The third quarter final of the NatWest T20 Blast takes place on Thursday night when the Royal London One Day Cup winners Nottinghamshire host Somerset for a place at Finals Day at Edgbaston next weekend.
Nottinghamshire topped the North Group table despite an indifferent start to their campaign while Somerset’s huge win over Hampshire on Friday night saw them snatch the fourth spot in the South courtesy of their run rate.
Nottinghamshire
This has been a remarkable run to the quarter final for the 50 over champions. They have been breaking all kinds of records with the bat and matches involving them have generally been very high scoring. Admittedly they have been playing on very small boundaries but they have still been winning a lot more than they have lost.
Their opening pair have done most of the damage and in a quirky way that could be their weakness because if they should lose them early. The middle order haven’t had the amount of cricket that others have had which could be a negative but on the flip side if their openers do get going they are difficult to stop.
Somerset
It has been a strange campaign for Somerset thus far. They got out of the blocks very slowly with just one point from their opening three matches but then they went on a winning run before eventually limping over the line into this quarter final, albeit with an emphatic win to seal their spot in the last eight.
They should take plenty of confidence from that victory even though it was a dead rubber for their opponents in that game. Somerset’s strength is their bowling attack, one which they have plenty of options to use. They need their key batsmen to have big matches but if they do that you can never truly write them off.
Team News
Nottinghamshire have named a 14 man squad for this match which includes Alex Hales and Jake Ball. Stuart Broad misses out as he is with England preparing for the next Test match.
Somerset will be missing a couple of key players with Jamie Overton and Dean Elgar absent. Overton is injured while Elgar has returned to South Africa. Jim Allenby faces a fitness test on a hand injury.
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Betting
Nottinghamshire go into this match as massive favourites to win and I guess that has only been heightened since the Somerset team news has come about but I’m not sure I would want to trust their bowling attack to defend a score even allowing for the scoreboard pressure that the Cidermen would be under.
I look at this match every which way I can and I just see it being high scoring even allowing for a quarter final. In the first two matches in this round we’ve seen a high score or what would have been a high score and with both these teams more established at the business end of tournaments I’m expecting big things.
They usually play to a short boundary in the TV matches at Trent Bridge so I think the 14 or more sixes bet is one which will land in a contest between two sides who are pretty aggressive with the willow.
Speaking of aggression with the bat Peter Trego is a big price to top score for the visitors. In fairness to him he has had an absolute shambles of a competition but he pinned his ears back and gave it some Reggie Biffington in the win over Hampshire and that might have light the touch paper for a big knock here too. At 6/1, for someone batting in the top four, he looks a big price on a ground which won’t be big enough to contain him.
Tips
Back 14 or more sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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Back P.Trego Top Somerset Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 7.00 with Paddy Power
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