The third edition of the Friends Life T20 competition will be played in 2012 from June onwards.
There will be a total of 97 matches in this English T20 tournament, which is in stark contrast with the 151 games that were played last year. The total number of teams continues to remain at 18 but Instead of dividing them into two groups of nine each, there will be three groups of six sides each.
The six teams in each of the three groups will play each other twice, which means that there will be a total of 30 teams in each group. The top eight sides will qualify for the one-leg quarter-final, which will be followed by the semi-finals and the final.
The finals day, which will have two semi-finals and the final will be played on August 25 at the Sofia Gardens in Cardiff. The finalists will also qualify for the Champions League T20 this year.
The three groups are as follows:
Midlands/West/Wales:
Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Welsh Dragons, Worcestershire
North Division:
Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire
South Division:
Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex.
The quarter-finals will be played on July 24 and 25.
