Blast ticket sales soar amid post-World Cup buzz
Group games have sold out at several grounds, as counties report record figures
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Jul-2019
The Oval was a sell-out on Tuesday night • Getty Images
Ticket sales have soared for the early rounds of the Vitality Blast, with several counties reporting record attendances as they look to capitalise on a post-World Cup final buzz.
Lord's, The Oval, Taunton, Chesterfield, Cheltenham, Hove, Headingley, and Chelmsford have all seen at least one game sell out, while other counties have seen various records broken.
Nottinghamshire's game against Northants on Wednesday night attracted 13,691 fans - a record for a midweek T20 at Trent Bridge - while Lancashire's game against Durham on Sunday saw 13,710 tickets sold, a record for a non-Roses T20 at Old Trafford.
Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire's director of cricket, said that the club sold 2,800 tickets for their opener against Worcestershire in the three days after England's World Cup final win.
Durham's game against Northants on Friday was their highest T20 attendance for a fixture against a team other than Yorkshire, with the gate exceeding 6000 at a ground that has historically struggled to sell tickets for domestic cricket.
Somerset's sales are up 33% on the equivalent time last year, and their first three home games are all sell-outs.
Surrey announced that their sales were up 18% in the week before their first game at The Oval, despite the fact only one of their home games is in their favoured Friday night spot.
Sussex sold out their first two home games, as well as their 'Blast Pass' season tickets which secure a seat for all home matches, while Hampshire's game against Kent on Sunday drew a crowd of 10,000, the highest domestic crowd at the Ageas Bowl for two years.
The strong sales will inevitably raise questions as to how counties that are not host venues for The Hundred will continue to draw fans next year, with the Blast's group stage likely to be finished before the start of the summer holidays.
That said, with the exceptions of Cardiff and the Ageas Bowl, tickets for Blast games at the competition's host venues have been strong, and will be expected to grow for The Hundred after an ECB marketing drive next summer.