Vitality T20 Blast final culminated with a nail-biting final win for Hampshire Hawks, we take a look at the tournament history, all-time winners, list of best players from each season, prize money, and other details
From May 25 through July 16, 2022, the Vitality Blast took place. The Kent Spitfires, who had won their second championship the season before, were the reigning champions. The Hampshire Hawks, Somerset, Lancashire Lightning, and Yorkshire Vikings all won their quarterfinal games to earn a spot on Finals Day.
HAMPSHIRE HAWKS ARE VITALITY BLAST CHAMPIONS!!!! ๐ #Blast22 #FinalsDay pic.twitter.com/Rrmu9TnK3N
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) July 16, 2022
With a team total of 265/5 in their match against the Derbyshire Falcons, Somerset broke the previous mark for the highest team total in an English T20 match set by the Birmingham Bears earlier in the competition. The Hampshire Hawks defeated Lancashire Lightning in the final of 2022 Vitality T20 Blast by a single run to win their third championship.
Vitality T20 Blast All Time Past Winners List, Runner Up, 2022 Final Winner Prize Money, Highest Run Scorer, Wicket Taker And Awards
T20 Blast History, Sponsorship, And Other Details
The T20 Blast, which is now known as the Vitality Blast due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket tournament for first-class counties in England and Wales. The competition was started in 2003 as the first professional Twenty20 league in the globe by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It is England and Wales’ premier Twenty20 tournament.
The competition has gone under many titles as a result of corporate sponsorship. From 2003 to 2009, it was known as the Twenty20 Cup, from 2010 to 2013 as the Friends Provident and Friends Life t20, and from 2014 to 2017 as the Natwest t20 Blast. Since 2018, Vitality, an insurance provider, has sponsored the competition, which is referred to as the Vitality Blast.
T20 Blast Format, List of Teams And Team Details
The 18 first-class counties engage in competition for the trophy while initially playing in two or three distinct geographic regions, depending on the year. To draw big crowds during the school summer break, games were shifted to be played in a block throughout July and August in 2018. In seasons with three divisions, the top two teams in each division and the two best third place teams qualify for the playoff stage; in seasons with two divisions, the top four teams in each division qualify for the playoff stage, leaving four teams in the tournament after a set of quarterfinals. The playing system for the 2022 season was the same as the season before, with the same groups and the recognizable North and South split.
North Group
- Birmingham Bears
- Derbyshire Falcons
- Durham
- Lancashire Lightning
- Leicestershire Foxes
- Northants Steelbacks
- Notts Outlaws
- Worcestershire Rapids
- Yorkshire Vikings
South Group
- Essex Eagles
- Glamorgan
- Gloucestershire
- Hampshire Hawks
- Kent Spitfires
- Middlesex
- Somerset
- Surrey
- Sussex Sharks
T20 Blast All-time Winners
The competition was won by Surrey in its first season, and thirteen different counties have won it during the course of its twenty-season existence. The competition has been won the most frequently, three times, by Leicestershire and Hampshire. More finals have been played by Somerset than by any other team; following their victory in the 2005 competition, they lost in the finals in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2021.
