Durham Cricket will kick off this summer’s Vitality Blast campaign at home in a blockbuster match up with rivals Yorkshire Vikings on Friday, June 11, after the ECB today confirmed the white ball schedule for 2021.

Durham’s opening fixture against Yorkshire is the first of three Friday night clashes, with Leicestershire Foxes and Derbyshire Falcons visiting Emirates Riverside to end the working week.

The seven-game home schedule also includes a Father’s Day fixture against Birmingham Bears on Sunday, June 20.

The Royal London Cup will return this summer, following a hiatus in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Durham travelling to Beckenham for their opening round of matches to face Kent on Thursday, July 22.

The annual South Northumberland fixture is back for 2021, with Durham hosting Gloucestershire at Gosforth for our opening home fixture, before back-to-back home games against Lancashire and Essex on Thursday 5 and Sunday, August 8.

Durham will also travel to Lincolnshire on Tuesday, July 20 in the newly-formed National Counties fixture which takes place ahead of the Royal London Cup getting underway.

With T20 fixtures confirmed for this summer, you can buy T20 Blast season ticket  from the Durham Cricket box office or by calling 0191 387 17 17 and with a guaranteed refund if Covid-19 stops play.

Individual match tickets will be available to purchase from Monday, March 1, at 10am.

ECB Managing Director of County Cricket, Neil Snowball, said: “The stage is set for an exciting and important summer of domestic cricket for the First-Class Counties and the women’s regional teams.

“I know how much county members and supporters eagerly anticipate the release of fixtures and I am pleased that we have been able to plan a complete schedule for men’s and women’s cricket.

“The Vitality Blast has established itself as a much-loved tournament while the return of the Royal London Cup, alongside the remodelled County Championship for this season, will be warmly welcomed as we all look forward to the summer.

“I am also delighted that we will shortly release the schedule for the women’s Regional 50 over and T20 competitions. These competitions will not only showcase the deepening pool of talent in women’s cricket, but also further strengthen the professional pathway for our female players.”

The health and safety of anyone attending matches this summer will remain the priority of the ECB and the First-Class Counties. The ECB continues to work closely with Government, and other sports, as it plans ways to safely welcome supporters back to venues across England and Wales this summer.