ECB announce 2022 domestic fixtures

• LV= Insurance County Championship returns to two divisions with the opening round starting on April 7
• There will be five LV= Insurance County Championship rounds in June and July
• Women’s regional summer begins with the Charlotte Edwards Cup from May 14
• Lord’s to host Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final on Sunday, September 25
• Royal London Cup final returns to a Saturday at Trent Bridge
• Vitality Blast celebrates the 20th edition of domestic T20 cricket with Finals Day at Edgbaston on July 16 already sold out

The England and Wales Cricket Board has today confirmed the 2022 fixtures for men’s county and women’s regional domestic competitions.

The men’s domestic summer will begin on April 7 with the opening round of the LV= Insurance County Championship. The Vitality Blast, this year marking the 20th edition of the T20 competition, will run over a seven-week period (May 25 – July 16) before the Royal London Cup (August 2 – September 17).

The 20-over Charlotte Edwards Cup will open the women’s regional summer from May 14 and will offer the first piece of domestic silverware, with Finals Day at The County Ground, Northampton on June 11.

The 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy starts on July 2 and will conclude with a showpiece final at Lord’s on Sunday, September 25.

With domestic fixtures released, supporters looking to plan their summer of cricket are encouraged to consider the following opportunities:

• Vitality Blast season tickets – secure your seats at the 20th edition of T20 cricket in England & Wales. Visit ecb.co.uk/blast-tickets for links to your team’s season ticket, membership or ticket priority options.
• Royal London Cup Final tickets – get access to a priority window to buy tickets before they go on general sale by registering your interest at trentbridge.co.uk/RLFinal
• Membership – visit county websites for details of the different membership packages available and benefits on offer
• E-calendar – synchronise your team’s fixtures to you r desktop or mobile calendar and don’t miss a match with reminders ahead of every matchday. Download your team’s schedule here

LV= INSURANCE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

The LV= Insurance County Championship returns to a two-division structure – for the first time since 2019 – with defending champions Warwickshire to host Surrey in the opening round.

The opening seven rounds of the LV= County Championship will be played from Thursday to Sunday on successive weeks. There will be five rounds played during June and July – an increase from the three rounds during the same period last summer.

The Division One and Division Two titles are set to be decided in September, with the final round of fixtures to be staged from September 26-29.

RACHAEL HEYHOE FLINT TROPHY

Lord’s is set to stage the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy on Sunday, September 25 to close what promises to be a memorable summer of women’s cricket.

Heyhoe Flint was a pioneer of the game leading England to the first-ever Women’s World Cup title in 1973 and challenging convention and fighting for progress as a player, administrator and campaigner throughout her life.

MCC announced last year that the North Gate at Lord’s would be named in Heyhoe Flint’s honour and the final bearing her name will conclude a bumper summer for women’s cricket that will also include the Charlotte Edwards Cup, Commonwealth Games, The Hundred in addition to the England Women’s schedule.

Southern Vipers will bid to claim a hat-trick of Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy titles when the 50-over competition begins on July 2. The play-off is to be played four days before the Lord’s final.

ROYAL LONDON CUP

The Royal London Cup final will return to a Saturday with Trent Bridge to host the decider on September 17. The 18 First-Class Counties will each play one warm-up match against a National County – with Somerset and Middlesex to play two games – ahead of the competition, which begins on August 2.

Defending champions Glamorgan are away to Derbyshire on the opening day and the group stage will conclude on August 23. The competition will visit at least nine outgrounds, from Scarborough to Neath, before the knockout stages will be held on August 26 and August 30.

CHARLOTTE EDWARDS CUP

South East Stars won the first-ever Charlotte Edwards Cup title last summer and open their defence away to Sunrisers at the Cloud County Ground in Chelmsford on Saturday, May 14.

The month-long Twenty20 competition will see the eight women’s regional teams split into two groups, and play six group-stage matches, before Finals Day on Saturday, June 11.

There will be 10 double-headers when Charlotte Edwards Cup and Vitality Blast T20 matches are played back-to-back at the same venue.

VITALITY BLAST

The 20th edition of professional domestic T20 cricket in England and Wales will begin on May 25 with champions Kent Spitfires to host Somerset in a re-match of last season’s final. The Vitality Blast group stage will take place over a 40-day period with 99 of the 126 matches to be played on a Thursday, Friday and at the weekend.

The quarter-finals will be staged from July 6-9 before the sold-out Finals Day will be staged at Edgbaston a week later on July 16.

ends

Editor’s Notes

**Competition logo graphics attached to this release are free to use**

LV= Insurance County Championship

Division One: Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Surrey, Warwickshire, Yorkshire

Division Two: Derbyshire, Durham, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Sussex, Worcestershire.

At the end of last season the First-Class Counties voted to return to two divisions – for the first time since 2019.

The 2020 Bob Willis Trophy and 2021 LV= Insurance County Championship were played in different (group-stage) formats in the intervening years to mitigate the risk of the pandemic.

This summer will, therefore, be the first time that 10 counties will play in Division One, and eight in Division Two, since the recommendations of the 2018 Domestic Playing Programme review were unanimously agreed by the First-Class Counties.

At the end of the 2019 season three counties were promoted (Lancashire, Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire) and one relegated (Nottinghamshire) to transition to the 10:8 model. Those promotions and relegation have been recognised to determine the Divisions for this summer.

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Each team will play each other once during the group stage. The second and third-placed teams will meet in the playoff on September 21. The winner of that match will play the first-placed team after the group stage in the Lord’s final.

Charlotte Edwards Cup

Group A: Central Sparks, South East Stars, Sunrisers, Western Storm

Group B: Lightning, Northern Diamonds, Thunder, Southern Vipers

There will be 10 double-headers when the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Vitality Blast matches will be played back-to-back at the same venue:

Sunday, May 29:

Central Sparks v SE Stars; Birmingham Bears v Durham – Edgbaston

Northern Diamonds v Thunder; Yorkshire Vikings v Leicestershire Foxes – Headingley

Western Storm v Sunrisers; Somerset v Essex Eagles – The Cooper Associates County Ground

Lightning v Southern Vipers; Notts Outlaws v Northamptonshire Steelbacks – Trent Bridge

Wednesday, June 1

Western Storm v SE Stars; Gloucestershire v Kent Spitfires – The Bristol County Ground

Thunder v Southern Vipers; Lancashire Lightning v Derbyshire Falcons – Emirates Old Trafford

Northern Diamonds v Lightning; Durham v Worcestershire Rapids – Riverside

Sunrisers v Central Sparks; Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Leicestershire Foxes – County Ground, Northampton

Saturday, June 3

Thunder v Lightning; Lancashire Lightning v Northamptonshire Steelbacks – Emirates Old Trafford.

Sunday, June 4

Southern Vipers v Northern Diamonds; Hampshire Hawks v Sussex Sharks – The Ageas Bowl

Royal London Cup

Group A: Durham, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire

Group B: Derbyshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, Yorkshire

Vitality Blast

North Group: Birmingham Bears, Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Leicestershire Foxes, Notts Outlaws, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Worcestershire Rapids, Yorkshire Vikings

South Group: Essex Eagles, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire Hawks, Kent Spitfires, Middlesex, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex Sharks