Photo Credit: Twitter Cover Photo of @CountyChamp
- LV= Insurance County Championship returns April 6, in the same format as last year – each county will play 14 fixtures.
- The fixture list for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy has doubled, with 14 50-over fixtures per season for each women’s regional team.
- Vitality Blast starts with Vitality Blast Off at Edgbaston on May 20, with Finals Day on July 15 once again a sell-out.
- The Charlotte Edwards Cup will also see an extra fixture per team, as well as 20 double-headers at Charlotte Edwards Cup and Vitality Blast fixtures.
- There will be five LV= Insurance County Championship rounds across June and July.
- The First Class Counties will play against one of the 20 National Counties in warm-up games on July 30 and August 1 before the start of the One-Day Cup competition.
The 2023 fixtures for the men’s county and women’s regional domestic competitions have today been confirmed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The men’s LV= Insurance County Championship will kick off the domestic season on April 6, with 14 fixtures per county.
The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixture list has doubled in size, with twice the number of 50-over fixtures per season, while there will also be 20 double-headers across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Vitality Blast.
Vitality Blast starts with Vitality Blast Off – featuring a double-header of two Vitality Blast matches – at Edgbaston on May 20 with a sold-out Finals Day at the same venue on July 15. The One-Day Cup runs from August 1-September 16.
With domestic fixtures released, supporters looking to plan their summer of cricket are encouraged to consider the following opportunities:
- Vitality Blast Off priority window is now open until December 7 when it will go on general sale – sign up for priority access and purchase tickets at edgbaston.com/blastoff.
- Vitality Blast season tickets – secure your seats early by purchasing either a season ticket for every home group-stage match in the Vitality Blast or county membership. Visit ecb.co.uk/blast-tickets for links to team’s season ticket passes or membership opportunities to take advantage of multi-match saving
- Membership – visit county websites for details of the different membership packages available and benefits on offer
- E-calendar – synchronise your team’s fixtures to your desktop or mobile calendar and don’t miss a match with reminders ahead of every matchday. Download your team’s schedule here.
LV= Insurance County Championship
As previously agreed, the 2023 LV= Insurance County Championship format is unchanged from 2022. Across Division One and Division Two, each county will play 14 home and away fixtures with two teams relegated and two teams promoted.
The LV= Insurance County Championship resumes on April 6, with the first round of matches running over the Easter weekend. All 18 First Class Counties are in action in the opening round.
Surrey begin their title defence at Emirates Old Trafford – the venue at which they lifted the trophy last season.
The opening seven rounds are played from Thursday-Sunday on successive weeks. Each county has a week off for rest and recovery during the first five rounds of the season.
A round of fixtures will be played in the week before the 1st LV= Insurance Men’s Ashes Test. Five rounds of fixtures will be played in June and July, the final round of fixtures begins on September 26.
Vitality Blast
Vitality Blast will remain the same format as 2022 – each county will play 14 group-stage matches, with the top four in each group progressing to the quarter-finals.
The competition is set to start in spectacular style with Edgbaston hosting Vitality Blast Off on Saturday 20 May.
Vitality Blast Off will give fans their first opportunity to watch some of England’s newly-crowned men’s T20 world champions in action with a double-header that will feature Birmingham Bears against Yorkshire Vikings, and Derbyshire Falcons up against last season’s finalists Lancashire Lightning.
Finals Day – once again a sell-out – remains one of the stand-out days in the domestic cricket calendar and this year will be played on July 15, and won’t clash with England Men’s white-ball fixtures.
Defending champions Hampshire Hawks begin their title defence on May 24 at Somerset.
Friday night is Vitality Blast night with 48 games taking place across six consecutive Friday nights.
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixture list has doubled in size, with the one group of eight regional teams now playing home and away fixtures, meaning 14 group fixtures per team.
The competition begins on April 22 with second and third rounds played over the following Bank Holiday weekend.
Defending champions Northern Diamonds begin at home to Western Storm at Headingley. The Blaze – the new home of women’s regional cricket in the East Midlands – will begin their new era on April 22
The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Final will be played on September 24 at The County Ground, Northampton.
Charlotte Edwards Cup
There will be 20 double-headers across Charlotte Edwards Cup and Vitality Blast matches from May 25 until June 7. Seventeen venues will host double-headers including Blackpool.
There is one more fixture for each team this season, with the eight teams forming one group and playing home or away, meaning seven group fixtures per team.
The competition starts under lights at the Cloud County Ground on May 18, with Sunrisers v Central Sparks. The final will be held at New Road on June 10.
One-Day Cup
The One-Day Cup group stage will be played alongside The Hundred, beginning on August 1. Defending champions Kent begin away to Yorkshire at Scarborough.
All 18 First Class Counties will play against a National County in warm-up games on July 30. Sussex and Somerset will play a further game each on August 1.
Outgrounds have become a feature of the One-Day Cup and this will continue – eight outgrounds so far are set to host One-Day Cup fixtures. The final will once again be played at Trent Bridge, on Saturday September 16.
Name of Author: ECB
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body for cricket in England and Wales, formed on January 1, 1997. It combines roles from the Test and County Cricket Board, National Cricket Association, and Cricket Council, and integrated the Women’s Cricket Association in 1998. Based at Lord’s Cricket Ground, the ECB oversees all levels of cricket, including national teams for men, women, and various disability categories.
