The conclusion of the Group Stage in the NatWest T20 Blast is just a week away but before we get there we have another huge night of action on Friday. Eight matches take place on what is a really important night for many counties and despite the Test match going on we do still have a televised game.
That sees Glamorgan looking to seal a quarter final berth in the South Group when they host Somerset in Cardiff and then away from the cameras we have three more matches in the South and four in the North Group. We’ll kick off with the TV game.
Glamorgan vs Somerset
The Welsh county go into this match knowing if they win they are through to the quarter final and they will only need one more win to guarantee a home tie in that stage. Somerset should be perfect opponents for them because they have been out of the competition for a while and have their focus elsewhere.
Glamorgan have gone really well in this competition but they have lost their last two matches and will be eager to halt the slide here. Their first defeat can be written off as it was against Gloucestershire who are easily the best team in this group but the second one against Hampshire was much more of a concern.
Somerset just haven’t got going in this tournament and while the odd injury hasn’t helped putting it simply they haven’t played well enough. Jamie Overton misses out for them here and that is a real blow because they haven’t restricted a side all season really so if Somerset are going to get any joy in this one they will have to bat well.
It won’t be easy to bat well against this Glamorgan bowling attack though. It is tough as teak. The four seamers are all quality and they have the right number of spin options that if someone is having a bad day then they can whip him out of the attack and stick a spinner on. I’m amazed we can get a shade under even money on Glamorgan with this bowling attack especially against a Somerset side with their eyes on other things but I’m happy to climb all over that.
Non TV Matches – South Group
The other three matches in the South sees Hampshire hosting Middlesex at the Ageas Bowl, Surrey facing Sussex at The Oval and Kent taking on Essex at Canterbury.
I would expect Middlesex to beat Hampshire but regular readers will know I’m not one for taking teams who played the night before and while I like Sussex much more with ‘The Fizz’ around the loss of Ross Taylor could be significant so I’ll leave that one alone too.
The other game is of interest though where I like Kent. Defeats for Essex and Surrey on Thursday night have reopened the door for Kent to make it into the knockout stages and in order for them to take advantage of that they need to win here.
Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sam Billings have been released from England Lions duty for the match and with Matt Coles back in the squad too Kent are close to full strength for the game and that could be significant. Essex have played two matches without Jesse Ryder and lost them both and I don’t think that is a coincidence. He isn’t expected to play here.
Several bookmakers can’t split these sides but I can. I’m with Kent here. They have a batting line up firing on all cylinders at the minute and with Essex having just been carted to all parts by a nowhere near as good Sussex line up confidence must be low in their ranks right now. Kent’s attack was decent enough anyway but Kagiso Rabada is still here and so the number of match winners they have can contribute to a home win.
Non TV Matches – North Group
The four matches in this group see Derbyshire hosting Worcestershire in Derby, Durham playing host to Lancashire up at the Riverside, Birmingham Bears taking on Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston and Yorkshire facing the leaders Northants at Headingley.
The matches at Derby and Durham don’t interest me too much from a betting point of view. The Derbyshire vs Worcestershire match is near enough a dead rubber while Durham are too inconsistent for me to be backing them at odds on so I’ll leave those alone and focus on the other two matches.
We’ve seen both Birmingham Bears and Nottinghamshire on our screens over the last couple of weeks and the difference between the two was there for all to see. Birmingham rely so heavily on their opening pair and if their bowling does get carted they are in trouble whereas Nottinghamshire are solid with the ball and explosive right the way down with the bat.
I’m not altogether convinced you can use direct form lines in T20 cricket but if you think they are relevant we have one here as Nottinghamshire comfortably beat Northants two weeks ago while Northants walloped Birmingham on Tuesday.
I don’t think form guides like that are much use but Nottinghamshire are clearly the better side and they are batting much the better of the two and that is something I do think is relevant. I’ll take the visitors in that one.
The other game is really big for Yorkshire who need to win to keep the chasing pack at bay but Northants are back in business after that win on Tuesday night and will be liking their chances here.
Yorkshire did very well to thrash Durham on Wednesday night but I would be surprised if Northants bowl as much filth or drop the number of chances that Durham did in that match. Even if they do the Steelbacks have plenty more power hitters in their batting line up to chase down a sizeable total if they need to.
Yorkshire’s batting was able to get away from Durham but I don’t expect them to do that here and with Bresnan in at six it isn’t the longest line up in the world so the home side will need to win this with their bowlers. They are perfectly capable of that of course but there are holes in the attack that Northants can pick apart.
Northants have won all three of their away games against Yorkshire and at even money I’ll take them to extend that record to four wins from four.
Tips
WON – Back Glamorgan to beat Somerset for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
Back them here:
Back Kent to beat Essex for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfred
Back them here:
WON – Back Nottinghamshire to beat Birmingham Bears for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Ladbrokes
Back them here:
Back Northamptonshire to beat Yorkshire for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Skybet
Back them here:
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