The opening semi-final in the Vitality Blast on finals day on Saturday is a North Group clash between Lancashire and Worcestershire. This match kicks off a busy day of action at Edgbaston and should be the perfect starter to proceedings.
These two have met once in the tournament to date which was a high scoring affair which Worcestershire won at Old Trafford. It is Lancashire who go into this one as the favourites however.
18+ Eligible UK+IRE players. Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 4 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions + T&Cs apply.
Lancashire
As ever in this tournament things were a bit hit and miss for Lancashire but they finished the group stage strongly and then saw off Kent in a nail biter of a quarter final to book their spot back at the big day. The strength of the Old Trafford outfit is very much with the ball. With the bat you never truly know what they have to offer.
Lancashire have been strong with the ball throughout. They might have been better suited to being in the second semi-final to utilise all of their spin options but that is not the card they were dealt. Even so we have seen pitches spin all summer and if this one does likewise they will be in clover. Their success will be determined by how many runs they can put up.
Worcestershire
It has taken a while but finally Worcestershire have made it to finals day. They will be keen to make an impression on the big day now that they are here instead of just making up the numbers. In order for that to happen they are going to need to be at their best but they have beaten Lancashire this season and topped the North Group so to underestimate them would be folly.
Worcestershire have a lot of batting mite in their side and they generally bat quite deep too. They were involved in a number of high scoring matches throughout the earlier stages of the competition but whether their attack can deliver the goods on the big occasion remains to be seen. Given that this is their finals day debut they may feel they can attack this with a bit of freedom.
Team News
Lancashire have the big news that Jos Buttler and Keaton Jennings have been made available by England. They have also received a boost with Liam Livingstone returning ahead of schedule. James Faulkner and Zafir Khan resume the overseas duties.
Worcestershire have also been boosted with Moeen Ali being released by England for the match. There were doubts over Joe Clarke, Brett D’Oliviera and Wayne Parnell but all three have been named in their squad.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
I like Lancashire in this semi-final. That isn’t me writing off Worcestershire easily because they are an excellent side but the absence of Callum Ferguson looks massive given his innings in the quarter final. That could be the difference here. I also worry about the number of runs Worcestershire leak with the ball and with the gun top four Lancashire have you get the feeling they will put big runs up before their bowlers get to work. This is a semi-final so big game experience could be vital. Lancashire have that as well so it is them for me.
If Worcestershire are going to win this match then I can’t help but feel that Ross Whiteley is going to have a significant part to play. Worcestershire will either need to put a total up that is beyond Lancashire in which case Whiteley will need to deliver some crash, bang, wallop or they are going to have to chase down a sizeable total, which again will need Whiteley to go into full Reggie Biffington mode. Either way the 8/1 on him top scoring for the Rapids looks too big to ignore, not for the first time in this tournament.
Tips
Back Lancashire to beat Worcestershire for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Boylesports
Back them here:
Back R.Whiteley Top Worcestershire Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 9.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018
