Friday, April 17th, 2015

Ali Available To Play For Rapids In Northants T20 Blast Clash

Ali Available To Play For Rapids In Northants T20 Blast Clash

Moeen Ali will be available to play in Worcestershire Rapids NatWest T20 Blast clash with Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Northampton.

The ECB have confirmed that the all-rounder and all of England's contracted players are to be made available for Game Week Four in the T20 Blast on June 5.

It is a rare chance for England's players to participate in the shortened version of the game given the hectic international schedule this summer.

Moeen has just played in Worcestershire's opening LV = County Championship clash with visiting Yorkshire before flying out to join up with the England squad for the remainder of their tour of the West Indies.

Meanwhile, advanced ticket sales for this year’s NatWest T20 Blast are 41% up in comparison to April 2014.

The ECB have announced that 88,090 tickets have been already sold, with aggregate attendances expected to exceed last year’s record of over 707,000.

Players from all 18 first class counties joined England legend Andrew Flintoff to launch the new NatWest T20 Blast season from Edgbaston, home for this year’s Finals Day.

Skipper Daryl Mitchell was Worcestershire's representative at the launch, participating in a series of media interviews and even taking part in a tug of war as part of the publicity for the T20 launch.

As per last season, 70% of fixtures will be played on Fridays between May 15 and July 24.

The quarter-finals will be played on four consecutive days between August 12 and August 15 with the 2015 Finals Day on August 29.

ECB Chief Executive Officer, Tom Harrison said, “This year’s NatWest T20 Blast will feature some of the most famous names in world cricket – and our First Class counties are already reporting excellent advance ticket sales for the group matches.

"With the majority of fixtures again scheduled in a fan-friendly slot on Friday nights, NatWest T20 Blast action will be at the heart of what promises to be a hugely exciting summer of domestic and international cricket.”

Rhidian Taylor, Head of Brand Management, NatWest added: “NatWest's long association with cricket provides great opportunities for our customers.

"Through our T20 partnership we will be offering our customers the chance to win tickets and money can't buy experiences all season. We're looking forward to another exciting NatWest T20 Blast season.”