Watch Surrey Vs. Essex Cricket Live Stream: NatWest T20 Blast Is Back — Sangakkara, Wahab, Bopara Feature In Opener
The NatWest T20 Blast returns Friday with a match between Surrey and the Essex Eagles that will stream live to open what England cricket officials say could be the biggest season so far in the country’s domestic T20 cricket tournament — with advance ticket sales reportedly up about 33 percent over the 2015 season.
One of the reasons for the surging popularity of the NatWest T20 Blast, though it differs in format from other domestic T20 leagues in other cricket-playing countries, is the increasing attraction to the tournament by international stars — and a couple of big names will feature in Friday’s Surrey vs. Essex opener, including Essex Captain Ravi Bhopara
NEXT UP | The ‘Big One’ as Essex Eagles take on Surrey in Friday’s @NatWestT20Blast opener at Fortress Chelmsford! pic.twitter.com/mqf5G0IlsV
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) May 18, 2016
While other T20 leagues, such as India’s hugely popular Indian Premier League and Australia’s colorful Big Bash, are generally composed of six to eight teams operated as franchises by private owners, England’s NatWest T20 Blast contains the 18 first-class County Cricket clubs, each of which fields a T20 version of its roster.
The 18 teams are divided into North and South divisions, and matches take place mainly on Friday nights and weekends, with all teams playing in every round. Most other domestic T20 leagues feature one match per day, or two on Saturdays and Sundays, with few if any days off.
Surrey Cricket aiming for Blast off against Chelmsford in T20:
Adaptability will be the key as players swit… https://t.co/UNIc5RjbWX— Hands on Health (@HandsonHealth) May 20, 2016
Starring this season for the Essex Eagles, 30-year-old Pakistan pace bowler Wahab Riaz will make his debut on Friday night. Known to regularly top 90 miles per hour with his intimidating deliveries, Wahab will be with Essex for the club’s first seven NatWest T20 Blast matches.
After that, the Pakistan team arrives in England for a summer tour — with four test matches, five one day internationals and a single T20 international lined up — and Wahab will switch uniforms to the familiar green of his national side.
“T20 cricket is totally different from Test cricket,” Wahab told British broadcaster ITV this week. “But yes, coming here about a month before the tour team will really help me in building up my confidence and building up my shape.”
Watch an interview with Wahab, one of the top fast bowlers in world cricket, in the video below.
To find out how to watch a live stream of the Surrey vs. Essex NatWest T20 Blast Friday night opening match, see the streaming links at the bottom of this article. First ball is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. British Summer Time as Essex County Cricket Ground on Friday, May 20.
Fans in the United States can catch a live stream of the match starting at 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time, 11:15 a.m. Pacific.
MORE CRICKET COVERAGE FROM THE INQUISITR
Watch England Vs. Sri Lanka Cricket Stream Live: UPDATED With Day One Results, Highlights — Test Cricket Is Back
Watch Cricket Highlights: West Indies Defeat England To Win T20 World Cup Final In Amazing Last Over
India Vs. Pakistan Cricket: Schedule Of Rivalry Matches Before End Of March
Watch India Vs. West Indies Cricket Highlights: T20 World Cup Shock As India Fall — Windies Vs. England In Final
The Ashes — England Vs. Australia Cricket: One Of World’s Fiercest Sports Rivalries Renews This Week
Chris Gayle: ‘Creepy’ Cricket Star Faces Indecent Exposure Claim After Apology For Hitting On TV Reporter
For Surrey, though he retired from international cricket competition last year, Sri Lanka batting legend Kumar Sangakkara, at age 38, is still going strong on the county cricket scene. Sangakkara has already played in Surrey’s four-day, first-class matches this season, but Friday will mark his 2016 T20 debut.
England international Jason Roy, who provided a powerful bat in the recently completed T20 World Cup — which saw England reach the final only to lose a heartbreaker to West Indies — plans to do that same for Surrey.
To get a preview of what Roy may have in store, watch the following video of the batsman taking hitting practice ahead of Friday’s NatWest T20 Blast opener, below.
ESPN 3, the free, online-only network of sports giant ESPN, will carry the Surrey Vs. Essex NatWest T20 Blast season opening cricket match live stream, with online video from Essex County Cricket Ground in Chelmsford, England. Click this link to watch the opener of what promises to be the most popular season of T20 cricket in England yet, streaming for free on a computer, or on mobile and set-top devices with ESPN3 on the WatchESPN app.
ESPN3 is free to subscribers of almost any major internet service provider and dozens of smaller ISPs. For a complete list, check this link, or try the instructions at this link if you do not have an account with an ISP that carries ESPN3.
[Featured Photo By Tony Marshall / Getty Images]
