2012 Twenty20 Cup
| Administrator(s) | England and Wales Cricket Board |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Group stage and knockout |
| Participants | 18 |
| Matches | 97 |
The 2012 Friends Life t20 was the third season of the Friends Life t20, England's premier domestic Twenty20 competition. The competition will run from June 12 to August 25 2012. The teams in the tournament remained the same as the previous season.
The schedule of the tournament had been widely criticised the previous season and the ECB had decided to reduce the minimum number of days' cricket a county would play in from 92 to 86 for 2012. This meant a change in format from 2 groups of 9 from which the top 4 would qualify to the quarter-finals to an arrangement with 3 groups of 6. The format of the knock-out rounds (quarter-finals) remain unchanged.[1] This reduces the number of matches in the competition from 151 to 97.
Finals day, which involves the two semi-finals and final, will be at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff for the first time. The winner and runner-up of the tournament will qualify for the 2012 Champions League Twenty20.
Group stage
North Group
- Derbyshire Falcons
- Durham Dynamos
- Lancashire Lightning
- Leicestershire Foxes
- Nottinghamshire Outlaws
- Yorkshire Carnegie
Midlands, Wales & West Group
- Welsh Dragons
- Gloucestershire Gladiators
- Northants Steelbacks
- Somerset
- Worcestershire Royals
- Warwickshire Bears