The last red ball match of the county season takes place this week when Essex and Somerset meet in the final of the Bob Willis Trophy at Lord’s, a five-day clash that begins on Wednesday and will crown the First-class champions of the campaign.
It is probably fitting that despite all the disruption and the necessary changes to the format and all that has gone with it, these are the two sides who fought it out for the County Championship title last season. Essex won on that occasion so Somerset will be out for revenge in a match that can be watched on the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel.
Essex
Essex have come through the South Group without being beaten and will be eyeing up yet another red ball success to go with their Championship win last year and back in 2017. They would have wanted to go into the match with a little more momentum from the T20 Blast than they are carrying but make no mistake about it, this is a formidable red ball side at present with stars throughout their team capable of taking any match by the scruff of the neck and winning it.
One thing they would like to see improve is their batting though. Although they were unbeaten for the group stage they never scored 300 in any innings which you would have thought they would have needed to do at some point. They have the batting line up to put up big scores but whether they have the form remains to be seen. On the flip side of that a bowling attack that contains Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer is always going to be tough to beat.
Somerset
Nobody scored more points in the group stage than Somerset. They dominated the Central Group with four wins and a draw and unlike Essex they do come out of the T20 Blast with a bit of positivity and confidence even though they ultimately failed to qualify for the quarter finals. That added to the motivation of putting last year behind them and finally getting their hands on some red ball silverware should make them hard to beat.
The other thing they have going for them unlike Essex is they have put up some big runs in this competition. They have scored more than 400 once and pushed 300 on several other occasions but what has got them through to this final is their bowling attack. Nobody has scored more than 200 against them all season and five times they have bowled teams out for less than 135. If that combination comes together here they are going to be hard to deny.
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Team News
Somerset have named a 13-man squad which doesn’t include Babar Azam or Tom Banton with the latter away on IPL duty. It does have England spin duo Dom Bess and Jack Leach in it though but James Hildreth remains out with injury.
Essex are close to full strength themselves and all eyes will be on Sir Alastair Cook to see if he can score big runs. Dan Lawrence is an England man in waiting while Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter are two of the best red ball bowlers in county cricket.
Betting
I like Essex here I have to say. Somerset just seem to falter when it matters the most and although they won the 50 over competition last season this is the one they truly crave make no mistake about that. Essex know how to win this key red ball matches and have a lot of experience of that to call upon whereas this is largely a relatively inexperienced Somerset side who might feel the pressure if things aren’t going their way.
The other reason why I like Essex here is Somerset are without a couple of their stalwarts from the earlier part of the competition. James Hildreth is out injured and Jamie Overton has left for Surrey and they leave huge holes in the side. There isn’t as many chinks in the Essex armour. They have quality throughout their top six and two bowlers in particular of the highest quality. Throw in the experience factor and I’m all for an Essex win.
Tips
PUSH – Back Essex to beat Somerset (DNB) for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
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