In 1968 the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) was created to take responsibility for county cricket and England’s Test side, replacing MCC-run arrangements. This made governance more modern and better aligned with public funding and professional sport structures. The new body was important for later decisions about scheduling, competitions, and commercial strategy.
In 1969 the Player’s County League (later called the Sunday League) began as a 40-overs-per-side competition played on Sunday afternoons by the 17 first-class counties. Regular television coverage helped counties reach a broader audience and created a new commercial reason to stage short, results-driven matches. It also started a long shift in county cricket toward formats designed for spectators, sponsors, and broadcasters.
The new Sunday League quickly moved from concept to regular fixtures, with matches scheduled across the season. The early-May start underlined that limited-overs cricket was now embedded in the county calendar, not just a one-off cup. This regular rhythm helped counties plan marketing and matchday operations around a predictable, broadcast-friendly product.
In 1972 the Benson & Hedges Cup launched as another limited-overs competition for the counties (and invited teams), adding more high-stakes one-day fixtures to the season. With the Gillette Cup and Sunday League already established, county cricket now had multiple short-form pathways for prize money and public attention. This increased pressure on counties to build squads and tactics suited to different formats.
Through the 1970s and early 1980s, the Sunday League continued under tobacco sponsorship, with a simple league format that fit television and weekend crowds. Its endurance showed counties that limited-overs cricket could provide stable income and visibility alongside the County Championship. This strengthened the idea that county cricket was not only a sporting competition but also an entertainment business.
On 1 January 1997 the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was formed, combining multiple organizations into one national governing body. This gave the ECB clearer authority to manage domestic competitions, commercial rights, and long-term planning. That unified control mattered later when the ECB pushed new formats to address attendances and market changes.
In 2000 the County Championship introduced two divisions with promotion and relegation. This was a major structural change aimed at creating more meaningful matches by grouping teams by performance level. It also reflected how counties were balancing the prestige of first-class cricket with the growing importance of shorter formats and tighter schedules.
The Benson & Hedges Cup ended in 2002 after a long sponsorship era, as tobacco advertising restrictions removed its commercial foundation. Its closure opened space in the calendar for a replacement that could attract new audiences and sponsors. That transition set the stage for England’s counties to become a testing ground for Twenty20 cricket.
In 2003 the ECB introduced the Twenty20 Cup, the inaugural county T20 tournament involving all 18 first-class counties. The new 20-overs-per-side format was designed to be shorter and more accessible, responding to concerns about declining county match attendance. The competition became a major catalyst for changing how counties marketed matches and built squads.
By 2010–2013 the county T20 competition ran under major title sponsorship, showing it had become a core commercial asset rather than an experiment. Sponsorship also reinforced a more professional, brand-led approach to domestic cricket, from match presentation to scheduling priorities. Counties increasingly relied on T20 gate receipts and partnerships to support budgets.
In 2014 the competition was rebranded as the NatWest T20 Blast, marking a new phase of mass-market positioning. That season drew over 700,000 spectators, showing that T20 could deliver large crowds for many counties. The Blast’s success increased competition for prime summer dates and made scheduling tensions with four-day cricket harder to avoid.
By the mid-2010s, counties were increasingly treating T20 as a headline product, including using distinct team identities and matchday presentation designed for evening crowds. This changed what “professional success” meant: not only winning four-day matches, but also building a sustainable, marketable club. The result was a county system where T20’s impact was visible in priorities, resources, and calendar decisions.
In 2018 the ECB announced Vitality as title partner, and the competition became widely known as the Vitality Blast. The deal confirmed that T20 had moved to the center of counties’ commercial planning, with strong emphasis on crowds, broadcast value, and sponsor visibility. By this point, the modern county season was firmly shaped by how T20 fit alongside the Championship.
English County Cricket: Professionalization and the T20 Impact (1969–2015)