To get a complete appreciation for the One-Day Cup, one must first investigate its illustrious history and comprehend the careful framework that regulates it in the present day. This section covers an in-depth history of the One-Day Cup as well as an explanation of its structure.

A domestic one-day tournament in England and Wales has been around since the 1960s when the idea was first conceived. The first significant knockout event was the pioneering Gillette Cup, which ran from 1963 to 1980. This was followed by the league-format John Player League, which ran from 1969 to 1991 and included county teams competing on Sunday afternoons vs one another. Early tournaments set the framework for the present game, offering novelties such as colored clothes and white balls in the 1990s. These events were the beginning of the modern game.

The event has gone through several different versions, including the NatWest Trophy (1981-2000), the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy (2001-2005), and the Friends Provident Trophy (2007-2009), which included both league and knockout competitions. A further refinement of the 40-over format was accomplished by the ECB 40 (2010-2013), which served as the direct antecedent to the current One-Day Cup. This occurred before the transition to the 50-over format.

The tournament was renamed the Royal London One-Day Cup in 2014, and it adopted the classic format of 50 overs. This brought it more in line with the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) that are played internationally. In the year 2023, Metro Bank assumed the role of title sponsor, therefore carrying on the tradition of this historically significant competition.

Current Structure and Format

All eighteen first-class counties in England and Wales are considered to be participants in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. The structure is intended to give a stage for intense group competition, which will then transition into an exciting knockout phase:

• As part of the group stage, the eighteen counties are split into two groups, each consisting of nine teams. Because these groupings are chosen by a draw, the old geographical North/South separation that had been in place since 2021 has been abandoned. Because every team in the group competes against every other team in the group once, there are eight group matches for each county.
• Points are granted for victories, ties, and outcomes that are not determined. When there is a tie between two teams, the net run rate is used to determine the winner to break the tie.
• The team that finishes first in each group is automatically qualified for a position in the semi-finals.
• Teams that finish in second and third place in each group advance to the quarterfinals of the competition.
• The team that finished in second place in one group will face the team that finished in third place in the other group in the quarterfinals. Take, for instance, the second group A competing against the third group B, as well as the second group B competing against the third group A. In most cases, the team with the superior ranking will be the one to host these matches.
• During the semi-finals, the group that finished first in the group will be joined by the winners of the quarterfinals. Once again, the team that finished higher in the group stage is often the one to host any of these matches.
• In the highly anticipated final, the two victors of the semi-finals will compete against each other. The championship match has been played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, which is a well-known location for white-ball cricket, ever since the year 2020. Previously, the final was held at Lord's Cricket Ground for a considerable amount of time.

This structure guarantees that teams must maintain a constant level of performance throughout the group stage to achieve a straight semi-final place. Additionally, it provides a second opportunity for strong teams who finish just outside the top slot to battle their way through the quarterfinals. One-Day Cup betting insights are abundant thanks to the tournament's difficult road to the final, which adds to the tournament's competitive atmosphere and gives enough options for betting.