Twenty20 qualifiers defy bad weather: Andrew Hignell

June and early July have, in recent previous seasons, been relatively dry with little interruption as a consequence to matches in the domestic Twenty20 competition. But in 2011 there was plenty of weather disruption to the Friends Life t20 group stage, with ten out of the eighteen counties each losing more than a hundred overs of playing time.

The table below shows the number of overs, out of a maximum total of 640, lost by each of the sides in the two zonal groups, but it is noticeable how the four sides – Somerset, Hampshire, Kent and Durham – who lost most time overall still managed to qualify for the quarter-final stages of the competition.

Somerset lost most time, with the Taunton-based club losing four financially-lucrative home games during June. Yet while Somerset’s treasurer may have been upset at the loss of revenue at Taunton, the loss of playing time did not prevent the West Country side from progressing to the last eight, along with Lancashire and Nottinghamshire, who lost little time, plus Sussex, who lost the least number of overs.

At first glance, there appears to have been a geographical split, or North-South divide, as the three wettest counties were all in the South Group, but the two driest overall – Middlesex and Sussex – were also in this group, while six of the ten counties to lose more than a hundred overs were all in the North Group.

Officials at the Rose Bowl, Hove, Trent Bridge and Grace Road will now be hoping that there is no more weather interference when these four grounds host quarter-final ties on August 6 – 8.