There is a full round of NatWest T20 Blast matches on Friday night as both groups begin to take shape and we get a feel for the sides who are in form and likely to push on and those who aren’t in a perfect place and who could struggle to maintain contact with the top end of their group tables.
All eyes will be on the Roses clash which is on TV but there are seven other matches in the two groups on a busy night of T20 action. As ever we’ll begin with the TV game.
Lancashire vs Yorkshire
The defending champions haven’t started their title defence as they would have liked having lost their opening two matches and lost them pretty emphatically too it must be said so they need to win this even more than they would normally need to win a Roses match.
It hasn’t gone much better from the start for Yorkshire either. They were well beaten by Leicestershire in their first match of the tournament and then on Thursday night we saw them taken care of by Worcestershire so this is a battle of two sides who are in desperate need of a win.
Lancashire have some big names at their disposal for this match with overseas duo Martin Guptill and Neil Wagner included in a squad which contains Jos Buttler and Alviro Petersen but if it is star names we’re looking for the biggest of them all is in the Yorkshire side as Joe Root has been made available.
This is one of those matches where I feel the bowling attack will win the day and I’m with Lancashire in that regard. We saw Yorkshire’s attack offer nothing against Worcestershire last night and that doesn’t bode well and it is never easy to back up a T20 game the following night after playing the last game and even more so when you lose. Lancashire haven’t been brilliant this season but they can kick themselves into life here.
North Group – Non TV Matches
The other three matches in the North Group on Friday night see the two unbeaten sides Northamptonshire and Worcestershire going at it at Wantage Road while Birmingham Bears host the Durham Jets. Derbyshire host Leicestershire in the other match.
I don’t see a lot between Northamptonshire and Worcestershire this season and with both playing good cricket the odds are probably about right. If I give an edge to anyone it would probably be to Northants with home advantage and with Worcestershire playing on Thursday and having to back that up but it isn’t enough of an edge to merit a bet.
Birmingham Bears were brought down to earth by the Worcestershire Royals last week and they’ll be looking to bounce back against Durham on Friday night. This is a Durham side who head to Edgbaston in good nick having seen off Lancashire and Nottinghamshire since they were beaten by Worcestershire on the opening night. Again there could be some value in the visitors here but again the margins aren’t high enough to merit a punt.
I am going to get involved in the midlands derby though and it is the former champions Leicestershire who interest me. Derbyshire have a win and a defeat from their two matches in the tournament so far but the concerning thing for me was how many runs they shelled against Northants last time out and how easily they did it.
Leicestershire have also lost to Northants this season but they bounced back to beat Yorkshire convincingly in their last match and I like the look of them going into this one. They have a solid and deep batting line up and the variety they have with the ball should really help them too.
This is another game where the bowling attack could win the day and I would back the Leicestershire attack over the Derbyshire one so at odds against the Foxes are a simple enough call in this match.
South Group – Non TV Matches
There are four matches in the South Group too on Friday night. Kent look to bounce back from their defeat on Thursday night when they host a Gloucestershire side who picked up a win on Thursday. Somerset host Essex at Taunton while Hampshire go to Glamorgan buoyed by their win on Thursday night. Sussex host Surrey in the other game.
I’m reluctant to get involved in any match that involves a side who played the night before. The ups and downs and rollercoaster rides that T20 provides makes it so hard to back up the following day so the Kent/Gloucestershire and Glamorgan/Hampshire matches are off the charts betting wise.
I can see why people would favour Essex at Taunton but you can’t defend that ground at the best of times let alone with the two batting line ups on show there so until the toss has been made and we know who is batting first that isn’t really a betting proposition either.
The other game is though. Our pre-tournament pick Sussex have won both their matches so far and have put up tons of runs and bowled pretty well in both matches and that is a combination that can see off a Surrey side who are yet to convince in the competition.
Surrey edged over the line against Essex in their first match before getting destroyed by Glamorgan last time out and you have to fear for this Surrey batting line up against this top quality looking Sussex attack. Even allowing for Dwayne Bravo’s arrival Surrey could struggle with the bat particularly if the demons of the 93 all out from their last match return.
Surrey are better with the ball than the bat but Azhar Mahmood is a big loss in that department and while Bravo accommodates the loss they probably needed Bravo on top of what they had rather than replacing someone. Sussex have no such injury or balance issues. They look really good right now and I fancy them to pick up a third win here.
Tips
WON – Back Lancashire to beat Yorkshire for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Ladbrokes
Back them here:
Back Leicestershire to beat Derbyshire for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
Back them here:
Back Sussex to beat Surrey for a 4/10 stake at 1.81 with Unibet
Back them here:
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