Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
Featured image credit: Lancashire Cricket
Southampton’s Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester are set to stage the opening fixtures of the expanded Vitality Blast Off in 2024.
Both stadiums will host a double header with Twenty20 fixtures from both the men’s Vitality Blast and women’s Charlotte Edwards Cup on May 30.
The Blast Off concept was introduced for the start of the 2023 cricket season, but has been expanded to a long weekend spanning Thursday to Sunday. The Oval, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge are among the eight venues set to host Blast Off games over the four-day period.
Vitality Blast Off schedule
Reigning champions the Southern Vipers will take on Western Storm in Southampton for the Charlotte Edwards Cup opener before the Hampshire Hawks play Surrey in the Blast later on.
On the same day, women’s sides North West Thunder and Central Sparks will clash at Emirates Old Trafford ahead of the Lancashire Lightning’s men’s match with Durham Cricket.
The Blast Off then continues for the following three days with the Riverside Ground in County Durham, Nottingham’s Trent Bridge, the County Ground in Taunton, Edgbaston in Birmingham, The Oval in London, and Northampton’s County Ground all due to host fixtures.
High-profile games
“It is hugely exciting to be able to confirm that Vitality Blast Off will be expanded to include eight venues next summer as we aim to attract more people to watch men’s and women’s domestic cricket,” said England and Wales Cricket Board managing director if County Cricket Neil Snowball.
“We have scheduled some of the highest-profile men’s and women’s games during the four-day window, which will also launch the new Vitality Blast season in style.
“We saw how successful Vitality Blast Off was this summer when Edgbaston did a remarkable job, as they always do, to put on a show for fans on and off the field and we’re determined to build on that.”
The men’s county and women’s regional domestic fixtures to be announced on Thursday, November 23.
The inaugural 2023 Vitality Blast Off saw the Derbyshire Falcons play the Lancashire Lightning before the Birmingham Bears and Yorkshire Vikings clashed.
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