The Vitality Blast begins with three matches on Thursday evening as both groups get underway ahead of what should be a wonderful season of T20 cricket. The big stars are out on the first night of the competition too which is just what we want.
There are a lot of televised matches this season and the first of those comes along on Thursday as the defending champions Worcestershire get the tournament started. Both the other two matches will be live streamed on the websites of the host counties so there is no reason to miss a thing. Even though it is the last to start we’ll begin with the TV game.
Nottinghamshire vs Worcestershire (19.00)
The only match in the North Group on Thursday night comes from Trent Bridge as the last two winners of the competition meet when Nottinghamshire take on Worcestershire in a match which both sides will be keen to win for a few reasons.
Both sides will be eyeing up a deep run in this tournament but they go into it in wretched form in the Championship so the competition might well come at a good time. I worry a little for Nottinghamshire here though I have to admit. Harry Gurney is a good addition from their four day team and he should go well but this attack doesn’t look great around him. Worcestershire don’t have Wayne Parnell at their disposal but the fact that Moeen Ali has been released for duty makes them a very attractive proposition here. Pat Brown shot to life in this last year and he’ll go well and with the other options they have I think the defending champions will get off to a winning start.
I also like over 41.5 boundaries in this match. Again, Moeen Ali’s appearance should have a massive impact on the boundaries. We’ve seen all summer that Trent Bridge is a great wicket and given that the World Cup had the centre of the square I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re on the edge of it here. Both teams bat deep and have big hitters. There isn’t a quality mystery spinner in either team so the boundaries should flow throughout this one.
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Middlesex vs Essex (18.15)
The first of the two South Group matches on the night comes from Lord’s where Middlesex take on Essex in front of a sold out crowd who will be there to see one man in action. That is AB de Villiers who makes his county cricket debut in this contest.
Given that he is in the side, as well as Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Dawid Malan and the likes of Steven Finn, it is no surprise to see Middlesex are the favourites for this match but they are without Paul Stirling so they’ll need to mix and match a little. Any value there could have been on Essex have been dented by the news that Mohammad Amir is unavailable due to a visa issue. I think Middlesex will win this but the ABDV factor has collapsed their price so I’ll let it happen if that is indeed what does happen.
Glamorgan vs Somerset (18.30)
The other match on the night comes from down in Wales where Glamorgan get their campaign underway against their nearest rivals in the form of the 50 over champions from already this term in Somerset, a side expected to go well here.
Glamorgan could be dark horses for this competition when they have everyone available but Fakhar Zaman hasn’t got his visa yet and Mitch Marsh is off with Australia so they are not at full strength here. Somerset do have Babar Azam in the country so they look at 100% or close to it and it will be interesting to see how they shape up in terms of quality here. It is hard to see Somerset being beaten here but there are some dangerous players in this Glamorgan side and I don’t really want to take them on with a short odds on shot.
Tips
WON – Back Worcestershire to beat Nottinghamshire for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with 888sport
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Back Nottinghamshire vs Worcestershire – Over 41.5 boundaries for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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