely take Ben Duckett away from them. Of the others, Northamptonshire could surprise with Andrew Tye spearheading their bowling and David Willey returning to his first county. I would back them to qualify as I would the Birmingham Bears for whom Glenn Maxwell is an eye catching signing added to the return of Moeen Ali. With the likes of Hasan Ali, Henry Brookes, Oliver Hannon-Dalby and the spin pair of Jake Lintott and Danny Briggs, Birmingham look strong. Leicestershire, Worcestershire, Durham and Derbyshire all have a bit to find in my eyes.
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South Group
Hampshire are the defending champions this season having won that epic final against Lancashire and they will be looking to make a successful defence of the title. They have recruited the same two overseas players who assisted them in winning the title in Ben McDermott and Nathan Ellis and with the likes of Tom Prest and Fletcha Middleton a year further in their development and James Fuller in excellent form the Hawks have to be huge dangers to make a successful defence of the title.
Somerset made it to finals day for the second year in a row last term but couldn’t get the better of Hampshire in the semi-final. Tom Kohler-Cadmore adds further firepower to their ranks while with the ball Peter Siddle is a good overseas offering and England aren’t likely to want as much to do with Craig Overton so Somerset should be a threat. Elsewhere, 2021 champions Kent will be eager to get back to finals day and Kane Richardson looks a good signing for them. They are likely to have Sam Billings around all summer too. Surrey continue to flatter to deceive in this tournament with them somehow finding a way to lose that quarter final with Yorkshire last year. They have Sunil Narine back and will probably be stronger with no England white ball cricket during this tournament. Middlesex, Glamorgan, Sussex, Gloucestershire and Essex will be hoping for top four spots.
Betting
I’m not a massive fan of backing favourites in the T20 Blast but Surrey look very strong to me. Usually their undoing is England coming for the likes of the Curran brothers, Reece Topley, Jason Roy and Will Jacks for limited overs cricket but that won’t be the case this season because this tournament is done before England play another white ball match. Surrey could field 11 internationals in their side and probably still have a few to spare and that strength could be huge. They have all boxes covered. They have fire crackers at the top of the order, biffers to finish the innings, good opening bowlers and potentially the best two death bowlers in the competition. I think Surrey take a lot of beating this year.
Northamptonshire are an interesting case for me this season. Their Championship campaign is already in tatters so this might very quickly become the centre of their attention. To be fair, when you bring Chris Lynn and Andrew Tye into the side and bring David Willey back to skipper it there is a clear intention that the Steelbacks mean business. Lynn, Josh Cobb and Willey will be a fearsome top three in the North Group while Tye, Ben Sanderson and the three spinners can combine to be a decent bowling attack, especially if the threatened warm weather materialises. Given the focus that is going into this for Northants they might just be overpriced at 22/1.
Tips
Back Surrey to win Vitality Blast (e/w) for a 3/10 stake at 9.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back Northamptonshire to win Vitality Blast (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with Sky Bet (1/2 1-2)
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