The 2018 Vitality Blast was the sixteenth edition of the T20 Blast currently known as the Vitality Blast, a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. It was the first season in which the domestic T20 competition, run by the ECB, has been branded as the Vitality Blast due to a new sponsorship deal.[1] The league consisted of the 18 first-class county teams divided into two divisions of nine teams each with fixtures played between July and September. The final day took place at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham on 15 September 2018.
 | |
| Dates | 4 July 2018 – 15 September 2018 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | England and Wales Cricket Board |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Group stage and knockout |
| Champions | Worcestershire Rapids (1st title) |
| Participants | 18 |
| Matches | 133 |
| Attendance | 931,455 (7,003 per match) |
| Most runs | Laurie Evans (614) |
| Most wickets | Pat Brown (31) |
| Official website | Vitality Blast |
Nottinghamshire Outlaws were the champions going into the tournament having beaten the Birmingham Bears by 22 runs in the 2017 final.[2]
Competition format
editThe 18 first-class county cricket clubs are taking part in the competition. Teams are initially split into two divisions on a geographical basis (North and South) for the group stage of the competition, each group having nine teams. During the group stage, which ran from July until the middle of August, each county played 14 matches, playing six of the other sides in their group twice, once home and once away, and the other two teams once.[2] The winners of each match received two points for a win, with one point awarded in the case of a tie or if a match was abandoned. Teams are ranked within their groups by total points, then net run rate. At the end of the group stage, the top four teams from each group entered the knockout stage of the competition.
Teams
edit
North Group
editTable
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Ded | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worcestershire Rapids | 14 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0.595 |
| 2 | Durham Jets | 14 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0.556 |
| 3 | Lancashire Lightning | 14 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0.683 |
| 4 | Nottinghamshire Outlaws | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0.073 |
| 5 | Yorkshire Vikings | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | −0.035 |
| 6 | Birmingham Bears | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0.033 |
| 7 | Derbyshire Falcons | 14 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | −0.047 |
| 8 | Leicestershire Foxes | 14 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | −0.380 |
| 9 | Northamptonshire Steelbacks | 14 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | −1.398 |
Fixtures
editJuly
editNorthamptonshire Steelbacks
218/3 (20 overs) |
v
|
Leicestershire Foxes
219/6 (19.4 overs) |
- Leicestershire Foxes won the toss and elected to field.
Nottinghamshire Outlaws
155/7 (20 overs) |
v
|
Birmingham Bears
159/2 (17.2 overs) |
- Birmingham Bears won the toss and elected to field.
- Henry Brookes (Birmingham Bears) made his T20 debut
Yorkshire Vikings
200/3 (20 overs) |
v
|
Durham Jets
156/4 (20 overs) |
- Durham Jets won the toss and elected to field.
- Harry Brook and Jonathan Tattersall (Yorkshire Vikings) made their T20 debuts
Lancashire Lightning
188/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Worcestershire Rapids
190/5 (19.5 overs) |
- Lancashire Lightning won the toss and elected to bat.
Worcestershire Rapids
192/7 (20 overs) |
v
|
Birmingham Bears
188/9 (20 overs) |
- Birmingham Bears won the toss and elected to field.
Nottinghamshire Outlaws
219/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Northamptonshire Steelbacks
161 (17.3 overs) |
- Northamptonshire Steelbacks won the toss and elected to field.
- Will Fraine (Nottinghamshire Outlaws) made his T20 debut
Durham Jets
153/7 (20 overs) |
v
|
Leicestershire Foxes
120 (18.3 overs) |
- Leicestershire Foxes won the toss and elected to field.
South Group
editTable
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Ded | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0.786 |
| 2 | Kent Spitfires | 14 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0.627 |
| 3 | Sussex Sharks | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 0.737 |
| 4 | Gloucestershire | 14 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0.381 |
| 5 | Surrey | 14 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0.989 |
| 6 | Glamorgan | 14 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | −0.144 |
| 7 | Essex Eagles | 14 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | −1.035 |
| 8 | Hampshire | 14 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −0.824 |
| 9 | Middlesex | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −1.128 |
Fixtures
editJuly
editSussex Sharks
181/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Essex Eagles
145 (19.4 overs) |
- Sussex Sharks won the toss and elected to bat.
