 Lancashire hope to benefit from Brad Hodge's know-how |
Previous winners Leicestershire and Surrey will be the teams to beat when the third Twenty20 Cup gets under way on Wednesday. Surrey lost to the Foxes in last year's final after beating Warwickshire to lift the trophy 12 months earlier.
Leicestershire start off with a home game against Notts, while Surrey travel to Beckenham to take on Kent.
The competition has been expanded to 79 matches this summer, with each side guaranteed at least four home games.
Finals day will take place at The Oval on 31 July.
Leicestershire captain HD Ackerman is in hopeful mood as his side prepare to defend their Twenty20 title.
"Our guys are a very confident bunch as far as Twenty20 is concerned," said Ackerman, who joined the club from Gauteng during the close season.
"They have been at finals day two years in a row and were champions last year so I will be asking a lot of questions before to find out about it.
"I'm starting to catch on to their ideas and we have a nicely balanced side."
All 18 sides, who are split into three divisions, will be in action on an opening day which features a Roses showdown between Yorkshire and Lancashire at Headingley.
The Lancashire side includes Brad Hodge, who led Leicestershire to the trophy by making an unbeaten 77 in last year's before moving to Old Trafford.
"We have a nicely balanced side for Twenty20 and we just hope one of the batters can stand up and do what Brad Hodge did last year," Ackerman said.
Sussex and Essex are among the form sides in the 50-over Totesport League and they meet at Hove.
"Twenty20 cricket is not just a slogathon and the skills of cricket are still very much in evidence with partnerships, aggressive running and quality stroke play still needed to post a competitive total," said Sussex's Director of Cricket Peter Moores.
"With our recent good form in the longer one-day format the team are very keen to transfer this success into the Twenty20 competition."
Bowler Kabir Ali has been released by England to play in Worcestershire's opening Twenty20 match against Warwickshire on Wednesday.
He is part of England's one-day squad but has not featured in any matches so far.
He will return to the squad, who are preparing for Thursday's day-nighter with Australia at Chester-le-Street, after Wednesday's game.
MMIX
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