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Warwickshire have retired their Birmingham Bears moniker for T20 Blast matches, and will instead revert to being called Warwickshire Bears when the rebooted men’s and women’s competition gets underway in 2026.The club won their sole T20 title as Birmingham Bears in 2014, but have reverted to their county name after more than a decade, following feedback from members and in recognition of the women’s county competition that got underway this season.”Warwickshire has and always will be at the heart of who we are,” Stuart Cain, the county’s chief executive, said. “It’s our identity and has been for well over a century.”Over a decade ago, the club decided to be bold with a city-based name for our T20 team and it saw attendances grow to record levels and attract new fans to the Bears. But with our long-term future in mind, and following feedback from members through the members committee, now is the right time for change.”We represent the county and that’s what returning to Warwickshire Bears is about.”The announcement came ahead of the ECB’s unveiling of next year’s Blast fixtures – which, for the 14th consecutive year, will be hosted at Warwickshire’s home ground of Edgbaston (or EdgBLASTon, as per the club’s “bold and electrifying move” to rebrand the stadium for the duration of the tournament).The Blast schedule has been compromised in recent years, following the introduction of the Hundred in a mid-summer block in July and August. This year’s event featured a final on September 13, almost two months after the conclusion of the group stage in July, meaning that each of the four teams were missing key players – a situation described by Lancashire’s captain, Keaton Jennings, as “ludicrous”.The new-look tournament will take place in a tightened two-month window. The group stage for men and women will run from May 22 to July 12, with the men’s quarter-finals taking place three days later on July 15 and Men’s Finals Day on July 18. Women’s Finals Day will take place 24 hours earlier, on a Friday, at the Kia Oval.Related

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The men’s groups have been rejigged, with three groups of six teams replacing the long-standing North and South Groups, albeit with a retention of many of the more traditional rivalries – including Yorkshire versus Lancashire in Lancashire in Group A, Gloucestershire versus Somerset in Group B, and Surrey versus Middlesex in Group C.Each team will now play 12 group-stage matches instead of 14, which has allowed the schedulers to place 80% of these fixtures in fan-friendly slots on a Friday, Sunday or a Bank Holiday. Following feedback from the PCA, which warned of the dangers of player fatigue in a recent survey, the total number of back-to-back matches in the men’s competition has been reduced to six – which is down from more than 50 two years ago – while there is just one in the women’s competition.”The changes to the men’s and women’s Vitality Blast competitions for 2026 have been made in order to benefit fans and players alike,” Neil Snowball, ECB managing director, competitions and major events, said. “Every county will host a men’s and women’s double header, with 61 double-headers in total, while the significant reduction in back-to-back games gives players more opportunity to perform at their very best throughout the competition.Surrey’s Grace Harris poses with the Women’s T20 Blast trophy•ECB via Getty Images

“The narrative of both competitions will also be easier to follow with the knockout stages following on immediately after the group stages, culminating in a true celebration of T20 cricket with the women’s and men’s Vitality Blast Finals Days being hosted at the Kia Oval and Edgbaston on consecutive days.”PCA Chief Executive, Daryl Mitchell, said: “Throughout the past 12 months, the PCA has worked tirelessly alongside the professional game to improve standards for players across all formats. The Vitality Blast competitions for 2026 highlight considerable improvements with a real energy injected into them.”Players want to be at their optimum levels to perform at their best in county cricket’s flagship T20 competition and a significant reduction of back-to-back fixtures across the men’s and women’s Blast, alongside more men’s and women’s double headers and reduced travel in the men’s game will allow this.”The tournaments will begin with 16 men’s and women’s double-headers across the May Bank Holiday Weekend. Somerset, the men’s defending champions, will face Hampshire Hawks in a rematch of last year’s final at Taunton, while Surrey – the women’s winners – will face Lancashire.Yorkshire’s women, who will be embarking on their maiden Tier 1 season, will take part in their first Roses double-header at Old Trafford on 10 July.

