The Vitality Blast 2026, also known as the T20 Blast, gets underway on May 22. Eighteen county teams will compete for England’s premier domestic T20 title.
The competition features three groups. Each team will play 12 group-stage matches. Six will take place at home and six away.
Group A: Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Leicestershire Foxes, Notts Outlaws and Yorkshire.
Group B: Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Somerset, Warwickshire Bears and Worcestershire Rapids.
Group C: Essex, Kent Spitfires, Hampshire Hawks, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex Sharks.
Each team will face the other sides in its group twice. They will also play two cross-group fixtures.
The top two teams from each group will reach the quarter-finals. The two best third-placed teams will also qualify.
The quarter-final winners will then advance to Finals Day. They will compete for the Vitality Blast 2026 title.
Surrey start the tournament as the outright favourites. Here are the key team stats, player records and outright odds.
Derbyshire Falcons
Odds to win: 33
Captain: Aneurin Donald
Titles: None
2025 performance: Ninth in the North Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Aneurin Donald (449 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (16 wickets)
Durham
Odds to win: 12
Captain: Alex Lees
Titles: None
2025 performance: Quarter-finalists
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Alex Lees (431 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: James Neesham (21 wickets)
Lancashire Lightning
Odds to win: 13/2
Captain: Keaton Jennings
Titles: One (2015)
2025 performance: Semi-finalists
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Keaton Jennings (459 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Luke Wood (22 wickets)
Leicestershire Foxes
Odds to win: 22
Captain: Ben Green
Titles: Three (2004, 2006, 2011)
2025 performance: Seventh in the North Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Sol Budinger (358 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Logan van Beek (22 wickets)
Notts Outlaws
Odds to win: 9
Captain: Joe Clarke
Titles: Two (2017, 2020)
2025 performance: Sixth in the North Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Tom Moores (459 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Daniel Sams (16 wickets)
Yorkshire
Odds to win: 10
Captain: Jonny Bairstow
Titles: None
2025 performance: Eighth in the North Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Dawid Malan (365 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Will O’Rourke (15 wickets)
Essex
Odds to win: 22
Captain: Simon Harmer
Titles: One (2019)
2025 performance: Ninth in the South Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Michael Pepper (364 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Mohammad Amir (20 wickets)
Hampshire Hawks
Odds to win: 8
Captain: James Vince
Titles: Three (2010, 2012, 2022)
2025 performance: Runners-up
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Toby Albert (633 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Scott Currie (27 wickets)
Kent Spitfires
Odds to win: 18
Captain: Sam Billings
Titles: Two (2007, 2021)
2025 performance: Quarter-finalists
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Tawanda Muyeye (516 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Fred Klaassen (15 wickets)
Middlesex
Odds to win: 50
Captain: Leus du Plooy
Overseas player: Eathan Bosch
Titles: One (2008)
2025 performance: Eighth in the South Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Stephen Eskinazi (420 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Tom Helm (20 wickets)
Surrey
Odds to win: 5
Captain: Sam Curran
Titles: One (2003)
2025 performance: Quarter-finalists
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Will Jacks (504 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Sam Curran (21 wickets)
Sussex Sharks
Odds to win: 12
Captain: Tymal Mills
Titles: One (2009)
2025 performance: Sixth in the South Division
Leading run-scorer in 2025: James Coles (397 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Nathan McAndrew (23 wickets)
Glamorgan
Odds to win: 20
Captain: Kiran Carlson
Titles: None
2025 performance: Fifth in the South Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Colin Ingram (338 runs)
Leading wicket-takers in 2025: Ned Leonard and Dan Douthwaite (20 wickets each)
Gloucestershire
Odds to win: 33
Captain: Jack Taylor
Titles: One (2024)
2025 performance: Seventh in the South Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: D’Arcy Short (515 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: David Payne (17 wickets)
Northamptonshire Steelbacks
Odds to win: 11
Captain: David Willey
Titles: Two (2013, 2016)
2025 performance: Semi-finalists
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Ravi Bopara (462 runs)
Leading wicket-takers in 2025: Ben Sanderson and George Scrimshaw (26 wickets each)
Somerset
Odds to win: 11/2
Captain: Lewis Gregory
Titles: Three (2005, 2023, 2025)
2025 performance: Winners
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Will Smeed (620 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Riley Meredith (28 wickets)
Warwickshire Bears
Odds to win: 8
Captain: Ed Barnard
Titles: One (2014)
2025 performance: Quarter-finalists
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Alex Davies (464 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Hasan Ali (25 wickets)
Worcestershire
Odds to win: 25
Captain: Brett D’Oliveira
Titles: One (2018)
2025 performance: Fifth in the North Group
Leading run-scorer in 2025: Ethan Brookes (380 runs)
Leading wicket-taker in 2025: Ben Dwarshuis (18 wickets)
How to Watch T20 Blast 2026 (TV & Streaming)
UK viewers can watch selected Vitality Blast 2026 matches on Sky Sports Cricket. The broadcaster will also show the quarter-finals and Finals Day.
Non-televised matches will stream free on the ECB website and the England Cricket app.
In India, viewers can follow the tournament on FanCode and SonyLIV.
Willow TV and Cricbuzz provide coverage in the USA and Canada. Australian viewers can watch through Prime Video, Foxtel or Kayo Sports.
Several counties may also offer free YouTube streams for selected matches.
The Vitality Blast 2026 combines domestic T20 cricket with a packed schedule and a competitive group stage. Surrey enter as favourites, while defending champions Somerset will look to retain their title.
With 18 teams chasing the trophy, the tournament should provide plenty of action before Finals Day decides the 2026 champion.
