The NatWest T20 Blast is back on our screens on Wednesday evening when Kent take on Hampshire in the South Group for the second time this season. Hampshire edged out the Spitfires at the Ageas Bowl last week but Kent will know they should have won that match. They will be aiming for revenge here.
Kent
Kent got off the mark in fine style this season with an emphatic win against Somerset but they have suffered back to back defeats since then and will be desperately looking for a second win that gets them right back in the mix here. This group is so tight that back to back wins can do wonders for whoever gets it.
Kent’s batting line up is very strong and it is very rare they won’t chase a total down which I suspect is what will have annoyed them the most last week particularly as they looked to be cruising at one point. Their bowling does look a little suspect at times though which is a concern.
Hampshire
We are used to Hampshire dominating this format and really kicking on and being certainties to qualify but they have got off to a sluggish start this season and can’t really afford another defeat here else they will start to be cut adrift particularly with the early damage to their run rate.
Part of Hampshire’s success in the past has been the quality of their bowling attack. Chris Wood was very good at the death and they used to squeeze hard in the middle overs but Danny Briggs has been allowed to leave and for some reason Mason Crane hasn’t been playing in this format of the game.
Team News
Tom Latham has been added to the side which lost the match at the Ageas Bowl last week. This isn’t necessarily his format but he might get a game here with Kent just leaking a little bit too much with the ball. With that leakage they might counter it with a deeper batting line up. Mitchell Claydon and Adam Riley remain injured which isn’t ideal.
Hampshire are without James Vince for this match as he is now with the England Test squad and it isn’t yet clear if Michael Carberry is fit after he missing the Royal London One Day Cup match on Tuesday. Shahid Afridi and Darren Sammy are available though.
St Lawrence Ground
There has only been one match in Canterbury this season and it was a high scoring game with both Kent and Somerset making 190+ and I’m expecting something similar here. The wicket here is usually good for batting in these matches. Kent charge an arm and a leg to get in so the least they need to do is provide a wicket which makes for good cricket.
Boundaries here are generally pretty accessible especially down the hill and with that stupid looking thing Sky are carting around with them for these matches we can expect a very short boundary somewhere and that should keep the runs ticking over nicely.
Betting
Every now and then matches come along which I really like the look of from a betting point of view and that I can really attack with a little bit of freedom and this is one of those occasions. It helps that I’m a Hampshire fan and generally have a decent feel for them but I was at the reverse fixture last week and hopefully I can put what I learned there into good use here.
Hampshire’s injuries and absences are beginning to mount up and you get the feeling they are beginning to live on the edge a little bit and if Michael Carberry does miss out here then that isn’t going to help at all. Kent might be missing a bowler in Claydon but by and large they’re in a decent position personnel wise.
Those injuries mean I have to oppose Hampshire here. Kent surprisingly lost their way in their run chase last week but I don’t expect lightning to strike twice in that regard and I’m not sure this ground is easily defendable anyway so that would benefit Kent who would surely chase if given the chance while Hampshire would probably bat first.
Either way with no Vince and potentially no Carberry and certainly no Chris Wood either this is a different Hampshire side to the ones we’ve seen dominate this group in the past and I’m against them here.
I’m also against them at the top of the order too where Vince is definitely missing and if Carberry is too Hampshire will have a totally brand new opening partnership for this game. Their opening partnerships in the tournament to date have been 12 vs Middlesex, 19 vs Kent and 30 against Glamorgan in which the absent Vince accounted for two thirds of those runs.
Kent are the complete opposite. They are settled with their opening pairing. Already in this tournament Daniel Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly have put together opening partnerships of 150 vs Somerset and 75 against Hampshire which was enough to win by 56 runs. I don’t see that gap being bridged here so I’ll take Kent for the highest opening partnership here.
My final main bet will come in the form of the sixes where 9.5 looks a low line to me. It has been covered in three of the last four matches between the two on this ground and the time it wasn’t covered there was exactly nine when one of the sides made just 123. I don’t expect either to be shot out so quickly here.
A quick look through both sides will show us that in Carberry if he plays, Ervine, Sammy, Afridi, Dawson, Stevens, Blake, Billings and even Matt Coles we have some of the cleanest hitters of a cricket ball in the game on show here and even then David Griffiths struck one of the sweetest sixes I’ve seen in some time last week. You wouldn’t call either bowling attack strong so I’m expecting sixes to come regularly.
Lastly I’m going to chance one in the Top Hampshire Batsman market just in case Michael Carberry doesn’t play. If he doesn’t play then Jimmy Adams will need an opening partner. I don’t see Adam Wheater going up to do the job and there isn’t really a regular in the team apart from one player who could do the role. It might be that one of the youngsters gets thrown in at the deep end but at the same time it is a role Shahid Afridi is accustomed to and he might get the job instead.
Afridi is a brutal hitter of a cricket ball anyway and even if he doesn’t open no score is going to be beyond him if he bats for half a dozen or so overs but if he does get that job of opening and he gets in and gets some shots away he could set a total that isn’t for catching at the earliest opportunity. Either way Afridi is a threat here so the 11/1 on him top scoring is a really risky price from Paddy Power. One I’m happy to take them on with.
Tips
WON – Back Kent to beat Hampshire for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
Back them here:
WON – Back Over 9.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 2.15 with Coral
Back them here:
WON – Back Kent Highest Opening Partnership for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Paddy Power
Back S.Afridi Top Hampshire Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 12.00 with Paddy Power
Back them here:
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