English County Cricket: Professionalization and the T20 Impact (1969–2015)

1. TCCB takes over as cricket’s independent governing body

   Jan 1, 1968Labels: Test and, Marylebone Cricket

   • TCCB

2. Sunday League launches as televised one-day cricket

   Jan 1, 1969Labels: Sunday League, first-class counties

   • 1969 Season
   • 1969 League
   • Pro40

3. Sunday League begins play on 4 May 1969

   May 4, 1969Labels: Sunday League, match scheduling

   • Derbyshire 1969
   • 1969 League

4. Benson & Hedges Cup adds a third major one-day tournament

   Jan 1, 1972Labels: Benson &, one-day competition

   • B H Cup
   • 1972 B H

5. Sunday League becomes a long-running commercial centerpiece

   Jan 1, 1983Labels: Sunday League, tobacco sponsorship

   • Pro40
   • 1983 JPS

6. ECB forms as a single governing body

   Jan 1, 1997Labels: England and

   • ECB

7. County Championship adopts a two-division system

   Jan 1, 2000Labels: County Championship

   • 2000 CC
   • County Champ

8. Benson & Hedges Cup ends as tobacco sponsorship collapses

   Jan 1, 2002Labels: Benson &, tobacco sponsorship

   • B H Cup

9. ECB launches the first county Twenty20 competition

   Jun 13, 2003Labels: Twenty20 Cup, England and

   • 2003 T20
   • T20 Blast

10. Domestic T20 gains stable title sponsorship (Friends Life era)

    Jan 1, 2010Labels: Domestic T20, Friends Life

    • T20 Blast
    • Sponsor news

11. T20 rebrands as the NatWest T20 Blast

    May 16, 2014Labels: NatWest T20, Domestic T20

    • 2014 Blast
    • T20 Blast

12. County structure by 2015: T20 drives branding and scheduling pressures

    Jan 1, 2015Labels: County structure, T20 impact

    • T20 Blast
    • 2014 Blast

13. Vitality becomes title partner, locking in T20’s central role

    Feb 7, 2018Labels: Vitality Blast, Vitality

    • ECB sponsor
    • 2018 Blast
    • T20 Blast