Twenty20 Cup

The Twenty20 Cup is a limited-overs competition for the English first-class county clubs that was only introduced in 2003 ; it replaced the Benson & Hedges Cup after 31 years. The current season takes place from May 20th to August 20th, 2016.

The name Twenty20 is explained by the format of the games, as the innings of both teams are limited to 20 overs , so a game lasts less than three hours. The batsmen have to score much faster than usual and the entertainment value through the faster style of play, not least for young spectators and families, should be increased. The shorter game duration and the associated game start in the late afternoon makes it possible for many cricket fans to attend a game on weekdays.

Despite some skepticism at the beginning - many experienced professionals used the competition for a break in the first year - the success hoped for by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) very quickly set in. Above all, the association would like to win new fans for the sport.

Since 2005 there have also been international matches in this format, and since 2007 a world championship called ICC World Twenty20 . In the meantime (2009) all major cricket-playing countries have included a Twenty20 competition in their season (see also T20 leagues ).

After the "English Premier League" (EPL), originally planned for 2010, was suspended, there was only a modified game format in 2010 with two groups of 9 ( north and south , instead of the previous three groups of 6) with a subsequent knockout system from the quarterfinals . Under the new name Friends Provident t20 , the preliminary round matches were therefore extended to about 6 weeks. The finals day with the two semi-finals and the final on the same day in a stadium were retained. In the 2014 season, the preliminary round matches were spread over a longer period and the competition was renamed NatWest t20 Blast after the new sponsor .

Teams

18 teams take part in the Twenty20 Cup. They are divided into two groups: North and South .

Birmingham Bears Derbyshire Falcons Durham Jets Essex Eagles Glam organ Gloucestershire Hampshire Kent Spitfires Lancashire Lightning Leicestershire Foxes Middlesex Panthers Northamptonshire Steelbacks Nottinghamshire Outlaws Somerset Surrey Sussex Sharks Worcestershire Rapids Yorkshire Vikings

Venues for the 18 teams (2016)

team	Home stadium	group
Birmingham Bears	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	North
Derbyshire Falcons	County Cricket Ground	North
Durham Jets	Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground	North
Essex Eagles	County Ground	south
Glam organ	Sophia Gardens	south
Gloucestershire	Bristol County Ground	south
Hampshire	Rose Bowl	south
Kent Spitfires	St Lawrence Ground	south
Lancashire Lightning	Old Trafford	North
Leicestershire Foxes	Grace Road	North
Middlesex Panthers	Lord's Cricket Ground	south
Northamptonshire Steelbacks	County Cricket Club	North
Nottinghamshire Outlaws	Trent Bridge	North
Somerset	County Ground	south
Surrey	The oval	south
Sussex Sharks	County Cricket Ground	south
Worcestershire Rapids	New Road	North
Yorkshire Vikings	Headingley Stadium	North

winner

year	Final location	winner	Final opponent	Result
2003	Nottingham	Surrey Lions	Warwickshire Bears	Surrey wins with 9 wickets
2004	Birmingham	Leicestershire Foxes	Surrey Lions	Leicestershire wins by 7 wickets
2005	London	Somerset Sabers	Lancashire Lightning	Somerset wins with 7 wickets
2006	Nottingham	Leicestershire Foxes	Nottinghamshire Outlaws	Leicestershire wins by 4 runs
2007	Birmingham	Kent Spitfires	Gloucestershire Gladiators	Kent wins with 4 wickets
2008	Southampton	Middlesex Crusaders	Kent Spitfires	Middlesex wins by 3 runs
2009	Birmingham	Sussex Sharks	Somerset Sabers	Sussex wins with 63 runs
2010	Southampton	Hampshire Royals	Somerset	Hampshire wins with fewer wickets
2011	Birmingham	Leicestershire Foxes	Somerset	Leicestershire wins with 18 runs
2012	Cardiff	Hampshire Royals	Yorkshire Carnegie	Hampshire wins by 10 runs
2013	Birmingham	Northamptonshire Steelbacks	Surrey	Northamptonshire wins with 102 runs ( D / L method )
2014	Birmingham	Birmingham Bears	Lancashire Lightning	Birmingham wins by 4 runs
2015	Birmingham	Lancashire Lightning	Northamptonshire Steelbacks	Lancashire wins by 13 runs
2016	Birmingham	Northamptonshire Steelbacks	Durham Jets	Northamptonshire wins by 4 wickets
2017	Birmingham	Nottinghamshire Outlaws	Birmingham Bears	Nottinghamshire wins with 22 runs
2018	Birmingham	Worcestershire Rapids	Sussex Sharks	Worcestershire wins by 5 wickets
2019	Birmingham	Essex Eagles	Worcestershire Rapids	Essex wins with 4 wickets

