The ECB announces the schedule for the 2023 domestic cricket season
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London [UK]November 30 (ANI): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the 2023 domestic season for both men’s and women’s cricket.
The Men’s County Championship will open the domestic season on April 6 with 14 matches in each county.
The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixture list has doubled, doubling to over 50 matches for the season, and there will also be 20 dual matches in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and T20 Blast.
The T20 Blast begins with the T20 Blast Off – featuring two T20 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 to September 16.
As previously agreed, the format of the County Championship in 2023 will be unchanged from 2022. In the First and Second Divisions, each county will play 14 home and away matches, with two teams being relegated and two promoted.
The County Championship resumes on April 6, with the first round matches taking place over the Easter weekend. All 18 first-class counties participate in the opening round.
Surrey begin their title defense at Emirates Old Trafford, the venue where they won the cup last season.
The first seven rounds are held from Thursday to Sunday each following week. Each county has a week off to rest and recover during the first five rounds of the season.
The round of matches will be played a week before the 1st men’s Ashes Test starting on June 16. 5 rounds will be held in June and July, the final round will start on September 26.
The T20 Blast will retain the same format as in 2022 with each county playing 14 group stage matches, with the top four in each group advancing to the quarter-finals.
The competition will kick off in exciting style with Edgbaston hosting the T20 Blast Off on Saturday 20th May.
The T20 Blast Off will give fans the first opportunity to watch a doubleheader featuring Birmingham Bears against Yorkshire Vikings and Derbyshire Falcons against last season’s finalists Lancashire Lightning.
The final day – again a sellout – remains one of the most prominent days in the domestic cricket calendar and this year it will be held on July 15 and will not clash with England’s white-ball matches.
Reigning champions Hampshire Hawks will begin their title defense on May 24 in Somerset.
Friday night is the T20 Blast night with 48 games to be played on six consecutive Friday nights.
Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy The fixture list for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy has doubled, with one group of eight regional teams now playing home and away, meaning 14 group matches per team.
The competition will begin on April 22, with the second and third rounds taking place over the following holiday weekend.
Defending champions Northern Diamonds open at home to Western Storm at Headingley. The Blaze – the new home of women’s regional cricket in the East Midlands – will begin its new era on 22 April.
The final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy will be held on September 24 at The County Ground, Northampton.
Charlotte Edwards Cup. The Charlotte Edwards Cup and T20 Blast matches will feature 21 doubleheaders from May 25 to June 7. The double legs will be played at eighteen venues, including Blackpool.
There is one more match for each team this season, with eight teams forming one group and playing either home or away, meaning seven group matches per team.
The competition kicks off under lights at the Cloud County Ground on May 18 with Sunrisers v Central Sparks. The final will be held on New Road on June 10.
One Day Cup The Group Stage of the One Day Cup will be held alongside The Hundred starting August 1. Reigning champions Kent kick off their Yorkshire clash at Scarborough.
All 18 first-class counties will play against the national county in warm-up games on July 30. Sussex and Somerset will play another game on August 1st.
Away grounds have become a feature of the One Day Cup and will continue to do so, with eight away grounds currently set to host One Day Cup matches. The final will again be held at Trent Bridge on Saturday 16th September. (ANI)
