The Vitality Blast makes a return on Thursday evening when two sides in desperate need of a win in the South Group do battle at the Home of Cricket as Middlesex take on Hampshire for the second time in a week.
Both teams have won just one of their first five matches in the group so a defeat for either in this match will be hugely costly to their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages. This isn’t technically knockout cricket but you wouldn’t want to be the team that loses.
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Middlesex
Middlesex won their opening match of the season but have lost four on the bounce since then. On the face of it they look to be getting worse as they go along too. Their fans must wonder what is going on because they bring in super coaches and big name overseas players for this competition but never seem to climb off the bottom of the table.
Their bowling has been particularly concerning. You can tell that they are not bowling well as a unit as whoever has captained them has regularly used plenty of options. It might be that having so many options is a hindrance rather than a help. They do have three international bowlers in their ranks but they need them to step up.
Hampshire
It will be a nice return to Lord’s for Hampshire just four weeks after they last played there and won the Royal London One Day Cup. Usually Hampshire get farmed out to one of the outgrounds for their T20 match against Middlesex so the chance to play on the big stage will no doubt inspire them to produce a big performance.
They will need to though because with three points from five matches is not a good start to the competition so they will need to find a consistent run of form. We saw the issue with them on Saturday when they couldn’t defend a decent looking total against an Essex side who are very light with the bat.
Team News
Dawid Malan has been pulled out of the Middlesex squad for this match so Nick Gubbins is likely to come in for him. Dwayne Bravo plays his final match for the club before heading off to the CPL.
Hampshire could be unchanged from the side which beat Middlesex last week unless they think Kyle Abbott is worth taking a chance on once again. Gareth Berg missed the Essex match but should be available for this one.
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Betting
I think we are going to get a high scoring game here. We got one when these two sides met at the Ageas Bowl last week and we should get one here too. Neither of these sides are going particularly well with the ball and both have top class batsmen in their ranks.
The total runs line is 335.5 for this match which looks high but in reality I don’t think it is. Hampshire have found form with the bat but they can’t stop conceding runs while Middlesex’s attack has been plundered in their last two outings. A couple of scores in the 170 region is well within reach here.
Tips
Back Over 335.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Karamba
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