News

Vitality Blast & Royal London Cup fixtures announced

5 Feb 2021

Sussex Sharks’ fixtures for this summer’s Vitality Blast and Royal London Cup have been released.

The group stage of the Vitality Blast – again split into two regional-based groups of nine counties - runs from Wednesday 9th June to Sunday 18th July, with quarter finals taking place between Tuesday 24th and Friday 27th August. Finals Day at Edgbaston follows on Saturday 18th September.

The Sharks kick off their bid for T20 glory with five games in seven days, starting with a trip to Bristol to take on Gloucestershire on Friday 11th June.

The team’s first game at The 1st Central County Ground is El Clasicoast against Hampshire on the very next day.

Away trips to Essex and Surrey are next, before Somerset visit Hove on Friday 18th June. That starts a run of five home matches for Luke Wright’s men, with Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Surrey and Kent Spitfires all visiting Good Old Sussex by the Sea in the eight days between Tuesday 22nd and Tuesday 29th June.

Trips to Lord’s and Sophia Gardens to take on Middlesex and Glamorgan are next on the agenda before Luke Wright’s men play their last home game in the South Group against Essex Eagle on Friday 9th July.

As the race for a place in the quarter finals reaches the home straight, the Sharks will finish off their group campaign away against Hampshire and Kent Spitfires on Friday 16th and Sunday 18th July.

Don't forget the Sharks are also in T20 action against Sri Lanka on Sunday 20th June.

YOUR GUIDE TO T20 TICKETING IN 2021 IS AVAILABLE HERE

The Royal London Cup will fill the gap between the Vitality Blast group stage and quarters.

After an away fixture to get into 50-over mode against National County opposition, Oxfordshire on Tuesday 20th July, the Royal London Cup group stage will see Sussex take on the same opponents as they had been drawn against in the aborted 2020 competition: Durham, Essex Eagles, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent Spitfires, Lancashire Lightning, Middlesex and Worcestershire Rapids.

A trip to Lancashire is Ben Brown’s team’s first appointment in the Royal London Cup on Friday 23rd July, Sussex’s first List A encounter against the Red Rose County since 2015.

Durham at home on Sunday 25th July is next – a first 50-over meeting since 2014 - followed by Hampshire away on Tuesday 27th July.

Home fixtures against Kent Spitfires and Gloucestershire on Friday 30th July and Sunday 1st August precede Sussex’s first 50-over match against Worcestershire since 1993, an away trip on Friday 6th August.

The group stage concludes with a trip to Essex on Tuesday 10th August and a final home match against Middlesex on Thursday 12th August.

The play-offs between second and third-placed sides in the two groups both take place on Saturday 14th August with semi-finals contested between the winners of those matches and the group winners on Tuesday 17th August. The Royal London Cup final will take place at Trent Bridge on Thursday 19th August.

Venues for Sussex’s home games in the Royal London Cup are currently all listed as The 1st Central County Ground. It is hoped to be able to play matches at Eastbourne and Horsham, but this will depend on the COVID-19 situation.

As with LV= Insurance County Championship matches, at present tickets for Royal London Cup are not available to purchase. Currently the only way to gain admission to these matches is as a member of Sussex Cricket.

For details on membership packages, please click here. A full list of general ticketing FAQs is available on our ticketing page.