Paul Nixon, Azhar Mahmood and Harry Gurney are IN... but who makes our all-time T20 Blast XI?

Professional Twenty20 cricket in England begins its 16th year on Thursday, but which of the standout names from the shortest format feature?

Michael Klinger

Despite reasonable assessment that his game was better suited to the red-ball format, Klinger's dive into white-ball only cricket it saw him come out the other end as an exceptional batsman in the T20 format.

The Australian needs just 56 runs to overtake Kiwi Hamish Marshall as Gloucestershire's leading scorer in T20s through a technique that not only imbues proper strokeplay with excellent judgement of picking his moments to go aerial but that has led him to six centuries in T20s in England.

With Klinger, who still holds the record for most runs in the BBL, now returning for a seventh season with Gloucestershire, for whom he has agreed to play and captain as well as undertaking a role as batting coach, he is perhaps a peerless example of how the glamour technique is not a prerequisite for incredible T20 success.

Joe Denly

Well clear as the highest T20 runscorer in the English county game, Joe Denly is one of many players in this XI who has taken the domestic circuit by storm without making a full international breakthrough.

Involved in a former T20 record opening stand of 207 for Kent with Daniel Bell-Drummond, Denly's T20 best of 127 from just 66 balls demonstrated that behind the will for a solid technique he is prepared to exhibit that he really does have all the shots in the book.

No one has hit more than the 416 fours he has struck so far during his time with both Middlesex and now Kent once more, and while his international career has so far been one of mere frustration, his county career continues to flourish and embellished by an excellent T20 return. 

Peter Trego

Somerset's second-highest run scorer, behind James Hildreth, in T20 cricket with 3,152 runs in the format, Trego has developed a cult hero appearance at the club and his longevity to keep going in the white-ball game makes him a true legend in the county game.

The former Kent and Middlesex allrounder also has 78 wickets for Somerset in the format but his significance to the game extends far beyond than the momentous knocks he played in the Blast and the Champions League.

The allrounder has always had the interests of T20 cricket at its heart, denouncing what he viewed as football holligan behaviour entering the game, while being on the receiving end of an on-field spat with Surrey's Gareth Batty a few seasons ago.

A stalwart of the county game, it will be the T20 format which could be most heavily impacted once he decides to call it a day.

^{Michael Klinger could this season become Gloucestershire's leading runscorer in T20s}

Graham Napier

Revered in the T20 county format for the 16 sixes he smashed in June 2008 on his way to a unbeaten 152 off just 58 deliveries for Essex against Sussex, a record at the time.

It was just one of the many times Napier endeared himself to the Chelmsford faithful with a consistent line with his seam bowling and a deadly yorker to accompany his swashbuckling striking.

He may never have received the chance on the international stage, but Napier's entertainment value with Essex was paramount to the format's early success at the county level.

Paul Nixon

The man who perfected the reverse sweep at let Grace Road crowds marvel at it, Paul Nixon’s England path may have been blocked by a number of wicketkeepers, but few players could match him for innovation with the bat in this format.

Playing a number of key roles with the bat to see Leicestershire over the line to three T20 titles, and providing excellence and entertainment behind the stumps, an illustrious name who should be in most county XIs.

Luke Wright

With T20 cricket requiring the synergy of power batting, bustling medium pace and ebullience in the field, Luke Wright is part of a rare breed who has delivered in all three areas for a number of years.

That exuberance and optimism on the field has made him part of the a successful England World T20 side and a real attraction for franchise cricket, most notably from the BBL.

However, the match which encapsulated what Luke Wright is all about came in July 2014, when chasing down 226 for victory against Essex he powered Sussex over the finishing line with a magnificent 153 not out off 66 balls for what was then a world record chase.

Four other centuries have come in England's T20 competition for Wright and he remains the highest ranked Englishman in the all-time leading run scorers in the format with 7,199.

There are plenty of allrounders in this composite XI, but few are as admirable as Wright. 

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Ravi Bopara

Like Wright, Bopara enjoyed bursts in the England setup without making himself indispensable but has been a real stalwart for Essex over the years.

Last season saw the allrounder make his 300th T20 appearance and take his 200th T20 wicket, and that's before you even consider his ability to bat up the order or fire his side home in the middle order with the bat.

Behind only Wright in the list of Englishmen with most runs in T20s, his laid-back approach to life is in complete contrast to his full-on commitment in the format, and having represented 11 different T20 sides around the world, is a deserved entry for his consistency in the Blast alone.

Yasir Arafat

The overseas signing who was somewhat of a county journeyman, Arafat had his path blocked to a regular spot in the Pakistan side by the likes of Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq, but on the county scene there were few players who counties trusted more than Arafat to provide some power down the order and pace and swing with the ball. 

Somerset, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Surrey and Lancashire all came calling at one point or another, and he currently sits top in the T20 Blast wicket charts and eighth for the most career T20 wickets in world cricket with 281 scalps.

With the pedigree for the big occasion to match, most notably hitting the winning runs in the 2014-15 BBL final, there are many counties in the English game who have retained fond memories of the Pakistani in their club's T20 history.

^{Luke Wright has scored the most T20 runs of any Englishman}

Samit Patel

The allrounder has certainly provided a certain degree of entertainment value with both bat and ball in hand during his time with Nottinghamshire.

Fitness fears saw him only feature in an England shirt sporadically, but the fact he comes in at no.9 in this XI is no underestimation of his hard-hitting ability which has been a key feature of Notts' middle order batting, and that was no more evident than in his 99 in the 2017 final.

A more than capable left-arm spinner, Patel looks destined to overtake Azhar Mahmood in the T20 Blast top wicket takers list, and if he is able to repeat his 2017 form, could even surpass Arafat in top spot.

An extremely watchable cricketer, Patel has really taken the T20 format in England by storm.

Azhar Mahmood

His country of birth has produced some fine seam and swing bowlers over the years, but Mahmood himself perhaps pertains to a group of more Enlgish-type seamers.

Line and length combined with some excellent deceptive variations were the hallmark of his bowling prowess, and his strength off his pads and against the short ball saw him clobber many runs down the order.

Surrey and Kent were both the beneficiaries of his services, and in his day was a useful fielder, the experience he provided to both sides was invaluable.

His position at 14th in the list of most career T20 wickets in the world was once a lot more impressive, but even as others took over at the likes of Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, he was never too far away from the action as was regularly called upon to add some control.

Harry Gurney

Another player who flirted with the idea of becoming an England regular, but after 10 ODIs and two T20Is in 2014, he was banished back to domestic cricket.

However, it took him another few years afterwards, following a promising start to life in the game, to really recapture his mojo.

Nottinghamshire captain Dan Christian has in the past publicly proclaimed him "the best death bowler in the world", and the now T20 specialist seems to have rediscovered that knack of taking wickets in the powerplay and at the death.

Fifth in the all-time T20 Blast list of top wicket takers, Gurney's renaissance began with an impressive showing in the 2017 final and has then seen him test himself in the IPL, PSL, and BBL.

Nevertheless, his stock will always remain highest in the competition which welcomed this gangly left-arm seamer on to the stage.