The third quarter final of the Vitality Blast takes place on Friday evening when the second placed side in the North Group host the third placed team in the South Group as Lancashire meet Essex for a place at finals day next weekend.
These two are no strangers to going all the way to Edgbaston with both having won this title before. That only adds to the intention to get back that which will make this an extremely competitive quarter final.
Lancashire
The early stages of the competition saw Lancashire dominating the North Group and it looked like they would not only reach the quarter final but do so with matches to spare. Their campaign was halted a little when England took a number of players to the Netherlands and while they did enough to make it into this stage, there is no getting away from the fact that they haven’t been anything like as strong or as dominant, which is a concern.
They might actually be at their weakest here though because England have again come calling and this time have taken even more players away from them. Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Richard Gleeson and Matt Parkinson are all going to be missing here and it is up in the air whether Phil Salt will be involved too. Lancashire are going to need their second string to be at their best if they are to have any chance in this quarter final.
Essex
Such was the quality of the South Group this season that Essex won nine matches and could only finish third in it. That sees them going on the road in the quarter final which isn’t ideal for them. The only reason I say that is because six of their wins came at Chelmsford and only three on their travels. Of those wins away from home, all three came against the weakest three sides in the competition so they might have a little to prove in that regard here.
Essex won their last four group matches though so they head into this quarter final in good form and will have Matt Critchley back from injury for the encounter as well which is definitely no bad thing. The Eagles have currently got that sought after combination of piling up the runs and not really conceding too many. The latter part is important because in the middle stages of the competition they were guilty of leaking a few too many runs and you don’t want to be doing that in a knockout match.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this series! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Key Players
Given everyone who is missing you’ve got to think that Tim David is a huge player for Lancashire here. He is the man who if he comes off with the bat can put the game out of the reach of Essex on his own while his off spin might be useful given the hot and dry weather of this week.
Dan Lawrence took a little bit of time to get going for Essex against Glamorgan when we saw them on our screens last weekend but when he did put the pedal down he looked very good. His batting will be important but his overs of spin could be crucial too.
Betting
Lancashire might be boosted by Phil Salt being available to them but whether he is or he isn’t they look heavily inferior to this Essex side and I think we are going to get a third away win from three quarter finals here. Essex don’t just look the stronger and better balanced side but they are the team who are in better form and have a much better balance to them. This is T20 cricket and someone like Tim David can win a match on his own but in Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper, Matt Critchley and Adam Rossington, Essex have a number of those themselves. I also think Essex look better with the ball too and if this is a used or a dry pitch they have quality spin options to cope with that. I’m expecting an Essex win here.
Dane Vilas has put in some decent cameos this season and they’ve tended to come on Sky. He made 40* at Headingley which was the second highest score and then he top scored against Birmingham Bears in the last group game with 42 in no time at all. With so many batters missing and Essex pretty good at getting early wickets Lancashire are going to need someone in the middle order to stand up and be counted. Vilas is a fighter with the bat who can rebuild and innings or smack it everywhere. Importantly he plays spin well so I think the 6/1 on him to top score for the home side is a little big.
Tips
Back Essex to beat Lancashire for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with BetVictor
Back them here:
Back D.Vilas Top Lancashire Batter for a 1/10 stake at 7.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