Vitality Blast Men’s Competition

Group A: Derbyshire Falcons, Durham, Lancashire Lightning, Leicestershire Foxes, Notts Outlaws, Yorkshire
Group B: Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Somerset, Warwickshire Bears, Worcestershire Rapids
Group C: Essex, Kent Spitfires, Hampshire Hawks, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex Sharks

Big picture: Road to the Ashes World Cup

Very rarely does the international schedule seem to fit together in any logical way, but the next two weeks of bilateral white-ball competition should suit both England and New Zealand down to a tee (and not just because of the plentiful opportunities for golf).It’s true that for England, this tour comes hard on the heels of a long home summer and with a much-anticipated Ashes campaign looming in the background. But having already done their team-bonding thing down in Queenstown, the prospect of easing into the southern summer with some guilt-free tonking around some of world cricket’s more scenic venues should be right up their street – not least because of the local knowhow provided by Brendon McCullum, Jeetan Patel and Tim Southee.New Zealand, meanwhile, can look forward to bumper crowds – Saturday’s first T20I at Hagley Oval is already sold out – for what is otherwise an off-peak time of the season; so early in spring that the domestic programme hasn’t even got underway yet. Having made a bit of a false start against Australia earlier in the month, it’s also a good opportunity to try to get back on track with their T20 World Cup preparations.Related

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• Switch Hit: Black Caps and Pat's back knack

• Quality trumps context as England, New Zealand prepare for early-season showdown

On that front, Mitch Santner returns after abdominal surgery and will retake the reins from Michael Bracewell. New Zealand are unbeaten in bilateral series since Santner was made permanent white-ball captain last December, and have plenty of T20I cricket to come – including five-game match-ups against West Indies (at home) and India (away) as they build into the World Cup.England are also led by a new-ish captain, with Harry Brook back from a mini-break (during which he also got engaged) that saw him miss last month’s trip to Ireland. No one in the touring party can avoid the pre-Ashes rumbling – Brook is fully aware of priorities for the winter – but this series will provide vital game time for a T20I side that is still coming together, with a three-match series in Sri Lanka their only other outing before the World Cup. Never mind whether Jacob Bethell can stake a claim for the Test No. 3 spot, Tom Banton has a T20 finisher role to nail down.Somehow, for the next three games, we have both context aplenty and the sense that this is a bit of a free hit. What’s not to like?

Form guide

New Zealand LLWWW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
England WWWLWHarry Brook takes part in a traditional welcoming ceremony•Getty Images

In the spotlight: Jacob Duffy and Phil Salt

Jacob Duffy has had a phenomenal 12 months in T20I cricket for New Zealand, taking 30 wickets at an average of 12.76, and rising to the top of the ICC bowler standings (he currently sits in fifth). A tall right-arm seamer who is fast enough and has all the tools you need, 31-year-old Duffy is the epitome of under-the-radar New Zealand excellence. Alongside Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, he could provide the sort of Test-match examination in seamer-friendly conditions that may start English minds casting ahead to the Ashes (perish the thought).Phil Salt has proven over and again that he is a T20 gun, ending the English summer in record-breaking form (having begun it out of the side while on paternity leave). His fourth T20I hundred underpinned England’s mahoosive 304 for 2 against South Africa last month, and there is every chance that he could cause similar havoc on his first outing in New Zealand, where the boundaries tend to be small and the wind a useful aid to hitting. After all, the man is bound to have done his research.

Team news: Santner and Ravindra fit

New Zealand have confirmed the return of both Santner and Rachin Ravindra to the XI after both missed the Australia series with injury. Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes and Bevon Jacobs are the squad members to sit this one out.New Zealand: 1 Tim Seifert (wk), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Tim Robinson, 4 Mark Chapman, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Jacob DuffyEngland named their team more than 48 hours in advance, with Brook back and Jordan Cox dropping down to take on a finisher role in the absence of Will Jacks. The presence of Sam Curran and Bethell in the top seven means England can call on three seamers and three spinners. Zak Crawley is with the squad but must wait for a T20I debut.England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Tom Banton, 6 Sam Curran, 7 Jordan Cox, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Luke Wood

Pitch and conditions: Wrap up warm

Conditions are likely to be fresh this early in the New Zealand spring, with extra layers needed for a game under floodlights. Seamers have tended to prosper at Hagley Oval – Santner termed it a “spinners’ graveyard”. As well as a chilly breeze, there might also be some rain around to contend with.

