There is a full round of NatWest T20 Blast matches on Friday as the competition begins to head towards the end of the group stage and for the 16 teams in action on what is a busy night of action the time for losing has near enough come to an end.
Among the eight matches on Friday we have a TV match which comes from The Oval and there are four games in each group so both tables are going to be hugely impacted. We’ll kick off the preview with the TV game.
Surrey vs Somerset
After being beaten by Gloucestershire and Kent respectively this week the last chance saloon is getting ever nearer for these two teams so that should ensure that this one is extremely competitive. Somerset haven’t been helped by the scheduler though given that they were playing in Taunton on Thursday night less than 24hrs before this one begins.
Surrey go into the match in really poor form in all competitions but in front of a sold out Oval with stars such as Jason Roy, Aaron Finch, Chris Morris and the Curran brothers at their disposal you would think they would never get a better chance to get a much needed win. Somerset aren’t in much better form it must be said.
I think Surrey will win this but I can’t be backing them at 8/11 in their current form. I’ll just let them win but there a couple of bets which are of interest here. Firstly I like Surrey to hit the most sixes. Roy, Finch, Sibley and the likes of Morris and both Currans can all hit a long ball but if you take Peter Trego out there isn’t what you would call an automatic big hitter in Somerset’s top order.
The quality of Surrey’s bowlers are high too so you don’t hit too many sixes against them especially on this wicket which plays nicely into their hands whereas Somerset are all a little samey with their pace men and that could be the difference. I think Surrey will clout the most sixes in this one.
If Somerset continue to struggle with the bat then this could be a chance for Roelof van der Merwe to top score down the order like we saw him do against Sussex right back at the start of the competition. He has shown he can smack it to all parts and with none of Somerset’s top order in great form and having to go up against a solid attack there is enough in the South African’s price to get involved.
Non TV Matches – South Group
The other three matches in the South see the top two in action as Gloucestershire host Kent at Bristol while Glamorgan head to Richmond to face Middlesex. Hampshire host Essex in the other match in the group.
I can’t really bet on the Middlesex vs Glamorgan match as Glamorgan were only playing on Thursday night so the schedule is against them but I’m not sure I want to take them on right now even with Middlesex having Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan back in their ranks. I do like the other two matches though.
Kent thrashed Somerset on Thursday night but we’ve seen time and again in this tournament that it isn’t easy to back up a performance the next night and that has to play into Gloucestershire’s hands. The leaders didn’t need anything to play in their hands of course because they are playing great cricket and have been mighty effective with it.
If you take Rabada out of Kent’s bowling attack you have to be concerned for them but Gloucestershire don’t really have a weak link. They are bowling well and batting nicely and even showed earlier in the week they can win without Michael Klinger contributing. I like them here.
I’m taking on Hampshire in the other match. The former champions have surrendered in this competition this season and have named a bunch of youngsters in their squad for the game so this is now a blooding kids for the future exercise rather than a try and win one.
Essex should be able to take full advantage of that with their batting strength and solid enough ability with the ball. I don’t know if bookmakers have seen the Hampshire squad or not but Essex should be much shorter here. They have two limited overs wins over Hampshire this season already and should complete the hat trick.
Non TV Games – North Group
The four matches in this group see Worcestershire hosting Lancashire at New Road, Leicestershire host Derbyshire at Grace Road, Yorkshire welcome Birmingham Bears to Headingley and Northamptonshire go up against Nottinghamshire at Wantage Road.
I don’t see much in the way of value in the matches at Leicester, Leeds or Northampton. If I was going to get involved in any of them it would be with Northamptonshire but with Nottinghamshire improving the value in the leaders might be a little skinny.
I do like one bet in that match though which comes in the total sixes. We all remember that crazy match between the two at Trent Bridge in the 50 over competition and it is interesting to see the Nottinghamshire coach place a big emphasis on big hitting in the preview for this match so I’m expecting both sides to go hard here.
Both teams have plenty of six hitters on show in their sides and while the boundaries at Wantage Road can be big they’re not big enough for some of the players competing in this match. I’m expecting another high scoring game here and 8.5 sixes doesn’t look like it is a high enough line to me.
The other bet I like in this group is Lancashire to beat Worcestershire. A couple of weeks ago Lancashire skittled Worcestershire for 53 in an emphatic win and while they batted awfully in the Roses match last week they have Jos Buttler back for this match now.
Worcestershire’s form has just started to dip in this tournament with them having lost their last three completed matches so even money on the visitors to continue their dominance over Worcestershire looks attractive enough to me.
Tips
WON – Back Surrey Most 6s vs Somerset for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Paddy Power
Back R.van der Merwe Top Somerset Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 18.00 with Paddy Power
Back them here:
Back Gloucestershire to beat Kent for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with Ladbrokes
Back them here:
WON – Back Essex to beat Hampshire for a 5/10 stake at 1.73 with Betfred
Back them here:
Back Northamptonshire vs Nottinghamshire – Over 8.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with Coral
Back it here:
WON – Back Lancashire to beat Worcestershire for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Boylesports
Back them here:
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Thank u sir in 5 matches 3 matches pass thank u