The men's T20 Vitality Blast will be reduced from 14 to 12 group-stage games per team from 2026, following a vote by the 18 first-class counties. The change aims to streamline the competition and ease player workload, as part of the latest reshuffle of English domestic cricket.
The reduction will allow the competition to be played in a block, with Finals Day scheduled before the Hundred starts in August, avoiding the previous split season. This is expected to help counties retain overseas players for the entire competition, schedule games on more sellable days, and reduce back-to-back fixtures.
Counties will be divided into three regional groups of six, playing each other home and away, plus one home and one away game against a team from outside their group. This rotation ensures every county plays each other over time.
Attendance for the Blast has fallen sharply since a peak of 950,000 tickets sold in 2019, impacted by Covid and the introduction of the Hundred. The review's steering group, comprising county chief executives, ECB, and PCA representatives, believes fixture changes alone are insufficient and that innovative moves, such as a central investment fund, are needed.
The Hundred windfall—non-host counties receiving over £24 million and host counties £18 million—has reduced opposition to cutting lucrative Blast games. No agreement has been reached on the County Championship's future, though drastic changes seem unlikely despite the PCA's call for a reduction to 12 matches. A decision is expected before the Championship's final rounds in September.
The women's Blast will also see its top tier reduced from 14 to 12 games, with Yorkshire moving up to Tier One. Tier Two teams will be grouped into a single division, playing each other home and away.
