Event of the Day: Nottinghamshire versus Birmingham
Our event of the day is the opening match of the Natwest T20 Blast at Trent Bridge between Nottinghamshire and Birmingham. Now in its fifteenth season, the T20 Blast is a professional Twenty20 cricket league administered by the England and Wales Cricket Board. The competition is kicking off with a tasty rematch of last years' final. In that match the Nottinghamshire Outlaws defeated the Birmingham Bears to claim the Blast trophy. Both teams will look to get off on the right footing to open the tournament but Birmingham will certainly have last years loss as added motivation. The Bears will once again look to their heavy-hitting all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme to help propel them back to the finals this year. He had a strike rate of 170.32 in the 2017 season. His teammate and fellow New Zealander Jeetan Patel will be vital to the teams success as well.
Nottinghamshire enters the tournament as early favourites to hoist the trophy once again. They will be fielding a very similar squad to the one they rolled out in 2017. Players to watch today will be Captain Dan Christian and New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi. Batsman Riki Wessels will try to repeat his performance from last year in which he was the Outlaws’ leading scorer. It should be a riveting match today!
Honourable mentions around the globe go to Day 1 of the Henley Royal Regatta Rowing competition on the River Thames in Oxfordshire. Steeped in tradition, the event was first held in 1839 and is the best-known regatta in the world. Thousands of blazer-wearing spectators will flock to Henley to watch world-class rowing clubs and university teams race on the river. In Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers play host to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium. Major League Soccer is taking place at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah as Real Salt Lake welcome Sporting Kansas City to town. Grand Slam tennis is on display in London as play continues at the 2018 Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Elsewhere in cricket, Zimbabwe play against Pakistan as part of the Zimbabwe Twenty20 Tri-Series at Harare Sport Club. Bangladesh play the first of a Two-Test series against the West Indies at Sir Vivian Richard Stadium in Antigua. Other Natwest T20 Blast matches being played today include; Essex versus Sussex in Chelmsford; and Northamptonshire hosting Leicestershire.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by England Cricket