T20 Vitality Blast Cricket Winner Odds & Predictions

Can Rapids become first team to defend T20 Blast title?

Cricket Betting

Hot off the heels of England’s historic Cricket World Cup win, the next edition of the T20 Blast is coming up. The domestic Twenty20 cricket action starts on Thursday, July 18th and it is the Worcestershire Rapids who are the reigning champions. Get set for some more heavy-hitting thrills and spills.

T20 Vitality Blast Winner Odds*

Nottinghamshire 11/2
Sussex 8/1
Surry 8/1
Hampshire 8/1
Lancashire 10/1
Yorkshire 12/1
Somerset 12/1
Worcestershire 14/1
Birmingham Bears 14/1
Kent 14/1
Middlesex 14/1
Essex 16/1
Glamorgan 20/1
25/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm)

Tournament Details

All 18 first-class county teams take part in the T20 Blast with the matches being played from July 18th through to September 21st. The teams are split into North and South groups for the first round of action.

Top 4 Finish – Gloucestershire
9/2

Unibet

Then simply the top four teams from each group will move ahead to the knockout stages which start at the quarter-final stage. Edgbaston will host Finals day (which consists of both semi finals and the Final) on September 21st.

North Division
Derbyshire Falcons, Durham Jets, Lancashire Lightning, Leicester Foxes, Northants Steelbacks, Notts Outlaws, Birmingham Bear, Worcestershire Rapids, Yorkshire Vikings

South Division
Essex Eagles, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent Spitfires, Middlesex, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex Sharks

2018 Review

After winning the North Group last year, the Worcester Rapids battled their way through the knockouts to lift the crown. They went up against Gloucestershire in the quarter-finals, who had qualified in fourth spot from the South Division. It was a comfortable 5 wicket win for the Rapids as they easily chased down a 136 total set by their opponents. That moved them through to a semi-final against Lancashire and after being put in to bat first, a hefty unbeaten 55 from 34 balls from Ben Cox helped the Rapids to a 169 total which they managed to defend, with Patrick Brown taking 4/21.

They met the Sussex Sharks in the final. The Sharks were third-place finishers in their South Division but pulled off a comfortable 5 wicket win over the Durham Jets away from home. That lined them up with a big clash against Somerset, South Division winners in the semi-finals. The Sharks won the toss, elected to bat and a 92 from Luke Wright helped them power their way through to the final.

Sussex won the toss in the Final, so it was an advantage for them as they stepped out to bat first. They posted 157 in their innings, but the Rapids chased that down with nine balls to spare and five wickets still in hand. Batsman Ben Cox with an unbeaten 46 was the man of the match, just as he had been in their semi-final win over Lancashire.

T20 Blast points

A win will be rewarded with two points and if there is a tie or a match is abandoned because of weather, then it’s a point each for the teams. Total points are used to decide standings in the table and then run rate.

Overseas players

Teams are able to name two overseas players. The T20 blast and the competition has attracted some of the best short-format players from around the world in its time. Given that this was a World Cup year it has had a bit of a knock-on effect with some stars from that probably deciding to take a break instead. Last year there was the likes of Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan, Usman Khawaja and Carlos Brathwaite around.

Some of the big overseas players to watch out for are Peter Siddle and Adam Zampa (Essex), Michael Klinger (Gloucestershire), Mohammad Nabi (Kent), Glen Mazell (Lancashire), AB de Villiers (Northants), Aaron Finch and Imrah Tahir (Surrey), Rashid Khan (Sussex) and Martin Guptill (Worcestershire).

History and Former Winners

Since its inception in 2003, there has been some changes along the way to the T20 Blast. The first-ever edition was won by Surrey in what was the Twenty20 Cup. There were three groups in the group stage, a South, a North and a Midlands/Wales/West Division. The tournament got its first real big change when it became branded as the Friends Provident T20 in 2010 as that was when the group stage went to just the North and South. NatWest took over sponsorship in 2014 and then it switched again in 2018 with Vitality signing a four-year deal.

Year Winners Runners Up
2018 Worcestershire Rapids Sussex Sharks
2017 Notts Outlaws Birmingham Bears
2016 Northants Steelbacks Durham Jets
2015 Lancashire Lightning Northants Steelbacks
2014 Birmingham Bears Lancashire Lightning
2013 Northants Steelbacks Surrey
2012 Hampshire Royals Yorkshire Carnegie
2011 Leicestershire Foxes Somerset
2010 Hampshire Royals Somerset
2009 Sussex Sharks Somerset Sabres
2008 Middlesex Kent Spitfires

T20 Blast 2019 Betting Tips

No team has ever managed to successfully defend a title in all these years of the event. With Worcestershire starting out at 14/1 odds anyway they don’t have a great deal of appeal for punters* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm). Last year’s losing finalists Sussex do look to be in much better shape. They have Laurie Evans who was top scorer in last season’s competition, and Rashid Khan with the ball in hand.

The Ashes Series is going to be clashing with the T20 Blast fixtures this year, so players like Surrey’s Jason Roy and Lancashire’s Jos Buttler are going to be amiss from the tournament. Surrey do look to have a good balance about them and could go a lot better than their fifth-place finish in the South Division last year.

Nottinghamshire are one the best at delivering the quality at the T20 Blast. The Outlaws were expected to go strongly last season in the competition, but they couldn’t find their winning touch when it mattered in the most. They were the 2017 title winners though, and they are leading the way as the 11/2 outright favourites this go around* (betting odds taken from bet365 on July 15th, 2019 at 12:30 pm).

The average amount of games won by teams who finished in the top four in both divisions last season was 8.3, so those eight-game victories look to be the magic number. Top batsman from the 2018 tournament was Sussex hitter Laurie Evens with 614 despite not making a century. Top wicket-taker, by a margin of six, was Pat Brown from champions Worcester.