We are heading towards the real business end of the Vitality Blast group phase and we get closer towards the end with one match in the competition on Saturday evening when Gloucestershire take on the 2021 champions Kent.
The Ashes is dominating the TV schedule at the minute but this match has been scheduled for once play finishes which means that we do have TV coverage of this game to continue a day of wall-to-wall cricket.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Cricket channel after the Test match coverage has concluded. The short build-up begins at 6.55pm ahead of the first ball being bowled at 7pm.
Gloucestershire
This has been a weird season overall for Gloucestershire but particularly in the Vitality Blast. When you looked at their squad at the beginning of the competition it looked to be missing a couple of key components which has made them so successful in recent years. The first thing that they appear to be lacking is a middle order batter who can take the innings by the scruff of the neck and they are probably lacking a top class bowler in their unit too.
That has played out in their results where they have three wins from their seven matches and have taken a couple of hefty beatings along the way. You sense the best hope Gloucestershire have is to be on a tacky wicket and hope that the number of all-rounders they have at their disposal can see a couple contribute enough to keep them competitive and then for the team to hold their nerve when it matters. It wouldn’t be the prettiest way to do things but it might be all they have.
Kent
After a bit of a shambolic title defence a year ago, Kent haven’t exactly been much more convincing this time around either. They lost five of their first six matches this season and looked to be heading towards another disappointing campaign but they have suddenly come to life, winning their last two matches in emphatic fashion and if they can find a third victory on the spin they will head into the latter stages of the group part of the competition in position to launch a qualifying tilt.
The key to the two recent wins has been coming alive with the bat. If we are being critical of them still then they are still giving up too much with the ball and that might be their ultimate undoing but they stack the side with batting depth and that at least allows them to play the modern way with them batting on the front foot at all times. Kent are in that position no teams want to be in in that they have to back up a performance from the night before which is never easy.
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Key Players
You would imagine if Gloucestershire are going to win this match then the new ball and death spells of David Payne are going to be crucial. He is the one who can keep things in check in the powerplay and then bring things back at the end.
Daniel Bell-Drummond could blow that Gloucestershire plan out of the window if he gets going. He is hitting the ball extremely clean this season and if he can get himself in then Kent will have a brilliant platform to launch from.
Betting
This isn’t an easy game to bet on for a couple of reasons. There is no consistency to the Gloucestershire play to form a pattern with regards to what to expect from them and that has been even more muddied with the news that they have changed captain during the week off. That sort of move halfway through the season speaks of a team who are in a bit of a mess really. The other reason why it isn’t an easy one to bet on is because Kent, who are worthy favourites having already demolished Gloucestershire in the reverse meeting, are backing up a performance from the night before.
I’m not going to bet on the outcome but I don’t see Kent winning this if they don’t get off to a fast start with the bat so rather than take Kent to win the match I will side with them to clear 51.5 runs in their opening six overs. Kent were only chasing 114 in that reverse fixture so they could afford a slow start but they were still 55/1 after six overs and I think it is fair to say the form of Bell-Drummond and Joe Denly has improved since then. Gloucestershire had all their main bowlers on the park in that match so having already covered this line and improved since they did it I like Kent to cover here.
Tips
Back Kent – Over 51.5 runs in first six overs for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with Betway
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