Church Crisis
The resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, over historic abuse allegations is a moment of reckoning for the Church of England.
After England managed to clinch their first World Cup title, they have a lot of cricket left in the year. Ashes starts from 1 August, but hang on, the Vitality T20 Blast has already started from 18 July in England.
The tournament features star players and will last a couple of months with the final all set to be played on 21 September.
So, all you T20 lovers, get set to witness some high-quality T20 cricket from England.
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What is this tournament?
This T20 Blast tournament is a domestic cricket tournament of England. This is the third tournament in the domestic season of England. Notably, the T20 Blast this year is called Vitality Blast because of a new Sponsorship deal this season.
As many as 18 first-class teams are divided into two divisions of nine teams.
Schedule
The tournament which already started from 18 July, will last for a little less than ten weeks. The tournament started a little late this year in comparison to other seasons because of the World Cup.
The finals will be played on 21 September at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Format
The 18 first-class teams are split into groups of nine. Each side plays 14 matches. The top four teams from both the groups then play quarterfinals. With the top side in one group playing the fourth side in the other group and vice versa.
The winners of the four quarterfinals feature in the semifinals and the winners of that will go on to play for the summit clash.
Interestingly, the semifinal and the final will all be played on the same day- the Finals day.
Look out for…
Five winners in the last six years is enough indication of how well-fought out the tournament is. This year promises to be another amazing one.
There is no lack of firepower either. AB de Villiers, Mujjeb ur Rehman, Rashid Khan and even England’s World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan are some of the big names that will feature in the competition.
Imran Tahir, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran, Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir are other talented names who are participating in the tournament.
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