England’s domestic season is all set to kick start with the Bob Willis Trophy on 1 August, as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has on Friday (July 24) released the fixtures for its 2020 domestic season shortened by the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.
The ECB said that all 18 first-class counties, split into three regional groups, north, central and south, will take part in the Bob Willis Trophy, which will be played over five group-stage rounds from August 1, with a five-day final scheduled to take place at Lord's in late September and early October.
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The Bob Willis Trophy is organized to honor legendary England pacer Bob Willis , features a design of Willis' iconic bowling position, which was painted by his wife, Lauren Clark, following his death last year.
The England board has also confirmed that the Bob Willis Trophy matches will have the first-class status, but the competition is not the equivalent of the County Championship and will have no bearing on the format of the traditional red-ball county tournament when it resumes in 2021.
ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said in a statement: “To have this year`s first-class competition named in Bob`s honor is a perfect gesture to a great man who is sorely missed. There has been a strong determination across the game to play men’s and women’s domestic cricket this summer and the fact that we will owes to the significant work and collaboration across the county network.”
Meanwhile, the first-class competition will be followed by the Vitality Blast – which begins on August 27, will be joined by a 50-over women’s competition with the fixtures to be announced next month, as the 2020 county cricket season finally gets underway following a 5-month Coronavirus-forced-hiatus.
The women’s 50-over competition will see two regional groups of four teams with the group winners meeting in the final and Harrison stated: “I am pleased that we have been able to schedule women’s domestic cricket and ensure competitive cricket following last month’s confirmation of the first cohort of players on Regional Retainer contracts.”
He added, “We will need to remain agile to the challenges that will await us during the shortened domestic season with the health and wellbeing of our players, staff, officials, and fans continuing to be our first priority.”
Noteworthy, Essex, the 2019 first-class county champions, kick start the English season on 1 August against Kent while Derbyshire will take on Nottinghamshire while Durham host Yorkshire.
Here’ Bob Willis Trophy groups:
North Group - Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire. Central Group – Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Worcestershire. South group – Essex, Kent, Hampshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex.
(With Reuters/ The Guradian Inputs)
