Friends Life t20
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|
| Countries |
 England Wales
|
|---|---|
| Administrator | ECB |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First tournament | 2010 |
| Last tournament | 2013 |
| Tournament format | Group stage and knockout |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Current champion | Northamptonshire Steelbacks |
| Qualification | Champions League Twenty20 (2011–12) |
| Website | friendslife.co.uk/t20 |
The Friends Life t20 (previously known as the Friends Provident t20) was a Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales run by the ECB from 2010 to 2013. The league consisted of the 18 first-class county teams divided into three divisions of six teams each. This plan, announced by the ECB in February 2009, replaced a more ambitious English cricket league project which would have included two overseas teams. The proposal was substantially modified following the credit crunch, and the change in circumstances of Allen Stanford himself. Friends Provident were announced as sponsors of the competition, having previously sponsored the 50-over competition.
This tournament replaced the Twenty20 Cup as the premier domestic Twenty20 competition of England and Wales. It was then replaced by the NatWest t20 Blast from 2014.
The first official Twenty20 matches were played on 13 June 2003, between the English counties in the Twenty20 Cup. The first season of Twenty20 in England was a relative success, with the Surrey Lions defeating the Warwickshire Bears by nine wickets in the final to claim the Twenty20 Cup. On 15 July 2004 Middlesex versus Surrey (the first Twenty20 game to be held at Lord's) attracted a crowd of 26,500, the largest attendance for any county cricket game other than a one-day final since 1953.
By the end of the 2009 Twenty20 Cup, the ECB had decided to implement a larger competition for the Twenty20 format of the game. The Twenty20 English Premier League was a proposed cricket league to be run by the ECB. The league was to consist of 18 county teams and two overseas teams divided into two divisions of ten teams each. It was rumoured that the two overseas teams were to be a side fielded by Allen Stanford of the West Indies and the winners of the Indian Premier League. After the disgrace of Stanford, this tournament was scrapped. The establishment of the Friends Life t20 contributed to the discontinuation of the Pro40 League, and a second Twenty20 League (a revamped version of the outgoing Twenty20 Cup) to be held in July, August and September, played on Friday evenings. This did not happen, and instead a modified 40 over league, the Clydesdale Bank 40 was implemented.
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