The Vitality Blast returns after the break for 2 County Championship rounds, with the following two weeks figuring out which eight sides will contest the quarter-finals in September.
The highest two within the North Group face off within the standout fixture on a bumper Friday night time of motion, with Durham and Leicestershire Foxes additionally having the chance to strengthen their grip on the highest 4 in opposition to sixth-placed Notts Outlaws and fifth-placed Bears respectively,
Because the second half of the marketing campaign will get underway, we spotlight among the main storylines to maintain a watch out for.
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Lancashire welcome again England stars and tempo duo make damage return
Lancashire Lightning will probably be boosted by the provision of Jos Buttler and Phil Salt for the remaining seven North Group video games, starting with a top-of-the-table conflict at Northamptonshire Steelbacks on Friday.
Appearances for the Purple Rose are a rarity for the pair who each featured within the IPL, with Buttler not too long ago additionally in motion throughout the white ball sequence in opposition to the West Indies, while Salt was granted paternity depart upon his return.
Lancashire haven’t been in need of runs within the competitors up to now, amassing 243 of their most up-to-date win over Derbyshire, thanks largely to the type of openers Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells however the inclusion of extra worldwide high quality makes their already stacked lineup look an much more formidable one.
Elsewhere, Notts Outlaws have named England fast bowler Olly Stone in a matchday squad for the primary time in 2025 after the 31-year-old was sidelined with a knee damage on the eve of the season.
In the meantime, large left-arm seamer Josh Hull can be set to play his first T20 of the summer season for Leicestershire Foxes after struggling an damage setback on his return to crimson ball motion in Could, with the England Test prospect claiming a formidable 18 wickets at 24.11 throughout the 2024 competitors.
Can Northants and Somerset keep forward of the chasing pack?
Somerset look the crew to beat within the T20 Blast this yr, as usually is the case lately, aiming to make a fifth successive Finals Day look.
With seven wins from eight video games and solely Surrey for firm within the desk, the Taunton outfit have already got one foot firmly within the quarter-finals and the energy of their aspect suggests no signal of letting up, with batting firepower all through and a tempo assault spearheaded by worldwide class in Matt Henry and Riley Meredith.
As for the North Group leaders, Northants Steelbacks raced out of the gate with six consecutive wins to begin the marketing campaign, owing to advantageous performances by their key skilled trio of captain David Willey, Ravi Bopara and the competitors’s main wicket-taker Ben Sanderson.
Nevertheless, the shock bundle of 2025 did falter earlier than the break with back-to-back dwelling defeats failing to chase quite modest targets and now are trying over their shoulders at a bunch of groups inside placing distance, two of whom they face of their subsequent two video games.
Will Glamorgan lastly crack the highest 4?
The final time Glamorgan made it out of the group phases was in 2017, the present longest wait of any county within the competitors.
The Welsh aspect are effectively positioned in fifth place heading into the second half of the marketing campaign with 16 factors and simply two behind third place Sussex Sharks.
With a pleasant mix of expertise and younger expertise, if Glamorgan are to interrupt into the highest 4, they might want to enhance their document in opposition to the higher sides having misplaced all 4 matches in opposition to these above them up to now, with leaders Somerset and fourth-placed Kent Spitfires to return subsequent.
Middlesex have additionally had a depressing document lately, with their final quarter-final coming in 2019 however there was motive for barely extra optimism this time round.
A spirited tie in a rain-reduced contest at Hampshire Hawks and a double over Essex, together with a slender one-run win which ended a three-year lengthy watch for a T20 dwelling win at Lord’s, means they nonetheless stay within the hunt however face a decisive interval with three upcoming matches in opposition to the 2 groups both aspect of them within the backside half.
Essex hoping to save lots of delight in torrid season
The 2023 runners-up stay the one aspect but to register a win on this yr’s competitors in what has been a vastly tough marketing campaign which additionally noticed them slip into the relegation locations within the County Championship with defeat at Yorkshire earlier this week.
