Cricket

T20 Blast Season Predictions & Betting Tips (2025)

3 months ago

| BY Sam Cox

The 2025 edition of the T20 Blast tournament gets underway on 29th May and our cricket writer is here to make his predictions on the season ahead.

In the shadow of The Hundred since the beginning of the 2020s, the T20 Blast has been marginalised with a large gap between the end of the group stage and the knockout matches.

The tournament has become an afterthought for some. It is still a chance at silverware, though, and that’s an opportunity most county teams cannot afford to overlook.

Surrey, who have dominated the County Championship in recent years, are the cricket betting favourites at the time of writing at a price of 5/1. Defending champions Gloucestershire are in the chasing pack with betting odds of 10/1.

Missing England Stars

The Hundred has been protected in the English cricketing summer. Its timing means England players will be available. This is a stark contrast with the Blast where players in England’s white-ball teams will not be available for their clubs for the majority of the group stage.

Test players are going to be involved in the first three matches of the series against India while the closing stages of the group stage are going on. Yorkshire are one of the teams to lose out most significantly with Joe Root and Harry Brook unlikely to play more than one or two Blast matches.

Pre-tournament favourites Surrey aren’t going to see much of Jamie Smith or Gus Atkinson. Somerset are walking a tightrope with James Rew and Tom Banton.

The former is a fringe member of the Test squad, while Banton looks set to be a fixture in England’s white-ball setup. This could, however, mean Banton can play down the stretch of the group stage.

Overseas Influence

The Blast doesn’t attract the same big-name players that headline The Hundred’s marketing material. There are still plenty of stars being brought in for the competition, though, including Kane Williamson at Middlesex, Mitchell Santner at Surrey, and Moises Henrique at Nottinghamshire.

Ashton Agar, Chris Green, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, and Tom Rogers are also set to play significant roles in the competition.

The right overseas signing could be pivotal in this year’s competition. As ever, Surrey look to have nailed it with Santner providing late-innings hitting and more-than-useful spin to partner with the Oval outfit’s array of pace bowlers.

Powerhouses Reign Supreme

Surrey and Somerset have met on Finals Day in each of the last two seasons. Somerset are a lock to reach the last four of the competition with their excellent track record in the Blast and plenty of talent in every department (even after losing wily campaigner Roelof van der Merwe).

It would be foolish to bet against Surrey in any format. They can be depleted by England call-ups and still name a highly talented, experienced squad for the Blast.

There are more questions to be asked about northern counties. Lancashire are in turmoil with a torrid start to the County Championship season. Perhaps the Blast is welcome respite.

Yorkshire will be fun to watch if they ever get Root, Brook, and Jonny Bairstow in the same lineup, though that’s not enough to carry them into the knockout rounds. Durham are rightly a rank outsider at 33/1.

England’s white-ball commitments in early September are a factor for bettors to consider. The eventual Blast champion is likely to have a lot of players who are near international quality without being dragged away by the national team.

Sussex, Warwickshire, and Kent could all fall into that category.