The last two days of group fixtures in the NatWest T20 Blast have arrived and on Thursday there is a do or die match for Hampshire as they host Somerset in the South Group in front of the TV cameras.
The equation for the home side is quite simple. Win and they progress to the quarter finals for the sixth season in a row but lose and they will be out of the tournament with just the Royal London One Day Cup to play for this season. Somerset already know they only have that tournament to play for so they might lack for motivation here.
Hampshire go into the match as the 4/6 favourites. We know they can win big T20 matches and win big matches on their own ground. We know they can win them here against Somerset too as they won the 2010 final here.
Two wins in their last three have kept Hampshire’s hopes in their own hands and that is something in their favour because they haven’t been as good this season as in previous ones. Their side has changed much more this season which in itself highlights that they’ve not performed as well but one good performance gets them back into the knockout stages.
Jimmy Adams was left out for the win over Sussex last week but along with Gareth Berg and Sean Terry he has been added to the 11 in action in that match to make up a 14 man squad for the home side.
Somerset have had a surprisingly poor campaign this season and are already out of the qualification picture so they are already looking to the Royal London One Day Cup. They have named a young squad and have hinted they will be trying players out to see if they can make it in the 50 over competition.
Given that Somerset look to have packed the competition in coupled with the fact it is effectively a knockout match for the home side I fully expect Hampshire to win. On their own they’re not the best price but luckily for us this isn’t the only match going on throughout Thursday.
Surrey head across the Thames to Lord’s for the sold out London derby and that is a match I fully expect Surrey to win. Middlesex, like Somerset, have been poor in this competition and are already out of contention and will be looking to the other competitions. A Surrey win sets up an effective knockout match with Sussex on Friday so they have all the motivation they need for this one and I expect them to win too. As singles they’re both pretty short but in a double they pay just over 7/4 which is a much more attractive bet.
Going back to the TV game there could be potential in the Top Somerset Batsman market where Jamie Overton is a ridiculous price. He is slated at 125/1 despite the fact he top scored in Somerset’s last televised match! With Somerset trying things out ahead of the 50 over competition it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if Overton was moved up the order to see if he can pinch hit.
He showed against Kent he doesn’t need to be moved up to top score and with Hampshire’s death bowling letting them down time and again this season if Overton gets enough time at the crease he might just do some damage at these crazy odds.
Back Hampshire to beat Somerset x Surrey to beat Middlesex for a 4/10 stake at 2.79 with Ladbrokes
Back J.Overton Top Somerset Batsman for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Paddy Power
