The organiser of the increasingly popular Cheltenham Premier T20 is hoping that this year’s final will attract a crowd of around 1,000.

The final will be played at the Cheltenham Cricket Festival for the first time – the competition is in its third year – and Sathya Prakash Timmaraju, the driving force behind the tournament, is delighted.

“It will take place on Friday 18^th July, starting at 6pm,” he confirmed to The Local Answer. “I am very happy, the gates will open at 4pm and there will be live music.

“Under-16s will be allowed in free and it’s a chance for people to watch two local clubs fighting for the cup. The final will be played on a good wicket, it should be a spectacular game.”

Last season’s final between Dumbleton Dynamite and Hatherley Hurricanes at the Victoria Ground, the home of Cheltenham Cricket Club, attracted a crowd of some 450 and Prakash is optimistic that he can more than double that number with the game being played at Cheltenham College.

This season’s competition will feature eight teams with Bourton Vale, who will be known as Vale Vikings, joining the seven sides who played in 2024.

Dumbleton Dynamite are the holders after losing out to Hatherley Hurricanes in the final the year before, but this season they will be without star Australian overseas batsman Tom Kelly, who dominated the 2024 competition, scoring four centuries, including one in the final.

Their overseas player this year is another Australian, Lincoln Joy, a left-arm spinner who bats anywhere in the top order.

The other five teams competing in this year’s Cheltenham Premier T20 are Cheltenham Spartans, Charlton Super Kings, Tewkesbury Royals, University of Gloucestershire Giants and Civil Sixers.