The start of the domestic season is upon us and there’s much to look forward to this summer. Here are eight things to keep an eye out for during the 2024 campaign.
T20 BLAST WEEKENDS
In what can only be described as very welcome news, the T20 Blast will be played exclusively on Thursday and Friday evenings, as well as weekends, this summer. Thursday is the new Friday after all. The group stages start on May 30 and run until July 19, with the quarter finals taking place between September 3 and 6 before Finals Day at Edgbaston on September 14. Big matches to look out for include Lancashire hosting Yorkshire in the Roses clash at Old Trafford on Friday July 12 and Surrey versus Middlesex at the Oval on Friday July 5.
BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE
Scarborough will host four Yorkshire fixtures this season, two in the County Championship and two in the One Day Cup. The White Rose will welcome Gloucestershire to North Marine Road for a four-day match starting on Sunday June 23 before three games in August -Essex and Leicestershire in the One Day Cup on the 6th and 8th respectively, before the Championship fixture with Sussex starting on the 22nd. Combine your trip to the cricket with a visit to Peasholm Park, Scarborough Castle and, of course, find some time to have fish and chips down by the beach.
CHARLOTTE EDWARDS CUP EXPANSION
The Charlotte Edwards Cup, the country’s premier women’s T20 tournament, is to expand for the 2024 season with each side playing 10 group stage matches before four teams qualify for Finals Day at Derby on June 22. The competition kicks off on May 18 with back-toback champions Southern Vipers, led by Georgia Adams, facing The Blaze at Southampton in a repeat of last year’s final. Go to page 26 to read an exclusive interview with Kate Cross.
ENGLAND DEFEND THE T20 WORLD CUP
England will jet off to the Caribbean in June to defend their T20 crown starting off with a match against Scotland in Barbados on the 4th. The holders are in Group B along with Australia, Namibia, Oman and the aforementioned Scottish and will be facing the latter three sides for the first-ever time in T20 international cricket. The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super 8 stage with the top two from those two groups then making it through to the semi-finals.
WORRELL’S 100TH AND THE WINDIES TOUR
This coming August 1 would have been West Indies legend Frank Worrell’s 100th birthday. 3,860 Test runs at an average of
