There is just the one match in the Vitality Blast on Saturday evening and it is a massive clash in the North Group as Nottinghamshire take on Worcestershire at Trent Bridge in a really explosive showdown.
The Test match will be over long before this one starts so the TV coverage will be sorted and we can enjoy some entertaining Saturday evening cricket between the defending champions and the North Group leaders.
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Nottinghamshire
It has been an inconsistent beginning to the competition for Nottinghamshire but with 10pts from nine matches they know they must win four of their last five if they are to be certain of making it to the quarter finals. Defeat here would massively hamper their chances of progressing in their defence of the title.
The main reason for their struggles has been an inconsistency with the bat. They are either brilliant or they are terrible. There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground and that is not an ideal situation to be in. I guess you could say the same with the ball too but they have won their last two home matches and would love a third straight home success here.
Worcestershire
Although they never get credit for it, it must be said that Worcestershire are one of the best limited over sides in the country right now. They are regularly topping the North Group both in the 50 over competition and now the 20 over one and while they have found knockout cricket beyond them recently we are not there yet.
The reason for their recent success in these formats is pretty simple. They bat extremely deep and because they bat deep everyone hits with freedom knowing full well that someone else can replace them with quality. They are decent batsmen too not pinch hitters clubbed together. If there is a weakness it comes with the ball which could explain why they struggle in knockout cricket.
Team News
Nottinghamshire will be without Alex Hales once again. Jake Ball’s bowling stint ended early on Thursday evening but there is nothing to suggest he will not play here. All eyes will be on Tom Moores to see if he opens again.
Worcestershire have Moeen Ali available after he was released from England’s Test squad for the game. Wayne Parnell has taken over from Martin Guptill as overseas player while Callum Ferguson is in for Travis Head.
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Betting
I like three bets in this match. The first one is the fairly obvious one of expecting the runs to flow. Both these sides are powerful with the bat and inconsistent if not weak with the ball. Nearly every Worcestershire match this season has been high scoring. I’m not expecting this one to be any different against a Nottinghamshire side who are very similar in that regard. Two line ups full of power can see us beyond 347.5 runs.
Moeen Ali is likely to be a big figure in this match. He is going to open the batting for Worcestershire and being a left hander he can target that short boundary that is at Trent Bridge these days. He’ll also bowl his off spin and as captain I suspect he’ll be fielding in the key areas too. All that makes up for his performance points to flow and I expect him to cover 42.5 without too much trouble here.
Finally I can’t possibly ignore the 9/1 on Ross Whiteley top scoring for the visitors in this match. He did it the last time Worcestershire were on the box when we were on and he did it on Friday night with a brutal 60 off just 26 balls against a decent Durham attack. He is another left hander who can tuck into that short boundary although to be fair no boundary on this ground is too big for him. 9/1 is a huge price on one of the most explosive batsmen in the country.
Tips
Back Over 347.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Karamba
Back it here:
WON – Back M.Ali’s Performance – Over 42.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back R.Whiteley Top Worcestershire Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with Skybet
Back him here:
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