Natwest t20 Blast Flash Guide

The Natwest t20 Blast gets under way this evening. Here's your guide to all 18 teams. Starting with the North Group

Lancashire Lightning
Last year - Champions
Star Player - Stephen Parry
Overseas - Martin Guptill
Verdict - Quarter Finals

Northamptonshire Steelbacks
Last year - Runners Up
Star Player - Josh Cobb
Overseas - Seekkuge Prasanna
Verdict - Group Stage

Birmingham Bears
Last year - Semi Finals
Star Player - Laurie Evans
Overseas - Luke Ronchi, Jeetan Patel
Verdict - Quarter Finals

Derbyshire Falcons
Last year - 9th North Group
Star Player - Jimmy Neesham
Overseas - Jimmy Neesham
Verdict - Group Stage

Durham Jets
Last year - 6th North Group
Star Player - Ben Stokes
Verdict - Semi Finals
Notes; Surprise package

Leicestershire Foxes
Last year - 7th North Group
Star Player - Ben Raine
Overseas - Rilee Rossouw, Umar Akmal, Clint McKay
Verdict - Group Stage

Nottinghamshire Outlaws
Last year - 5th North Group
Star Player - Alex Hales
Overseas - Dan Christian
Verdict - Group Stage

Worcestershire Rapids
Last year - Quarter Finals
Star Player - Ross Whiteley
Overseas - Mitchell Santner
Verdict - Group Stage

Yorkshire
Last year - 8th North Group
Star Player - David Willey
Overseas - Travis Head, Kane Williamson
Verdict - Champions

South Group

Hampshire
Last year - Semi Finals
Star Player - Michael Carberry
Overseas - Shahid Afridi
Verdict - Runners Up

Essex Eagles
Last year - Quarter Finals
Star Player - Ravi Bopara
Overseas - Wahab Riaz
Verdict - Quarter Finals

Glamorgan
Last year - 6th South Group
Star Player - Colin Ingram
Overseas - Dale Steyn
Verdict - Group Stage

Gloucestershire
Last year - 5th South Group
Star Player - Ian Cockbain
Overseas - Andrew Tye, Cameron Bancroft
Verdict - Group Stage

Kent Spitfires
Last year - Quarter Finals
Star Player - Sam Billings
Overseas - Kagiso Rabada
Verdict - Semi Finals

Middlesex Panthers
Last year - 9th South Group
Star Player - Brendon McCullum
Overseas - Brendon McCullum, Mitchell McClenaghan, George Bailey, Adam Voges
Verdict - Quarter Finals

Somerset
Last year - 8th South Group
Star Player - Chris Gayle
Overseas - Chris Gayle, Mahela Jayawardene
Verdict - Quarter Finals

Surrey
Last year - 7th South Group
Star Player - Kumar Sangakkara
Overseas - Kumar Sangakkara, Dwayne Bravo, Aaron Finch, Chris Morris
Verdict - Group Stage

Sussex Sharks
Last year - Quarter Finals
Star Player - Luke Wright
Verdict - Group Stage

Birmingham Bears get the Full Treatment!

The 2014 Natwest t20 Blast Champions and 2015 Semi-Finalists have become the first team to have a full squad created in t20 Dream Team.

Its not just the squad though, as you can see there's also the coach Dougie Brown, Edgbaston and the new-for-2016 logo.

The Birmingham Bears launch their 2016 Natwest Blast campaign away at he Notts Outlaws on Friday 20th May.

Player Ratings

New season, new ratings. The ratings for 2016 began as far back as September last year. Performances in t20 from 2015 have a major influence on player ratings while Test matches, ODI's, First Class and 50 over performances have a little less influence.

Here then is the top 10 t20 Dream Team players for 2016.

10. Eoin Morgan

9. Joe Root

8. Kumar Sangakkara

7. Kevin Pietersen

6. David Warner

5. Lasith Malinga

4. Chris Gayle

3. Brendon McCullum

2. Dale Steyn

1. AB de Villiers

3 Formats, 3 Hundreds

What have Brendon McCullum, Ahmed Shehzad, Shane Watson, Chris Gayle, Faf du Plessis, Mahela Jayawardene and Rohit Sharma all done that no England player has?

The answer? All of them have scored a century in a Test Match, ODI and a t20 International. So, which England player will be the first to achieve it?

The Frontrunners

Alex Hales - scorer of England's only t20i hundred

Alex Hales – Given a t20i hundred is probably the most difficult to achieve in terms of time, Hales is the most likely man to get the hat-trick. He has achieved the feat in both white ball formats and should the selectors stick with him for the Sri Lanka Series in May, he will have an excellent chance of a maiden Test ton to complete the set.

Joe Root – The golden boy of England cricket is currently the closest England player to achieve the feat with a highest t20i score of 90*to go with multiple Test and ODI centuries. Over the past 12 months or so he has proven he can play any format. Don’t be surprised if he racks up another hundred in the World t20.

Eoin Morgan – Like Root, Morgan has got hundreds in Tests and ODI’s with a t20i best of 85*. He may not have been in great touch lately but it would take a brave man to bet against playing another captain’s innings at the upcoming World t20 where his previous experience in the IPL could prove crucial for England.

The Outsiders

Jason Roy celebrates his maiden ODI Century

Jason Roy – Scored a ton in each format for Surrey in 2015 and already has an ODI hundred to his name and is more than capable of getting a t20i one aswell.  If Hales doesn’t work out in the Test arena and England wish to stick with an aggressive opening partner for Alastair Cook, he could find himself with a crack at all 3.

