England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)

The schedule for the men's and women's Vitality Blast competitions has been announced, with 52 double-headers to be staged in 2025.

All 18 first-class provinces will host at least one Vitality Blast women's and men's double header next season after the schedule for a historic domestic T20 summer in 2025 was unveiled.

The 2025 season will mark the first time that all women's and men's county teams will play side by side in the Vitality Blast, the original domestic T20 cricket competition that delivers fast-paced and explosive action to passionate and diverse fans across England and Wales.

And while the Vitality Blast men's competition is entering its 22nd year, next season it will be bigger and better than ever before, with the women's teams playing in two Vitality Blast competitions, one of which will be contested by the eight Tier One provinces (which together playing with the men in the Vitality Blast competition). Blast) and the second with the 10 remaining provinces (Vitality Blast Womens League 2).

Next season, a total of 52 double headers for women and men will be organized at twenty locations.

>>> Vitality Blast men's competition schedule 2025

The Blast-Off weekend (May 29-June 1) will kick off the new look competition with 10 double headers and all eight Vitality Blast women's competition districts involved. Rivals Week also continues in the men's competition, focusing on the oldest provincial rivalry.

The group stage will then culminate with the Friday final on July 18. In the Friday final, the women will race for the three places on the final day, while the men have one last chance to book their place in the quarter-finals with eight men's matches on the schedule and all eight women's countries in action on what promises to be an exciting evening.

Vitality Blast Mens Finals Day has now become one of the unmissable days in the cricket calendar and fans must act quickly to secure their place with just there are still a limited number of tickets available for Saturday September 13's showpiece event in Edgbaston.

The first ever Vitality Blast Womens Finals Day will be held at the Kia Oval on Sunday 27 July, with fans wanting to enjoy the unique Finals Day atmosphere able to register their interest. here.

>>> Vitality Blast women's competition schedule 2025

ECB Director of the Womens Professional Game, Beth Barrett-Wild, said: “It's so exciting to announce Vitality Blast women's matches in addition to the men's matches. It is one of the clearest demonstrations yet of our aligned 'one game' approach to the delivery of men's and women's domestic cricket moving forward, truly marking the dawn of a new era for professional cricket – one in which gender balance is central – in this country.”

Following consultation with the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA), the Vitality Blast Mens competition will be balanced with more matches played on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings to meet player welfare requirements, while also allowing for a healthy number of fan-friendly time slots is made.

Seventeen Vitality Blast men's league matches are scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday next season, up from five last summer. The number of back-to-back matches has also been reduced by almost a third for next season.

Neil Snowball, ECB Managing Director Competitions and Major Events, said: The Vitality Blast is set to be bigger and better next season with the introduction of two women's competitions and some key dates on the domestic calendar, from the Blast-Off weekend to the Friday finals and of course the final day for the men's and women's competitions.

The Vitality Blast will be played at at least 25 venues across England and Wales next season, giving more people even more opportunities to watch high-quality T20 county cricket for men and women.

It has also been important that we have listened to the players when putting together the fixtures by reducing the number of consecutive matches in the men's competition. We have had constructive discussions with the PCA to meet these understandable needs while balancing the commercial value of the Vitality Blast to the provinces.

There is great anticipation for next season as Gloucestershire, the first men's winners, look to defend their title, while we will have a first women's champion crowned on July 27 at the Kia Oval.

Today's announcement follows confirmation in September that the women's domestic T20 competitions will be rebranded and aligned with the men's competition, in partnership with health and life insurer Vitality, as they continue to work with the ECB to invest in, to grow and support the women's game. in an effort to inspire many more women and girls to play and watch the game.

The new professional structure will see 8 million new funding invested annually in women's domestic cricket by 2027, bringing annual investment in this area to around 19 million, and would see an 80% increase in the number of professional female players in England and Wales.

Neville Koopowitz, CEO of Vitality, said: Today's announcement details some of the changes taking place within cricket, and reflects our commitment to working closely with the ECB to drive further growth within women's cricket and women's sport in general to achieve.

By renaming the women's game to Vitality Blast earlier this year, and now making these further changes to the competition, we are able to better showcase women's cricket and further align it with the men's game, making it more accessible and the visibility of the game is increased. it throughout the country. This has the potential to positively impact participation in the game and sport in general, resulting in healthier lives, which aligns perfectly with our core purpose: making people healthier and improving and protecting lives.