A total of 37 teams have learned their way into the new Vitality Women’s T20 County Cup competition set to begin in England and Wales next year.
The knockout competition will take place throughout May, involving teams from all three levels of domestic women’s cricket and taking advantage of public holidays at the beginning and end of the month to decide the first domestic silverware of 2025.
In the first year of a revamped women’s national structure, Tier 1 teams will enter the competition in the Third Round. As this is an elimination competition, Tier 2 and 3 teams have the opportunity to eliminate the fully professional Tier 1 teams on the way to Finals Day, which will include the semi-finals and final in Taunton on Monday 26 May.
The First Round will be played on Monday, May 5 and the Second Round on Saturday, May 10. With two Third Round ties featuring matchups between Tier 1 teams, including Surrey vs Hampshire Hawks on May 17, the competition is guaranteed to have at least two teams from Tier 2 or 3 in the quarter-finals a week later .
“I’d love to play in that one,” Wyatt-Hodge said from South Africa, where England were preparing to begin their multi-format series with Sunday’s first T20I in east London. “I’m really delighted with my move to Surrey, it’s a huge club and it will be an honor to play for Surrey. We’ve got a lot of cricket to play before then but there’s certainly some exciting times ahead.”
“It’s huge, it makes every game very exciting, in the style of the FA Cup,” he added of the new competition. “Women’s cricket is going to the next level in England so it’s fantastic to see and be a part of.”
The climax of the First Round is shaping up to be a clash between city rivals Middlesex and Kent, who both failed to gain Tier 1 status for their counties during the first phase of the restructuring which runs from the 2025 season to 2028.
The Women’s T20 County Cup will be played in addition to the Vitality Blast Women’s T20 competition, which will feature only Tier 1 teams, with matches to be published on Thursday.
Women’s T20 County Cup Schedule
FIRST ROUND (May 5)
Match 1: Lincolnshire-Cheshire
Match 2: Staffordshire – Cumbria
Match 3: Northumberland – BYE
Match 4: Yorkshire v Derbyshire Falcons
Match 5: Leicestershire Foxes – BYE
Match 6: Shropshire-Norfolk
Match 7: Cambridgeshire – Herefordshire
Match 8: Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Worcestershire Rapids
Match 9: Sussex Sharks v Buckinghamshire
Match 10: Suffolk – GOODBYE
Match 11: Hertfordshire v Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire
Match 12: Middlesex v Kent
Match 13: Cornwall – Berkshire
Match 14: Wiltshire – Oxfordshire
Match 15: Dorset-Devon
Match 16: Glamorgan – Gloucestershire
SECOND ROUND (May 10)
Match 17: Yorkshire or Derbyshire Falcons v Staffordshire or Cumbria
Match 18: Leicestershire Foxes v Lincolnshire or Cheshire
Match 19: Shropshire or Norfolk v Northamptonshire Steelbacks or Worcestershire Rapids
Match 20: Northumberland v Cambridgeshire or Herefordshire
Match 21: Glamorgan or Gloucestershire v Sussex Sharks or Buckinghamshire
Match 22: Cornwall or Berkshire against Middlesex or Kent
Match 23: Wiltshire or Oxfordshire v Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire
Match 24: Devon or Dorset v Suffolk
THIRD ROUND (May 17)
Match 25: Surrey – Hampshire Hawks
Game 26: Winner of Game 24 against Bears
Match 27: Winner of Match 19 vs Winner of Match 18
Match 28: Winner of Match 21 against Lancashire Thunder
Match 29: Winner of match 17 against Essex
Match 30: Winner of Match 23 against The Blaze
Match 31: Winner of Match 20 vs Winner of Match 22
Match 32: Somerset-Durham
QUARTERFINALS (May 24)
Match 33: Winner of Match 25 vs Winner of Match 32
Match 34: Winner of Match 31 vs Winner of Match 30
Match 35: Winner of Match 27 vs Winner of Match 28
Match 36: Winner of Match 29 vs Winner of Match 26
FINAL DAY (May 26, Taunton)
Match 37: Semifinal 1: Winner of Match 35 vs Winner of Match 34
Match 38: Semifinal 2: Winner of Match 36 vs Winner of Match 33
Match 39: Final
