NatWest Blast ticket sales setting record pace

England's much-maligned domestic T20 competition is set for another year of record attendances.

The NatWest Blast - which begins on May 20 - attracted a record 827,654 spectators in 2015, but advance ticket figures for 2016 are 37,000 better than at the same stage last year with several counties reporting highly encouraging sales.

At Somerset, for example, almost 90% of tickets have been sold for their seven home games. Three of their matches - the games against Essex, Surrey and Hampshire - are complete sell outs, with the game against Gloucestershire expected to sell out within the next few days. Only allocated seating is left for their three remaining fixtures. The ground capacity for the competition is 7,669.

At Warwickshire, sales are up 17% compared with 2015, while the figure at Yorkshire is up 12%. The local derby against Lancashire at Headingley to be played on July 1 is on the brink of selling out two months before it is played.

Sales at Worcestershire and Essex are also impressive - above 60% of ground capacity across the tournament already - while Surrey have sold well over 30,000 tickets and Middlesex more than 20,000. Essex have also sold almost 18,000 advance tickets. In total advance sales are around 31% better than they were this time last year.

However, the picture is not so positive everywhere. Northamptonshire have sold only 795 advance tickets and, of the larger grounds, Hampshire's early sales are modest.

The longer-term situation is encouraging, though. The competition has been moved back a month in 2017, meaning it will be contested mainly in the school holidays - rather than starting in mid-May during the exam period as now - which most counties believe will further boost sales.

The average attendance at NatWest Blast matches in 2015 rose by 800 per game, with 11 of the 18 counties reporting a rise in spectator numbers. The number of spectators at the domestic T20 also passed 700,000 for the first time only in 2014.

But counties are warning there is no room for complacency. The Blast will clash with the European Football Championships this year and some counties are concerned that the on-going discussion about the competition's future format is undermining attempts to generate enthusiasm from the general public.