Jos Buttler – Perhaps surprisingly to some, Jos Buttler only has (rapid) ODI hundreds for England. To get all 3 would require something special in the World t20 followed by a Test recall in the spring.

Ben Stokes – Perhaps surprisingly to some Ben Stokes hasn’t got an ODI ton under his belt yet. That will be only a matter of time. A t20i hundred is by no means beyond his capabilities.

The Very Very Unlikely

Alastair Cook – No-one has more Test centuries for England than Alastair Cook. He also has some very well compiled ODI hundreds. It would  take a bizarre set of circumstances for him to be recalled to England’s t20 side and ton up in that format as well.

Champagne Super Over - Cricket's Penalty Shoot Out

The Super Over is one thing cricket has got right. Bowling at an open set of stumps to decide a tie? Not for me.

Put into YouTube Chris Jordan Super Over and you will struggle to find any footage. Maybe because it was pretty much cricketing pornography. A super over going for just 3 runs. Chris Jordan does have an irritating habit of channeling the spirit of Jade Dernbach from time to time but like his fellow Chris of the Woakes variety he's capable of holding his nerve when it really matters. Here's hoping he gets it right if England need a Super Over at the World t20!


As much as Super Overs are great, why can't a draw be a draw in group stage games? You don't see Liverpool snatching a 90th minute equaliser against Arsenal in the Premier League to take the game to a penalty shoot-out. Lets save them for the knockout stages.

Start the Falcon!

Cricket from out of this world was the tagline for the new-look inter-planetary t20 competition and some of the cricket played was well worth its place in a galaxy far, far away. The tournament has been re-jigged over the years with the first three editions not going down very well with several purists.

This time, things were different and in the end it was the Endor Rebels who won the title after chasing down 185 to beat Galactic Empire in a thrilling final. The Rebels seemed to have an answer to everything thrown at them. Han Solo rarely failed but when he did, someone would always step up to the plate. This was perhaps most notable in the semi final where Chewbacca bludgeoned his way to 79 off just 27 balls. It was a brutal onslaught that saw him hit 32 off one over!

The Rebels were largely thankful to Han Solo, who’s 718 runs came at a swashbuckling strike rate of 174.37 and included a breathtaking 133 off 61 balls against the Tatooine Bounty Hunters. He missed out by inches on becoming the first player to hit a ball into the Mighty Sarlaac. Not bad for an ex-smuggler! The Rebels were also well led by Admiral Ackbar who set several clever traps to dismiss key opposition batsmen throughout the tournament. The brother/sister opening bowlers of Luke and Leia Skywalker bowled to these traps on their way to an impressive 47 wickets between them.

Solo’s old foe Boba Fett had a solid year behind the stumps for the Bounty Hunters, however, team owner Jabba the Hutt was not impressed with his soft dismissal in the semi final and threw him into the Great Pit of Carkoon. Rumours have been going around that he may still play in next year’s competition.

Galactic Empire should be rather satisfied with getting to the final. Before Alderaan, set to be led by Bail Organa, pulled out for unknown reasons (the Emperor is rumoured to have had something to do with it) they didn’t have a berth in the tournament. Darth Vader did little to repress the notion he’s too “old school” for the short format. His innings’ were usually characterised by a solid back foot punch through the covers. His runs did come at a strike rate over 140, although only 27 of his 495 runs came through the leg side.

The Jedi Knights were a major disappointment. Crushed by the Empire in their first home game, things didn’t improve and they went on to lose all of their remaining games. “Improve on this next season we must” was the verdict of coach Yoda. The Knights particularly suffered when Obi Wan Kenobi was banned from bowling his doosra amidst claims he was using a Jedi mind trick in his delivery stride. He was never seen again after the away game against the Galactic Empire.

t20 Dream Team Update

First of all, if you’re reading this it probably means you’re a fan of t20 Dream Team on Facebook. In which case, thank you.

This is basically an update on a few things. Firstly, the Team of the Week is proving to be great fun putting together. There aren’t any rules but merely some guidelines I like to follow, most notably a maximum of 2 players per team. This is only really possible in the Natwest Blast or when there’s more than 1 league up for selection. This lead to the creation of 12^th man. There won’t always be a 12^th man nor does there have to be. It’s for the great performance that can’t be squeezed into Team of the Week.

Unlike EA Sports, I only choose 11 players per week. It’s worth noting EA have hundreds of games to choose from. I have about 10. A player who scores 52 off 33 will be more likely to get in TotW than a player who scores 55 off 29 in a defeat. However this is not set in stone. See Michael Klinger for example (2 hundreds in a week both in a losing cause).

Secondly, there will be a small tweak for TotW at the end of July. Team of the Week 15 will take place on 23^rd July. This will be followed by a Team of the Final Round of Group Games from the Blast (TotFR). Team of the Week will resume the following Thursday but with the Royal London One Day Cup. The t20 Blast Quarter Finals will have a TotQF. There will also be Team of Finals Day. Team of Finals Day will include 3 hero cards, one for each game, as well as any record breakers from the day (if any).

Thirdly, record breakers. If Klinger or anyone else for that matter beats Jason Roy’s record of 677 runs in the tournament for example they will have a record breaker card. This will be as follows:

-          If it is broken with a none TotW contribution the RB card will be standalone

-          If it is broken with a TotW contribution the RB card will be in TotW

-          If the record is broken on Finals Day the RB card will appear in ToFD if the contribution is worthy. If not it will be in Team of the Season if the player warrants a place there.

Lastly, Paul Collingwood is closing in on 50 Durham wickets to go with 500 runs in t20 cricket. When he passes that milestone he will be rewarded with a hero card.