We have one match in the Vitality Blast on Monday evening as two of the three joint leaders in the South Group of the competition battle it out when Essex host Somerset as we close in on the latter stages of the first phase of the tournament.
Both teams are looking good to reach the quarter final of the event but the winner here will go top of the table with matches running out and will be in position to host their last eight clash, in theory enhancing their chances of going to finals day. There is no TV coverage of this one so we’ll need to load up the county live stream.
Essex
This has been a very acceptable campaign in the main for Essex. They have won seven and lost just two of their nine matches and when they get it right they are a very tough nut to crack. At one stage this season Essex were 2-2 for their campaign but they have won five matches on the trot since then and head into this one in great form. One thing they will know is that one of the two matches they have lost was the reverse meeting between these two so that might focus their attention a little more.
Essex are in that position where they have to back up a performance from the previous day one day on but they do have the slightly different advantage that their Sunday game was an afternoon one so they have had a few extra hours to recover. In the two defeats Essex have had they scored 96 and 139 but in all seven wins they have piled on the runs so they are going to need their batters to be on it here. They have bowled pretty well all season so they have that part of it covered.
Somerset
Somerset have been the pacesetters in the South Group for much of the campaign but after winning their opening six matches they have now lost two of their last three and have been caught by both Surrey, who were the most recent team to beat them on Friday night, and Essex, although they sit above both in the table on net run rate. They have the chance to kick clear of the pair of them again here but will need their best stuff to achieve it.
There is a feeling that injuries are just beginning to catch up with Somerset, especially with the ball with Peter Siddle being a huge loss having suffered an injury earlier in the campaign. Somerset certainly don’t lack for firepower with the bat, which might be no bad thing on this tiny Chelmsford ground, and they might need all of it here, especially with Craig Overton also sitting this match to deplete their bowling attack further.
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Key Players
Daniel Sams has been in good touch with the bat and the ball in this recent burst of wins for Essex and if he comes off with either of them here then his side are going to be in a good position. If he comes off with both they will be very hard to beat.
Will Smeed has the credentials and the ability to blow any game for cricket open for his side. The way he goes about his business if he is still at the crease at the midway point of the Somerset innings they will be looking very good indeed.
Betting
If Essex weren’t coming off the back of a performance on Sunday then I would be all over them here on home soil and on the sort of run that they are on. They recently beat Somerset on this ground in the Championship as well so there is a lot to like about the hosts here, not least with Somerset coming off the edge of their form at the minute. I hate backing sides who have played the day before though so I’m going to go to a fairly obvious side market for a bet here.
That comes in the form of the sixes where the line is just 13.5 for this match. There were nine sixes on a tricky pitch in the reverse meeting between these two where 150 was the highest score so the scope is there for more sixes here, not least because Somerset have started leaking a few too many runs for comfort since then, which coincides with the injury to Peter Siddle in that time. Both batting units are very strong and very deep when it comes to big hitters and they are in good form too. The four matches on this ground this season have yielded 17, 17, 11 and 16 sixes with the 11 being against Sussex who are useless. I like the over here.
Tips
Back Over 13.5 sixes for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
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