ECB unveils 2008 fixture list

The England & Wales Cricket Board today unveiled the full fixture list for the 2008 domestic season, which gets underway on Thursday, April 10 when the reigning county champions, Sussex, take on MCC in the traditional curtain-raiser at Lord's.

Sussex will begin the defence of their back-to-back championship crowns the following week (April 16) as they travel to The Rose Bowl to take on Hampshire, while newly-promoted Nottinghamshire will face Kent at Canterbury on the same day. Lancashire, who came so close to snatching the title on the final day of the season, return to The Oval, the scene of their bitter last-ditch defeat against Surrey.

The Division Two season kicks off with a midlands derby, as Warwickshire host Worcestershire at Edgbaston after both teams were relegated in 2007.

The Friends Provident Trophy takes on a new format in 2008 with the 18 first-class counties as well as Ireland and Scotland making up four groups of five teams. Each team plays the other four teams in the group twice throughout the competition, home and away. The top two teams from each group will then qualify for the quarter-finals on July 4, with the winners of each group earning a home draw.

The opening round of the Friends Provident Trophy pits last year's winners, Durham, against Yorkshire at the Riverside on April 20, with a further seven opening round matches to be played on the same day. The final at Lord's takes place on Saturday August 16.

The Twenty20 Cup gets under way on Wednesday, June 11 with last year's winners Kent taking on Sussex at Canterbury in the first round of the new-look group stage. Next season, each team will play a symmetrical format of five home and five away games with the groups remaining regional-based with three groups of six first-class counties.

The Twenty20 Cup group stage concludes on Friday, June 27 with quarter-finals on to be played from July 7 to 9 and four teams progressing to finals day at The Rose Bowl on Saturday, July 26.

The Pro40 competition kicks off on Tuesday, July 15 with a floodlit Division One match between the holders Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire at New Road, while the competition will feature a further 23 matches under lights in the second half of the summer. Televised fixtures for the 2008 domestic season will be confirmed in due course.