New Dawn: Men's and Women's Cricket Fully United for the 2025 T20 Blast

The 2025 T20 Blast marks a groundbreaking moment in cricket history as women's teams achieve full alignment with the men's game. This unified approach is reflected in the competition's fixtures, with 52 doubleheaders featuring back-to-back men's and women's matches. All 18 first-class counties will host at least one of these historic events.

The season kicks off with the Blast-Off weekend starting Thursday, May 29. Highlights include the Women’s Finals Day at the Kia Oval on Sunday, July 27, and the Men’s Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, September 13, marking Edgbaston’s 17th hosting in 23 T20 seasons.

A notable change sees the Edgbaston-based team listed as "Bears," hinting at a possible return to the Warwickshire name after over a decade as the Birmingham Bears. Reigning men’s champions Gloucestershire will begin their campaign at home against Kent on Friday, May 30, while The Blaze, Nottinghamshire's women’s side and last year’s Charlotte Edwards Cup winners, face the Bears in a doubleheader at Trent Bridge.

The opening day promises thrilling matchups, with 2015 winners Lancashire hosting 2018 champions Worcestershire in Manchester and Middlesex taking on Sussex in a Lord's doubleheader.

A New Era for Gender Equality in Cricket

"This is one of the clearest demonstrations to date of our aligned 'one game' approach to the delivery of men's and women's domestic cricket moving forwards," said Beth Barrett-Wild, the England and Wales Cricket Board's director of the women's professional game.

Scheduling changes, informed by consultations with the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA), aim to reduce back-to-back games by nearly a third. Midweek fixtures have increased from five to 17, ensuring a better balance between player welfare and the tournament’s commercial success. Neil Snowball, the ECB's managing director of competitions, highlighted the importance of listening to players’ needs while maximising opportunities for fans to enjoy high-quality T20 cricket across 25 venues.

Team Groupings for the 2025 T20 Blast

Men's North Group

Bears, Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Notts Outlaws, Worcestershire Rapids, Yorkshire Vikings.

Men's South Group

Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire Hawks, Kent Spitfires, Middlesex, Somerset, Sussex Sharks, Surrey.

Women's Competition

Bears, Durham, Essex, Hampshire Hawks, Lancashire Thunder, Somerset, Surrey, The Blaze.

Women’s League 2

North Group Derbyshire Falcons, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Worcestershire Rapids, Yorkshire.

Women’s League 2 South Group

Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Middlesex, Sussex Sharks.

With gender parity at its core, the 2025 T20 Blast promises to redefine cricket's professional landscape, creating a season that both honours tradition and embraces progress.