Vitality Blast Player Watch: Zak Crawley finds form and James Rew showcases white-ball credentials

The 2026 Vitality Blast is underway amid a heatwave across the UK with high intensity action on the field to match over the Bank Holiday weekend.

As many as seven sides remain unbeaten from their opening two games, including the defending champions Somerset, with Hampshire Hawks and Essex looking to get off the mark in their clash at the Utilita Bowl this evening.

This has been plenty of entertainment and drama on display already, including Gloucestershire’s final-ball win over Glamorgan in Cardiff and the remarkable scenes at Headingley where Yorkshire’s ninth-wicket partnership put on 56 in 23 balls to stun Derbyshire.

Here, we pick out a selection of the early notable performers whose progress will be worth monitoring as the campaign continues.

For exclusive stories and all the detailed cricket news you need, subscribe to The Cricket Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day

FOLLOW OUR LIVE SCORES CENTRE

Zak Crawley (Kent Spitfires)

111 runs vs Middlesex and Sussex Sharks

It has been a difficult period for the former England opener after his axing from the Test squad and underwhelming start to the County Championship campaign with a high score of just 44 in 12 innings.

The start of the Vitality Blast has been a welcome change of pace for the 28-year-old, contributing to his Kent side winning their first two games in the South group.

Batting at No.3, Crawley made 36 off 26 balls at Lord’s in a match-winning total of 208-6, before leading the way with an unbeaten 41-ball 75 as the Spitfires chased 198 to defeat Sussex Sharks at Canterbury on Bank Holiday Monday.

Crawley has only made 9 ODI appearances for England and his opportunities in the T20 Blast over the years have been limited due to his international commitments, however he did score 522 runs at a strike rate above 160 across the Blast and Hundred in 2025.

His ball-striking ability is undoubted which makes a transition into more of a white-ball focus over the coming years a potentially suitable path as Crawley looks to reinvent the next phase of his career.

James Rew (Somerset)

140 runs vs Hampshire Hawks and Warwickshire Bears

The Rew brothers are certainly no secret – James is in line for a Test debut next week after Jacob Bethell’s injury, whilst Thomas is beginning to establish himself in the Somerset side following his exploits at the U19 World Cup.

Older brother James had been dubbed more of a red-ball specialist, whilst Thomas has been considered to possess more of an all-round package, however the opening games of the T20 Blast has proven James has the tools to dominate in all formats too.

The 22-year-old struck an unbeaten 47 to guide the holders to victory over Hampshire Hawks in their opener, including sharing an unbroken stand of 52 alongside his brother.

At Edgbaston on Sunday between two of the title favourites, Rew recorded a T20 career-best score of 93 in a chase of 190 to secure Somerset back-to-back victories – his 140 runs across the two games have come at a strike rate of 181.

James now averages in excess of 40 across all three formats, though his white-ball progress may be put on hold in the coming weeks should he feature for England in the upcoming Test series.

Calvin Harrison (Northamptonshire Steelbacks)

50 runs and six wickets vs Glamorgan and Worcestershire Rapids

Darren Lehman’s Steelbacks have made a 100% start in the Central and West group as they aim to make a return to Finals Day.

From narrowly edging out Glamorgan to thumping Worcestershire Rapids, there have been contributions throughout but all-rounder Calvin Harrison has been at the centre of it.

A signing made permanent over the winter, the former Nottinghamshire leg-spinner has proven himself to be a consistent performer in both departments during the County Championship but is now also demonstrating his skillset in the shorter format.

The 28-year-old has chipped in with valuable scores of 20 and 30 at No.7, before doing damage with the ball with figures of 2-34 against Glamorgan and 4-17 against Worcestershire, including crucial scalps of the likes of Ben Kellaway and Sikandar Raza.

Having been selected for the England Lions white-ball sides at the start of the year, Harrison already finds himself on the international radar and is certainly a name to keep an eye on.

Noah Cornwell (Middlesex)

Three wickets vs Kent Spitfires and Surrey

Middlesex’s fortunes in T20 cricket show no signs of changing, six group stage exits on the bounce and now suffered successive defeats at Lord’s to begin the new campaign.

There have been some bright sparks for Middlesex in the form of their young pace attack – Seb Morgan and Naavya Sharma have both featured regularly in the County Championship side, the latter being named in the latest England Lions squad.

21-year-old Noah Cornwell has had more exposure to the T20 side across the past two seasons but there are early signs this could be his breakthrough campaign.

The left-armer claimed figures of 2-25 from his four overs against Kent Spitfires, including a maiden, before producing another economical spell of 1-22 from his allotted quota against Surrey in which he sent Jason Roy’s leg stump cartwheeling.

A yard of pace and the ability to swing the ball from the left-arm angle always generates excitement, with Cornwell another name to add to England’s exciting crop of fast bowling prospects.

Yousef Majid (Surrey)

Five wickets vs Lancashire Lightning and Middlesex

From a young left-arm quick to a young left-arm spinner, Yousef Majid has enjoyed a productive start to the T20 Blast with Surrey.

The 22-year-old claimed three wickets in the opening night victory over Lancashire Lightning at the Kia Oval – including a smart one-handed return catch off his own bowling – and followed that up with a tidy spell of 2-25 in front of the Sky Sports cameras at Lord’s on Sunday.

Majid has been a regular in the Metro Bank One Day Cup side after making his List A debut back in 2022 but could be set for an extended run in the T20 outfit with no overseas spinner currently recruited.

One To Watch: Henry Hurle (Glamorgan)

The latest on a conveyor belt of local Welsh talent at Glamorgan, 21-year-old batter Henry Hurle left an impressive mark on his T20 debut against Gloucestershire with a defiant 46.

Walking out to the middle with score 45-5 in the 9th over, Hurle hit four sixes in a 31-ball cameo which got the hosts up to a competitive total of 157-8 which proved very nearly to be a match-winning total.

Overseas Impact: Dian Forrester (Kent Spitfires) and Duan Jansen (Gloucestershire)

There may be not be an A-list of international stars coming to the T20 Blast but that is not to say overseas imports will not have a big say in the competition, with two relatively unknown late additions already hitting the ground running.

South African Dian Forrester was signed by Kent Spitfires as a replacement for the injured Senuran Muthusamy off the back of noteworthy performances in the SA20 and PSL, and the 25-year-old immediately endeared himself to the Canterbury crowd with figures of 3-25 to stem the flow of Sussex runs, before smashing an unbeaten 35 from 18 balls in the chase as the hosts reached their imposing target with ten balls to spare.

Another Proteas recruit, Duan Jansen has proven to be a real handful with the new ball in an impressive start to life with Gloucestershire, taking seven wickets across two matches at an average of 7.42 and an economy rate of just 6.50.

Unlike Forrester, Jansen – a tall left-arm fast bowler like his identical twin brother Marco – has not made his debut for South Africa but looks like a shrewd piece of business by the West Country side, who have put their red-ball struggles behind them to record two wins from two, as temporary cover for Australia’s Liam Scott.

READ MORE: Men’s T20 Blast preview: Can Somerset retain their crown?