SOMERSET begin the 2021 T20 season with a home match against Essex, while their defence of the One-Day Cup starts against Derbyshire, again at Taunton.

The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has today announced the fixture programme for both the Vitality Blast and Royal London Cup, following on from the release of the LV= Insurance County Championship fixtures back in December.

The Blast is scheduled to start on Wednesday, June 9, with the tournament returning to a 14-match group-stage format, and the First-Class Counties split into the customary North and South groups.

Somerset's final South Group match, on Sunday, July 18, is at home to local rivals Gloucestershire.

T20 Finals Day, which is a sell-out after last summer’s ticket-holders were given the option to roll their tickets over, will be staged at Edgbaston on Saturday, September 18.

The One-Day Cup, meanwhile, returns this summer following a hiatus in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the final of that competition to be staged at Trent Bridge on Thursday, August 19.

Somerset are the holders, having won the trophy in 2019, but their title defence is likely to see them without the players who have signed up for The Hundred.

The plan for 2020 was for the two tournaments to run alongside one another, meaning that the One-Day Cup had essentially been downgraded to a development 'competition', only for both to be called off in light of the pandemic.

So far, Tom Banton (who will play for Welsh Fire), Lewis Gregory (Trent Rockets), Craig Overton (Southern Brave), Roelof van der Merwe (London Spirit) and Max Waller (Southern Brave) are all confirmed as taking part in The Hundred.

The One-Day Cup will be preceded by 20 matches between First-Class Counties and National Counties, on July 20-22, when Somerset will face Cornwall and Devon.

 

Vitality Blast groups 2021

North Group - Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Yorkshire Vikings, Notts Outlaws, Worcestershire Rapids, Birmingham Bears, Derbyshire Falcons, Leicestershire Foxes, Northamptonshire Steelbacks

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

Royal London Cup groups 2021 (drawn at random)

Group A - Essex, Worcestershire, Sussex, Middlesex, Kent, Durham, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Lancashire

Group B - Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Yorkshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Somerset

 

Full Somerset fixture list for 2021

Thursday, April 8: County Championship, Group 2 - Middlesex v Somerset

Thursday, April 15: County Championship, Group 2 - Somerset v Gloucestershire

Thursday, April 22: County Championship, Group 2 - Leicestershire v Somerset

Thursday, April 29: County Championship, Group 2 - Somerset v Middlesex

Thursday, May 6: County Championship, Group 2 - Hampshire v Somerset

Thursday, May 13: County Championship, Group 2 - Somerset v Surrey

Thursday, May 20: County Championship, Group 2 - Gloucestershire v Somerset

Tuesday, May 25: Tourist match - Somerset v New Zealand

Thursday, June 3: County Championship, Group 2 - Somerset v Hampshire

Wednesday, June 9: T20, South Group - Somerset v Essex

Friday, June 11: T20, South Group - Somerset v Surrey

Tuesday, June 15: T20, South Group - Somerset v Kent

Friday, June 18: T20, South Group - Sussex v Somerset

Saturday, June 19: T20, South Group - Somerset v Glamorgan

Wednesday, June 23: T20, South Group - Surrey v Somerset

Friday, June 25: T20, South Group - Somerset v Hampshire

Monday, June 28: T20, South Group - Kent v Somerset

Tuesday, June 29: T20, South Group - Essex v Somerset

Thursday, July 1: T20, South Group - Gloucestershire v Somerset

Friday, July 2: T20, South Group - Somerset v Middlesex

Sunday, July 4: County Championship, Group 2 - Somerset v Leicestershire

Friday, July 9: T20, South Group - Hampshire v Somerset

Sunday, July 11: County Championship, Group 2 - Surrey v Somerset

Friday, July 16: T20, South Group - Glamorgan v Somerset

Sunday, July 18: T20, South Group - Somerset v Gloucestershire

Tuesday, July 20: National Counties match - Cornwall v Somerset

Thursday, July 22: National Counties match - Devon v Somerset

Sunday, July 25: One-Day Cup, Group B - Somerset v Derbyshire

Wednesday, July 28: One-Day Cup, Group B - Somerset v Glamorgan

Friday, July 30: One-Day Cup, Group B - Nottinghamshire v Somerset

Sunday, August 1: One-Day Cup, Group B - Somerset v Yorkshire

Thursday, August 5: One-Day Cup, Group B - Surrey v Somerset

Sunday, August 8: One-Day Cup, Group B - Northamptonshire v Somerset

Tuesday, August 10: One-Day Cup, Group B - Somerset v Leicestershire

Thursday, August 12: One-Day Cup, Group B - Warwickshire v Somerset

*Saturday, August 14: One-Day Cup quarter-finals

*Tuesday, August 17: One-Day Cup semi-finals

*Thursday, August 19: One-Day Cup final (at Trent Bridge)

*Tuesday, August 24-Friday, August 27: T20 quarter-finals

Monday, August 30-Friday, September 24: County Championship divisional stage

*Saturday, September 18: T20 Finals Day (at Edgbaston)

*Monday, September 27: Bob Willis Trophy final (at Lord's)

 

* = Subject to qualification