Cutting off the teams

Preliminary round (VR)

Quarter finals (VF)

Semi-finals (HF)

Second place (2)

Tournament Winner (1)

team	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Derbyshire	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	HF
Durham	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	HF	VF	VR	VF	VR	VF	VR	VR	2	VR	VF	VR
Essex	VR	VF	VR	HF	VR	HF	VR	HF	VR	VF	HF	VF	VF	VF	VR	VR	1
Glam organ	VR	HF	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VF	HF	VR	VR
Gloucestershire	HF	VR	VR	VF	2	VR	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VF	VF
Hampshire	VR	VF	VF	VR	VR	VR	VF	1	HF	1	HF	HF	HF	VR	HF	VR	VR
Kent	VR	VR	VR	VF	1	2	HF	VR	VF	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR	VF	VR
Lancashire	VR	HF	2	VR	HF	VF	VF	VF	HF	VR	VF	2	1	VR	VR	HF	VF
Leicestershire	HF	1	HF	1	VR	VR	VR	VR	1	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR
Middlesex	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR	1	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR	VF
Northamptonshire	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VF	HF	VF	VR	VR	1	VR	2	1	VR	VR	VR
Nottinghamshire	VR	VR	VR	2	VF	VR	VR	HF	VF	VF	VF	VF	VR	HF	1	VF	HF
Somerset	VR	VR	1	VR	VR	VR	2	2	2	HF	VF	VR	VR	VR	VF	HF	VR
Surrey	1	2	HF	HF	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	VR	2	HF	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR
Sussex	VR	VR	VR	VR	HF	VR	1	VF	VF	HF	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR	2	VF
Warwickshire	2	VF	VF	VR	VF	VF	VF	VF	VR	VR	VR	1	HF	VR	2	VR	VR
Worcestershire	VR	VF	VR	VR	VF	VR	VR	VR	VR	VF	VR	VF	VF	VR	VR	1	2
Yorkshire	VR	VR	VR	VF	VF	VR	VR	VR	VR	2	VR	VR	VR	HF	VR	VR	VR

spectator

In the Twenty20 Cup, the total number of spectators over the season is counted depending on the number of games played. In addition to the changes in the league structure, this depends on the weather conditions, as games are canceled if the rain or poor light do not allow a game. The average audience fluctuates accordingly.

year	Total audience	Games	average
2009	491,871	93	5289
2010	676.753	147	4603
2011	668.937	136	4918
2012	359,612	75	4794
2013	611.299	94	6503
2014	704.205	122	5772
2015	827.654	133	6223

See also

• County Championship
• National League
• Friends Provident Trophy
• Benson & Hedges Cup
• Clydesdale Bank 40

Remarks

1. ↑ ECB unveils new Twenty20 tournament ( English ) Cricinfo. July 16, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
2. ↑ ECB unveils 2010 format ( English ) ECB. August 27, 2009. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 16, 2015. 
3. ↑ ECB reveals 2010 structure ( English ) ECB. July 29, 2009. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 16, 2015. 
4. ↑ The stages that are mainly used are indicated in each case. Many teams also have other stadiums in their counties that they occasionally use for home games
5. ↑ George Dobell: T20 attendances tell two tales ( English ) Cricinfo. August 22, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2015.