County cricket is set for blast-off in 2014 with a new schedule, new start times and a brand new name for the domestic T20 competition
On Tuesday 26 November at 09.30am ECB will announce the new County fixture schedule for 2014 which will include regular Friday and Sunday start dates for the T20 and four-day County Championship competitions respectively, the advent of the new Royal London One-Day Cup and a new name and sponsor for the domestic T20 competition - the NatWest T20 Blast.
Next year's fixtures will be the first to be played under a new schedule which will run until 2017 and has been introduced based on the recommendations of the Morgan Review into the domestic game and extensive customer feedback from more than 25,000 county cricket fans.
ECB Chief Executive David Collier said: "This schedule has been designed to make the needs of the fans our number one priority. With nearly 70 per cent of T20 group matches scheduled for Friday nights, 67 per cent of LV=County Championship matches commencing on a Sunday and a school summer holiday slot for The Royal London One-Day Cup, this schedule meets the demand from fans for regular 'appointments to view' across all our domestic competitions."
"We welcome Royal London to our family of domestic cricket sponsors for the first time and are also excited about the role the NatWest T20 Blast will play in attracting a wider audience to our county game - with Friday nights providing the perfect opportunity for fans to combine a weekend night out with watching cricket. "
LV=County Championship
The first round of matches in the LV= County Championship will see Glamorgan visit the Kia Oval for their opening match on Sunday April 6th to play big spending Surrey who were relegated from Division One last year. For the second successive year Glamorgan will play Cardiff MCCU a week before the start of the County Championship as new Head Coach Toby Radford takes charge of his first first-class game on Tuesday 1st April at the SWALEC Stadium. The first home Championship match gets underway on Sunday 20th April with the visit of Gloucestershire to Cardiff. Glamorgan will return to Swansea and Colwyn Bay for Championship games in 2014.
NatWest T20 Blast
The new NatWest T20 Blast competition kicks off in earnest on Friday May 16 with fourteen counties in action nationwide including the current domestic T20 title winners Northamptonshire who will take on Yorkshire at Headingley. Middlesex then take on Sussex and Essex at Lord's 24 hours later on Saturday May 17 in the first domestic T20 'double-header' played on the same day and Glamorgan start their campaign on Friday 18 May at the Ageas Bowl against 2012 winners Hampshire Royals, as they face four away games in the opening five matches of the tournament.
Friday night T20 action will be a consistent theme in the new-look county schedule with a total of 87 of the 126 group stage matches due to take place on Fridays over the 10-week course of the competition and six out of seven of Glamorgan's home games will be on a Friday night. Edgbaston will once again host Finals day on Saturday August 23 after quarter final stages are completed over the first weekend in August.
Royal London One-Day Cup
The new Royal London One-Day Cup which replaces the Yorkshire Bank40 competition, will be played in a 5O-over format in line with one-day international cricket and begins on Saturday July 26 when last season's YB40 finalists Glamorgan take on Middlesex, Lancashire host Yorkshire in a Roses clash, and Hampshire visit Derbyshire. The following day's round of matches sees Nottinghamshire, winners of last season's YB40 Trophy, travel to Sussex and fourteen other Counties in Royal London One-Day Cup action. Lord's will host the inaugural final of the competition on Saturday September 20th.
View printable fixture list here. Note: The Surrey County Championship match to be played at an out ground in July is a home fixture
Membership and Season Tickets
Glamorgan membership early bird deadline expires on 30th November, save £40 on annual membership if you renew before this deadline and a further £40 if you introduce a friend.
A T20 Blast Season Ticket will be available before Christmas along with details about One-Day membership. A Glamorgan membership entitles you to purchase an Ashes Test match ticket when the series returns to Wales in 2015.
Glamorgan membership information is available here>>
