Cricket

 

Cricket remains one of the oldest and biggest sports in the UK. From 5 day tests to ODI’s to ‘The Hundred’, cricket continues to grow in popularity in the UK as it churns out new and exciting versions of the sport. The UK is spoilt when it comes to live Cricket. Across the UK over the Summer months you can see every version of the sport, each with its own drama and theatre to bring in new fans. Whether you are a keen cricket fan or just looking for a great day out with some drinks in the sun, Stubfindr can find you the top selection of Cricket events each year.

Cricket in the UK

Cricket has been played in England since the 16th century and the first professional cricket league was founded in 1873. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales.

The main professional cricket leagues in England are the County Championship, the Royal London OneDay Cup and the NatWest T20 Blast.

The County Championship is the oldest and most prestigious of the three leagues, and is played over four days. The Royal London OneDay Cup is a oneday tournament played between the counties, and the NatWest T20 Blast is a Twenty20 tournament played between the counties. The main amateur cricket leagues in England are the Minor Counties Championship and the village cricket leagues. The Minor Counties Championship is played between the county cricket clubs of England and Wales that are not in the firstclass County Championship. The village cricket leagues are local leagues that are typically played on weekends. 

The County Championship

The County Championship is the domestic firstclass cricket competition in England and Wales. It is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is the oldest domestic cricket competition in the world. It was founded in 1890 as the County Championship, a competition between the firstclass cricket counties of England and Wales. The competition has been played every season since 1891, except in 1915 and 193940 when it was not played due to the First and Second World Wars. The 2020 County Championship was cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic.

The teams who play in The County Championship are:

  • Essex Eagles
  • Kent Spitfires
  • Middlesex CCC 
  • Sussex Sharks 
  • Surrey CCC 
  • Worcestershire Rapids

The Royal London One-Day Cup

The Royal London OneDay Cup is a fiftyover limited overs cricket competition for the England and Wales domestic cricket teams. The competition is operated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is a List A tournament. It was established in 2014 as a replacement for the ECB 40over competition.

The competition is played between the eighteen firstclass county teams, split into two groups of nine. The top four teams from each group progress to the quarterfinals, with the winners going on to compete in the semifinals and final at Lord‘s. The Royal London One-Day Cup is the successor to the ECB 40-over competition, which was itself a replacement for the Friends Provident Trophy. That competition was limited to the England cricket teams and the Wales Minor Counties cricket teams. The first ever ECB 40-over champions were Durham, who beat Worcestershire in the final at Lord’s. The first ever Royal London One-Day Cup champions were Surrey, who beat Warwickshire in the final at Edgbaston.

The eighteen first-class county teams are:

  • Essex
  • Middlesex
  • Surrey
  • Hampshire
  • Kent
  • Sussex
  • Yorkshire
  • Lancashire
  • Warwickshire
  • Nottinghamshire
  • Derbyshire
  • Leicestershire
  • Northamptonshire
  • Birmingham Bears
  • Durham Glamorgan
  • Gloucestershire
  • Worcestershire

The teams are split into two groups of nine, with the top four from each group progressing to the quarter-finals. The winners of the quarter-finals then progress to the semi-finals, with the winners of those going on to the final at Lord’s. The group stage of the competition is played between May and July, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final taking place in August.

NatWest T20 Blast

The NatWest T20 Blast is a Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales run by the ECB. The league consists of the 18 firstclass county teams divided into two divisions of nine teams each, with the top four teams from each division progressing to the quarterfinals.

The competition was established by the ECB in 2003 as the Twenty20 Cup, with the first matches played in June 2003. It was renamed the Friends Provident t20 from 2009 until 2012 (after Friends Provident‘s sponsorship ended), and then the NatWest t20 Blast from 2013 following a new sponsorship deal with NatWest. The league is the highest level of Twenty20 cricket in England and Wales and is currently the secondlargest domestic cricket competition in terms of both attendance and television viewership, behind only the County Championship.

The Friends Provident t20 (now the NatWest t20 Blast) was created by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 as a response to the growing popularity of Twenty20 cricket around the world. The first season saw the introduction of the 12 English first-class counties, as well as two Welsh counties (Glamorgan and Glamorgan Dragons), and was played between June and August. The initial format saw the teams split into two groups of nine, with the top four teams from each group progressing to the quarter-finals.

The first season saw over 500,000 people attend matches, and the competition was televised by Sky Sports. The following year, the competition was expanded to include two more Welsh counties (Cardiff and Swansea) and two more English counties (Derbyshire and Durham). The format remained the same, with the top four teams from each group progressing to the quarter-finals.

In 2005, the competition was expanded again, this time to include 18 counties. The format changed slightly, with the top two teams from each group now progressing to the quarter-finals. The competition has continued to be played every year since, with the exception of 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.