They’ve been comfortably crushed in all however considered one of their seven defeats, quite cruelly denied by the climate when on high at Hove.
No bowler has taken greater than seven wickets, Michael Pepper has been unable to copy his 2024 kind with the bat and accidents have additionally been a defining issue, with Jordan Cox’s return after lacking the primary 4 video games a a lot wanted one.
A basement battle with Gloucestershire awaits on Friday, earlier than tough visits to the highest two as Essex look to present their followers one thing to shout about.
Gloucestershire’s defence of the title couldn’t have gotten off to a worse begin with 5 straight defeats and while possibilities of making the highest 4 are extraordinarily slim, two wins earlier than the break has at the very least offered them with some momentum to be a aggressive power within the second half of the marketing campaign.
As for the North Group, Derbyshire Falcons and Yorkshire are each all however out of competition with simply two wins every from their eight video games.
Derbyshire have failed to seek out any actual consistency with bat and ball, regardless of opener Aneurin Donald having one of the best strike charge within the competitors however nonetheless Mickey Arthur will demand a robust finish of their remaining six video games.
After ending their Trent Bridge hoodoo final month, the following problem will probably be for the Falcons to increase their extraordinary seven-match profitable document in opposition to Yorkshire at Chesterfield this Sunday.
As for Yorkshire, an inexperienced center order has been unable to supply the mandatory assist to captain Dawid Malan – considered one of solely two gamers to cross 300 runs within the competitors – however they do have two Roses clashes on the horizon for motivation, even when qualification is out of attain.
Hundred wildcard watch
There stays 16 locations up for grabs on this yr’s version of the Hundred as all eight groups will shortly choose two gamers every as their Vitality wildcard picks – so who has stood out and put their identify in competition?
Whether it is expertise that sides are searching for, no have to look any additional than Jason Roy and James Anderson.
Roy was added to the Northern Superchargers aspect in 2024 as an damage substitute however didn’t characteristic after a lean spell of kind, although has been spectacular for Surrey as far as their high run-scorer with 267 and three half-centuries.
42-year-old Anderson is hoping to play franchise cricket for the primary time however was neglected within the March draft, although ten wickets in 4 video games at an economic system of simply 6.86 has maybe satisfied groups he can nonetheless make an affect within the shortest format.
For choices on the high of the order, Hampshire Hawks’ Toby Albert has impressed with 212 runs at 42.40, while Ben Geddes has been placing at 177.66 for Middlesex.
Seventeen-year-old Isaac Mohammed has made simply two begins for Worcestershire Rapids however the left-hander has displayed a fearless strategy with speedy cameos in each and could possibly be a shock choose for the long-term in thoughts.
Northamptonshire Steelbacks’ Justin Broad has loved a productive marketing campaign with the bat, scoring 195 runs at a strike charge of 150 and taking part in a standout knock in entrance of the Sky cameras in opposition to the Bears final month.
All-rounders will at all times be in excessive demand, and maybe none extra so than Glamorgan’s Ben Kellaway, whose six-hitting and ambidextrous bowling functionality will certainly make him a front-runner for a spot.
Twenty-year-old Luk Benkenstein has been an ever-present for Essex, scoring 154 runs within the center order at a wholesome strike charge of 143.92, while additionally claiming six wickets along with his leg-spin at 17.33.
The 2 main home seam bowlers within the Blast are each at the moment unselected, with Northants’ 36-year-old Ben Sanderson main the best way on 21 forward of the constant Ben Raine for Durham on 16, each displaying very good means to bowl the demise overs.
George Scrimshaw has additionally impressed for Northants on his return to health with 13 wickets, providing additional tempo and bounce, while within the spin division 17-year-old Farhan Ahmed at Notts Outlaws took a wicket in his first over on debut and bowled a economical spell of 2-23 in opposition to the leaders in his final outing.
By Dom Harris