| Season | Winner | Runner-up | Venue | City |
| 2003 | Surrey Lions | Warwickshire Bears | Trent Bridge | Nottingham |
| 2004 | Leicestershire Foxes | Surrey Lions | Edgbaston | Birmingham |
| 2005 | Somerset Sabres | Lancashire Lightning | The Oval | London |
| 2006 | Leicestershire Foxes | Notts Outlaws | Trent Bridge | Nottingham |
| 2007 | Kent Spitfires | Gloucestershire Gladiators | Edgbaston | Birmingham |
| 2008 | Middlesex Crusaders | Kent Spitfires | Rose Bowl | Southampton |
| 2009 | Sussex Sharks | Somerset Sabres | Edgbaston | Birmingham |
| 2010 | Hampshire Royals | Somerset | Rose Bowl | Southampton |
| 2011 | Leicestershire Foxes | Somerset | Edgbaston | Birmingham |
| 2012 | Hampshire Royals | Yorkshire Carnegie | Sophia Gardens | Cardiff |
| 2013 | Northants Steelbacks | Surrey | Edgbaston | Birmingham |
| 2014 | Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire) | Lancashire Lightning | ||
| 2015 | Lancashire Lightning | Northants Steelbacks | ||
| 2016 | Northants Steelbacks | Durham Jets | ||
| 2017 | Notts Outlaws | Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire) | ||
| 2018 | Worcestershire Rapids | Sussex Sharks | ||
| 2019 | Essex Eagles | Worcestershire Rapids | ||
| 2020 | Notts Outlaws | Surrey | ||
| 2021 | Kent Spitfires | Somerset | ||
| 2022 | Hampshire Hawks | Lancashire Lightning |
T20 Blast Prize Money, Highest Run-scorer and Wicket-taker of Each Season Details
In 2021, T20 Blast winning team received a prize money share of up to ยฃ175,000, and the tournament’s runners-up received a payout of ยฃ78,000. Each player who was named man of the match in the quarterfinals got ยฃ500 in cash. The semi-final man of the match winner received a monetary prize of up to ยฃ1,000. Meanwhile, MVP of Final and Overall Tournament bagged a price of ยฃ2000 and ยฃ5000 respectively. The prize money might have changed for 2022 winners but there wasn’t any official information. Prize money for Big Bash League champions is 15% higher than for Vitality blast winners.
In 2022 season of T20 Blast, James Vince of Hampshire finished as the top-scorer with 678 runs meanwhile, Richard Gleeson of Lancashire finished as the best bowler with 25 wickets. We take a look at the best run-scorer and wicket-taker of each season in the table below:
| Year | Top Run-scorer | Runs | Leading wicket-taker | Wickets |
| 2003 | Brad Hodgeย (Leicestershire) | 301 | Adam Hollioakeย (Surrey) | 16 |
| 2004 | Darren Maddyย (Leicestershire) | 356 | Adam Hollioakeย (Surrey) | 20 |
| 2005 | Owais Shahย (Middlesex) | 410 | Nayan Doshiย (Surrey) | 17 |
| 2006 | Justin Langerย (Somerset) | 464 | Nayan Doshiย (Surrey) | 21 |
| 2007 | Luke Wrightย (Sussex) | 346 | Chris Schofieldย (Surrey), | 17 |
| Simon Cookย (Kent) | ||||
| 2008 | Joe Denlyย (Kent) | 451 | Yasir Arafatย (Kent) | 23 |
| 2009 | Jonathan Trottย (Warwickshire) | 525 | Alfonso Thomasย (Somerset) | 18 |
| 2010 | Jimmy Adamsย (Hampshire) | 668 | Alfonso Thomasย (Somerset) | 33 |
| 2011 | Andrew McDonaldย (Leicestershire) | 584 | Tim Phillipsย (Essex) | 26 |
| 2012 | Phillip Hughesย (Worcestershire) | 402 | Mitchell Starcย (Yorkshire) | 21 |
| 2013 | Craig Kieswetterย (Somerset) | 517 | Azharullahย (Northamptonshire) | 27 |
| 2014 | Jason Royย (Surrey) | 677 | Jeetan Patelย (Birmingham Bears) | 25 |
| 2015 | James Vinceย (Hampshire) | 710 | James Faulknerย (Lancashire) | 25 |
| 2016 | Michael Klingerย (Gloucestershire) | 548 | Benny Howellย (Gloucestershire) | 24 |
| 2017 | Joe Denlyย (Kent) | 567 | Clint McKayย (Leicestershire) | 23 |
| 2018 | Laurie Evansย (Sussex) | 614 | Pat Brownย (Worcestershire) | 31 |
| 2019 | Babar Azamย (Somerset) | 578 | Ravi Rampaulย (Derbyshire) | 23 |
| 2020 | Daniel Bell-Drummondย (Kent) | 423 | Jake Ballย (Nottinghamshire) | 19 |
| 2021 | Josh Inglisย (Leicestershire) | 531 | Naveen-ul-Haqย (Leicestershire) | 26 |
| 2022 | James Vinceย (Hampshire) | 678 | Richard Gleesonย (Lancashire) | 25 |
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