Stats and trivia

• England have previously played three bilateral T20I series in New Zealand, and won all of them.
• Their last trip came a few months after the 2019 ODI World Cup final and featured a tied game at Eden Park, with England again winning the Super Over.
• Since the last T20 World Cup, New Zealand have won 12 and lost five – their only series defeat a 2-0 loss to Australia earlier this month.
• Jos Buttler is 164 runs away from becoming the fourth man to score 4000 in T20Is.
• Brook is 84 shy of 1000 T20I runs; Jimmy Neesham needs another 20.

Quotes

“Some wins would be nice. It’s the start of a bit of a nice build-up for us: England, West Indies, India away before the World Cup. But first things first we want to win a series in front of our own fans here in Christchurch.”
“We’ve got a great opportunity here against a very strong side to go out there and try and capitalise on the momentum we’ve already made. The last game we played together as a full group, we got 300.”

Ollie Pope’s quickfire 56 not out underlined a dramatic second day turnabout in fortunes with Surrey taking charge of their vital Rothesay County Championship match against Warwickshire at the Kia Oval.Dom Sibley also made an unbeaten 64 as Surrey cruised to 181 for 1 in their second innings, helping Pope add an unbroken 89 after initially featuring in a 92-run opening partnership with Rory Burns, who scored 54 before being bowled through the gate by Ethan Bamber.The efforts of Surrey’s top three, indeed, had wrenched a previously hard-fought contest Surrey’s way on a clearly easing pitch for batting, with Pope’s runs taking him just 78 balls while Sibley’s 160-ball knock anchored the innings perfectly.Both Pope and Burns made their second fifties of the match and by stumps Surrey had moved ominously into an overall lead of 179 after earlier in the day bowling out Warwickshire for 248 to keep themselves in the game.Gus Atkinson led a first session fightback with the ball with 3 for 53 as Warwickshire failed to capitalise fully on an overnight 132 for 4 in reply to Surrey’s first-innings 246, although Tom Lawes’ 4 for 42 earned him the best figures following his stellar three-wicket burst late on day one.New Zealand Test batter Will Young top-scored for Warwickshire with 72, while Ed Barnard also reached a half-century and last man Nathan Gilchrist hit an unbeaten 25 to earn the visitors a slender two-run halfway lead.Will Young frustrated the Surrey attack•Getty Images

Young and Barnard, who had put on 85 in defiant style towards the end of day one, added just four more runs to their overnight partnership before Atkinson had Barnard caught at the wicket for 50 with a magnificent delivery, lifting and leaving the bat from just short of a length on the line of off stump, that the Warwickshire allrounder did well to touch.Atkinson, bowling with pace and control, was a difficult prospect although Young did slightly top-edge a pulled six wide of long leg before pulling more confidently through midwicket for four to reach an excellent half-century.At 174, though, Dan Mousley’s 44-ball 19 ended with an edge to second slip off Jordan Clark and Atkinson, recalled for a second spell before lunch, responded by removing Michael Booth with his first ball back.Booth, on 10, pushed at a sharp, rising delivery and Pope held on to his second catch of the morning at second slip before Atkinson, in his next over, also had Bamber comfortably caught at midwicket for 2 by Lawrence as he flapped an attempted pull.That left Warwickshire 204 for 8 and, in the fifth over after lunch, it became 216 for 9 when Young’s superb innings was finally brought to an end by a quite brilliant catch by Surrey keeper Ben Foakes.Diving low to his right, Foakes somehow managed to get his right glove underneath a dipping edge off Dan Worrall and it was no surprise that Young, having batted for four and a half hours and faced 166 balls, took several disbelieving backward glances at replays on the big screen as he left the field.An assault by Gilchrist on Clark, taking four fours in an over via an outside edge, an inside edge and then two perfectly-struck drives either side of cover, took Warwickshire into the lead but – two runs short of a first batting bonus point – Lawes fired a low full toss through Olly Hannon-Dalby’s effort to flick it away to have him leg-before for 7.