- Sam Cook (Essex Eagles) made his T20 debut
Surrey
158/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Middlesex
161/7 (19 overs) |
- Surrey won the toss and elected to bat.
- Jamie Smith and Will Jacks (Surrey) made their T20 debuts
Knockout stage
edit| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Worcestershire Rapids | 137/5 | ||||||||||||
| S4 | Gloucestershire | 136/8 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Worcestershire Rapids | 169/6 | ||||||||||||
| N3 | Lancashire Lightning | 149/9 | ||||||||||||
| N3 | Lancashire Lightning | 134/4 | ||||||||||||
| S2 | Kent Spitfires | 133/9 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Worcestershire Rapids | 158/5 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Sussex Sharks | 157/6 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Durham Jets | 140/7 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Sussex Sharks | 144/5 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Sussex Sharks | 202/8 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | Somerset | 167/8 | ||||||||||||
| N4 | Nottinghamshire Outlaws | 190 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | Somerset | 209/5 | ||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
editKent Spitfires (H)
133/9 (20 overs) |
v
|
Lancashire Lightning
134/4 (18.4 overs) |
- Kent Spitfires won the toss and elected to bat.
Durham Jets (H)
140/7 (20 overs) |
v
|
Sussex Sharks
144/5 (18.2 overs) |
- Durham Jets won the toss and elected to bat.
25 August
Scorecard |
Gloucestershire
136/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Worcestershire Rapids (H)
137/5 (18.4 overs) |
- Worcestershire Rapids won the toss and elected to field.
26–27 August
Scorecard |
Somerset (H)
209/5 (20 overs) |
v
|
Nottinghamshire Outlaws
190 (20 overs) |
- Nottinghamshire Outlaws won the toss and elected to field.
Finals Day
editSemi-finals
editWorcestershire Rapids
169/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Lancashire Lightning
149/9 (20 overs) |
- Lancashire Lightning won the toss and elected to field.
Sussex Sharks
202/8 (20 overs) |
v
|
Somerset
167/8 (20 overs) |
- Sussex Sharks won the toss and elected to bat.
Final
editSussex Sharks
157/6 (20 overs) |
v
|
Worcestershire Rapids
158/5 (18.3 overs) |
- Sussex Sharks won the toss and elected to bat.
Statistics
editMost runs
edit| Player | Team | Mat | Inns | Runs | SR | HS | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurie Evans | Sussex Sharks | 15 | 14 | 614 | 135.84 | 96 | 0 | 7 |
| Aaron Finch | Surrey | 9 | 9 | 589 | 182.35 | 131* | 2 | 3 |
| Ian Bell | Birmingham Bears | 14 | 14 | 580 | 139.09 | 131 | 1 | 4 |
| [4] Source: ESPNCricInfo | ||||||||
Most wickets
edit| Player | Team | Mat | Wkts | Ave | Econ | BBI | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Brown | Worcestershire Rapids | 16 | 31 | 13.35 | 7.64 | 4/21 | 10.4 |
| Matthew Parkinson | Lancashire Lightning | 15 | 25 | 16.60 | 7.32 | 3/19 | 13.6 |
| Jamie Overton | Somerset | 16 | 24 | 22.50 | 10.25 | 5/47 | 13.1 |
| [5] Source: ESPNCricinfo | |||||||
References
edit- ^ "Vitality announced as new title partner for T20 cricket". England and Wales Cricket Board. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Kia Super League & Vitality Blast Tickets on Sale". England and Wales Cricket Board. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ a b "NatWest T20 Blast Tables". BBC Sport. 16 October 2018. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Cricket Records | Records | Vitality Blast, 2018 | | Most runs | ESPNcricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ "Cricket Records | Records | Vitality Blast, 2018 | | Most wickets | ESPNcricinfo". Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 September 2018.