The men's county and women's regional calendars for next summer have been released, with some tweaks made to a plan that otherwise shows signs of continuity
County Championship winners Surrey will travel to Lancashire on the opening day of the county summer in a repeat of the season-ending clash that saw Gareth Batty's charges lose their unbeaten record but also lift the trophy.
The County Championship season is set to begin on April 6, with all 18 counties in action over the first week, which incorporates the Easter weekend, of a calendar that – despite plenty of debate over the winter – has a familiar feel to it, with 14 first-class fixtures per county. The first seven rounds are set to be played in consecutive weeks, with each club given a rest week within the first month.
The first-class calendar also features two rounds in June and three in July, which means domestic red-ball cricket will be played around the same time as the men's Ashes series, with 16 teams in action the week before the first Test.
Middlesex begin their first season back in Division One of the County Championship at Lord's against Essex, while Nottinghamshire – promoted as Division Two champions – start at the Ageas Bowl against Hampshire. Yorkshire, relegated in dramatic circumstances, host Leicestershire in their first game in Division Two.
The One-Day Cup – no longer sponsored by Royal London after that partnership came to an end – will continue to be played alongside The Hundred, while the T20 Blast will once again run from beginning to end between late May and mid-July. Forty-eight Blast matches will take place across six successive Fridays; the groups have remained the same, sorted out geographically, despite some suggestions that they might be freshened up.
Northern Diamonds won the Heyhoe Flint Trophy in september at Lord's; next year's final will be back at Northampton (Paul Harding/Getty Images)
The fixtures for The Hundred were never set to be released as part of the men's county and women's regional pack, but the window – The Cricketer understands – is set to be slightly truncated, with the tournament expected to be played between August 1 – when the 50-over competition gets underway – and August 26.
The one-day final is slated for September 16, almost exactly a year on from this year's final, which was won by Kent against Lancashire. Once again, it will be staged at Trent Bridge. After the error of holding it on a Thursday in 2021, it appears to have found a home – for the time being, at least – on the middle weekend of September.
Reigning champions Kent begin their campaign against Yorkshire at Scarborough, but while outgrounds will continue to be used regularly, Lord's is set to stage its first men's domestic 50-over match since the 2019 Royal London final when Middlesex host Lancashire in August.
The gap between the end of the group stage and the return of the County Championship in September has also been shortened. Last summer, there were 15 days without cricket for teams who failed to reach the knockout phase, while The Hundred was ongoing. In 2023, that void has been reduced by five days to 10.
The final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, last year played at Lord's in front of a sparse crowd, remains in late September but moves away from north London and back to Wantage Road, where the 2021 final took place. That competition has doubled in size, with the eight regions playing each other home and away, making for a 14-game group stage. The Blaze, the new women's regional team representing the East Midlands, make their debut at Trent Bridge on April 22.
The T20 Blast will begin and end at Edgbaston, with T20 Blast Off - a curtain-raiser doubleheader - a new addition to the tournament (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Finals Day in the Charlotte Edwards Cup has found a regular berth in mid-June; it will be played on June 10 at New Road, meaning Worcester have retained a major women's matchday despite losing out on hosting England Women in 2023.
There is another significant change: the group stage for the women's T20 competition is no longer split across two pools, instead taking the form of the Heyhoe Flint Trophy as a single round-robin league table, with the top three meeting at Worcester once every team has faced one another. Twenty doubleheaders are planned for Charlotte Edwards Cup and T20 Blast matchdays.
Seven County Championship matches and three Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixtures are scheduled over the weekend of King Charles' coronation, suggesting that there is no provision in place for elite sport to be halted. That weekend is also the first of the season for many of the country's amateur leagues.
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