A host of global white-ball talent will be jetting over to take part in the men’s Blast.
North Group
Bears were dealt a blow on the eve of the tournament as Beau Webster will now miss out after being called up by Australia for the World Test Championship, while Hasan Ali will be unavailable for the first three games after being given a central contract by Pakistan.
Northamptonshire have signed Australian leg-spinner Lloyd Pope after countryman Ashton Agar was ruled out through injury. Pope was named in the team of the tournament in the Big Bash earlier this year, while South Africa batter Matthew Breetzke is also back.
Durham have signed New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham. The left-hander is a veteran of 83 T20 internationals and 76 ODI games for the Black Caps.
Neesham, who also bowls right-arm seam, will play for his sixth county after previous stints with Derbyshire, Essex, Kent, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.
Durham have also signed New Zealand seamer Zak Foulkes, who was with Bears last summer, for the group stages, still have South Africans David Bedingham and Codi Yusuf around and taken Somerset bowling all-rounder Kasey Aldridge on loan for a month.
Australian paceman Ben Dwarshuis has returned to Worcestershire Rapids, having taken 15 wickets in 2021, and will be joined by Kiwi seamer Jacob Duffy for the first eight games, while Leicestershire can call on Dutch all-rounder Logan van Beek and will welcome Pakistan’s Shan Masood, formerly of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, for the Blast.
Lancashire have signed Australian all-rounder Ashton Turner, previously of Durham, to join compatriot Chris Green, while Notts Outlaws have brought in their compatriot Daniel Sams, who has spent the last three domestic seasons with Essex, scoring more than 2,000 runs and taking 214 wickets in T20 cricket, and veteran Aussie all-rounder Moises Henriques, who has previously played for Surrey and Glamorgan.
England batter Alex Hales will not, however, feature this summer.
The 36-year-old is the club’s all-time T20 run-scorer with 4,285, and he has won five titles across different formats, having made his debut in the format 17 years ago.
He will instead represent the Knight Riders franchise in both Major League Cricket and the Caribbean Premier League.
Yorkshire have signed New Zealand quick Will O’Rourke and Australian all-rounder Will Sutherland for the group stage while Derbyshire can call on Australian batter Caleb Jewell and teenage Afghan spinner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, while Kiwi quick Blair Tickner is also around for the group stages.
South Group
Australia batter D’Arcy Short has joined defending champions Gloucestershire.
The left-hander, who can also bowl spin, has played for his country in both white-ball formats and has twice been named ‘Player of the Tournament’ in Australia’s Big Bash. Short joins fellow countryman Cameron Bancroft with The Shire.
Somerset have brought back Australian seamer Riley Meredith, who took 14 wickets at an average of 22.78 as Somerset reached the final last season, and welcome back New Zealand’s Matt Henry, who was the leading wicket-taker in the 2023 Blast with 31 and was player of the match in the final as Somerset went on to win the trophy.
Essex have re-signed Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Amir. The 33-year-old, who previously played for the club from 2017 to 2019, has taken 371 wickets in 322 T20 games around the world and will join South African Simon Harmer in the Essex ranks.
Hampshire Hawks have young South African batters Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis to call on, along with the return of James Vince to look forward to.
Surrey have signed Kiwi white-ball skipper Mitchell Santner for the campaign, where he will link up with fellow New Zealander Nathan Smith, while neighbours Middlesex can boast Kane Williamson in their ranks for 10 group stage games and also have Ireland quick Josh Little to call on.
Glamorgan have signed Australian all-rounder Hayden Kerr, who played for Derbyshire in 2022, until the end of July and can call upon the evergreen South African Colin Ingram, while Sussex Sharks have Australians Daniel Hughes and Nathan McAndrew among their ranks and might also opt to utilise their compatriot seamer Gurinder Sandhu, who will remain with the club for red-ball cricket after the Blast.
Australian paceman Wes Agar and bowling all-rounder Tom Rogers are back with Kent Spitfires after impressive turns in 2024, while Sam Billings will skipper the side and Fred Klaassen is also available.
