The second quarter final of the Vitality Blast takes place on Friday evening when Durham host Sussex for a place at Finals Day next month. It has been a while since six years since Sussex were at the Edgbaston showpiece and two years for Durham. Both will be eager to get back there.
Durham made it into this quarter final courtesy of finishing as the runners up in the North Group while Sussex came good at the right time to power themselves up to third in the South Group in the final week of the first stage.
18+ UK+IRE players signing up via promo page. Min deposit £5. Paypal & some deposit methods excl. Paid in cash at normal price. Enhanced odds paid in £5 free bets within 24 hrs, valid for 4 days, stake not returned, restrictions apply. T&Cs apply
Durham
For much of the group stage Durham were on top of the North Group but on the final night they had a match washed out and Worcestershire did a job on the Birmingham Bears to pip them to topping the table. You wouldn’t think it would matter too much in terms of them still being at home but if there is a fragility to their mentality it could affect them.
The good thing about this Durham side is it is full of experience. Many of the players who made it to finals day for them two years ago have left but the side they have put together for this campaign looks side right down the order. They have a competent batting line up who use their conditions well and a bowling attack that is tough to get away. That is never a bad combination.
Sussex
You would have to say that Sussex went about their group stage the other way to Durham. They were indifferent at the start and then came home with a wet sail. In fairness that might be a little harsh because they had four matches washed out so their record isn’t really fairly comparable to any in the tournament with the exception of Kent.
Much was made of the Sussex bowling attack going into the tournament. I think it would be fair to say it did not live up to expectations at the beginning of the event but when it needed to come good it has done. I’m convinced Sussex are a batsman light in their line up but to be fair their top three have compensated for that nicely.
Team News
Having originally been ruled out of the match Ben Stokes has been given permission to play as a batsman only. Alex Lees and Axar Patel are ineligible for the match but Mark Wood is fit and has been included in the squad. Liam Trevaskis is out with illness while injury rules out James Weighell.
Sussex will be without Rashid Khan for this match so Will Beer will keep his place in the side. More importantly Luke Wright has been passed fit to take part and he will captain the side. Tom Bruce has remained around for the quarter final.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
With the quality of bowlers on show here I’m expecting another tight and tense quarter final and while I would edge Sussex as the favourites I don’t think there is anything clear cut in it by any means so the match betting doesn’t interest me but the side markets do and my bets will come from there.
The boundaries line for this match is 34.5. This is one of the biggest outfields in the country and the wicket is often a little tacky and the ball doesn’t really come through. There has only been one score over 160 in six matches here this season and so far the boundaries have totalled 29, 31, 27, 22, 26 and 20. When you factor in the quality of this Sussex attack and the light look to their batting I’m expecting a low boundary count once again especially when winning is the order of the day rather than entertaining.
Will Smith top scored for Durham the last time they were on our screens at Old Trafford and 7/1 feels a big price on him to go in again. It could well be that the Durham top order are put under pressure with the quality in the Sussex seamers and it might be that a score comes against the two spinners. Smith will have seen bags of Danny Briggs from their time at Hampshire together and that top scoring effort against Lancashire came against a barrage of spin bowling. If the Sussex seamers get Smith in early enough he could be the one to top score. An experienced head in big matches is often vital. I’ll take Smith here.
Tips
WON – Back Under 34.5 boundaries for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
Back it here:
Back W.Smith Top Durham Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with Unibet
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018
