NatWest T20 Blast: Andrew Flintoff's Lancashire return would be fabulous

Wallop! David Lloyd and Nasser Hussain - part of our big-hitting commentary team - preview the NatWest T20 Blast, which begins on Sky Sports this Friday when Nottinghamshire take on Lancashire...

Bumble: Mick Newell is a fantastic coach and I think his team will do an excellent job although they won't see much of Stuart Broad or Gurney, it looks like. As always there's a scramble to try and find a star player and Yorkshire have pulled off a real coup if they can get Aaron Finch to play a decent number of games. I'd expect Warwickshire (or Birmingham as I think they're called) to be there or thereabouts; the top teams in the Championship will definitely fancy this. That said, we never talk about Leicestershire and Northamptonshire in Championship cricket and Leicestershire have won it at least twice while I fancy Sussex as well - although I reckon Yasir Arafat might be older than me! Nasser: I also see Yorkshire as a threat - they've signed well in Finch, who is one of the best T20 players in world cricket, and they have experience throughout the squad. They are also very well led by Jason Gillespie and Martyn Moxon; Joe Root is a fantastic domestic T20 player (if he plays), and they've got an array of talent in that batting order. In the South, I like Hampshire even though Glenn Maxwell won't be around early on. He's the Twenty20 player of World Cricket at the moment; you can't argue what he's doing in the IPL, where he has taken his game to another level. Michael Carberry has been one of the best domestic Twenty20 players going in recent seasons but is back in favour with England. However, James Vince is a talent and they've got the likes of left-armer Chris Wood to bowl his variations, plus a good spinner in Danny Briggs. In short, they are a very strong side and they've got great pedigree in this competition - as have Somerset with Marcus Trescothick, Craig Kieswetter, Peter Trego and Alfonso Thomas leading the way. Dirk Nannes knows exactly how to bowl at the death while I've always found Alviro Peterson to be a very good cricketer. They are going to miss the finishing ability of Jos Buttler without a doubt but their loss is England's and Lancashire's gain. History tells you that these are the two sides that you have to beat, although Essex have signed well in Jesse Ryder - he can be a very destructive player and they are not going to lose a lot of players to England duty. Bumble: Somerset always promise good things. They went into a bit of a decline last summer so can they bounce back? Lewis Gregory has had a really good start for them. Surrey have had a wretched start to the season - so is this a competition they can get a bit of glory from? Then again, Graeme Smith can't buy a run but then there's always Kevin Pietersen to slot back in - and we all know that he can be box office! Watch 39 NatWest T20 Blast fixtures, including a Middlesex double header in the first weekend, live on Sky Sports this summer - starting with Friday's opening clash between Nottinghamshire Outlaws and Lancashire Lightning. For full details click here.