Counties are braced for a clash between their T20 Blast quarter-finals and England's potential football World Cup semi-final which could have a damaging effect on ticket sales.
If England beat Norway in Miami on Saturday night, they will play either Argentina or Switzerland in Wednesday's semi-final in Atlanta at 8pm UK time. All four T20 Blast quarter-finals are due to be played on Wednesday night, and would in normal circumstances be floodlit games to allow fans to arrive after the end of the working day.
However, start times in the Blast may be brought forward in the event that England qualify for the semi-finals to avoid a direct clash. Cricinfo has learned that Sky Sports, who will broadcast one of the four quarter-finals, would push for whichever game they show to start at 4.30pm if England go through, to minimise the chance of any overlap.
Northamptonshire, the only team to guarantee a home quarter-final so far, put tickets on sale on Wednesday with a provisional 6.30pm start time, but told members that the start time would be brought forward if England reach the semi-finals. The club would also show a live screening of the football at Wantage Road after the quarter-final.
Harry Brook said after England's win in Bristol that they would be "keeping a close eye" on the Norway game after Saturday's fifth T20I against India in Southampton. "To go [to] world No. 1 and England going to the semis, that would be pretty cool," Brook said. "We'll definitely be keeping a close on it and watching the game, for sure."
Changes to the Blast's schedule this year mean that some counties will likely have less than 72 hours to sell quarter-final tickets. For the past two years, the Blast has paused for a five-week gap between the group and knockout stages while the Hundred takes place, allowing counties a long sales window but leaving it struggling for continuity and narrative.
This year, the format has changed - there are three groups of six instead of two groups of nine, and teams play 12 group matches rather than 14 - and the knockout stage has been brought forward. After the four quarter-finals on Wednesday, the four winning teams will head to Edgbaston for Saturday's Finals Day.
The knockout stages of the Blast clash with an England white-ball series once again this year, with ODIs against India on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The overlap will likely rule many of the best domestic players out of contention for the Blast, though a handful of players could be released back to their counties if they are not selected by England.