The last quarter final to begin in the Vitality Blast does so at the Ageas Bowl where the champions Hampshire will look to make it back to finals day once again when they play host to former winners Worcestershire.
Hampshire finished the group stage with a flourish to pinch second spot on the final day and secure a first home quarter final in 10 years. Worcestershire rode a rough spell in the middle to finish third and achieve their last eight spot. It is the county stream if you want to watch this one.
Hampshire
When you consider that Hampshire have been to finals day for the past two seasons, you would think that they know everything that is about to come at them here in terms of pressure and expectation. In all, Hampshire have been to finals day on nine occasions so they are veterans of this particular rodeo and as is often the case with them the longer this campaign has gone on the better they have looked. Suddenly they look the team to beat.
If there is a concern it would be that Hampshire might be a little too reliant on their opening batters but they are getting a few more middle and lower order contributions now so that isn’t the issue it was earlier in the season. Where the defending champions are particularly strong though is with the ball. There is no weak link in the Hampshire attack this season so it is hard to get them away. They also have an elite death bowler who knows how to hold his nerve should this get tight.
Worcestershire
When you consider the level of player that has left New Road in the last season or two and the injuries they have had to navigate this season, it is already a fine effort for the Rapids to be in this quarter final. Just because they have made it this far perhaps against the odds doesn’t really mean that they are not under pressure here. They know the winner of this match faces Essex in the semi-final at finals day and there is a chance to reach the final.
Worcestershire have gone very well with the bat this term. That has been the surprise really because there is no Moeen Ali from previous seasons while Ed Barnard was always handy down the order too. It would be a surprise if Worcestershire don’t come up with the goods with the bat in this match but whether they have the tools with the ball remains to be seen. Teams have got away from them in the powerplay and it isn’t always easy to rein this Hampshire team in should that happen again.
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Key Players
James Vince is the leading scorer in the Vitality Blast once again and when a big match comes along he nearly always delivers for Hampshire. He isn’t just capable of winning matches with the bat but also as a captain too and that is important.
If Worcestershire are going to win this match then they are going to need to deliver the goods with the bat in the middle overs and if that is going to happen you would think Adam Hose would need to offer something significant.
Betting
I think this quarter final is all about Hampshire and it might be that in home conditions they win easily but where I think we can get them onside without risking a monster stake to make a few quid on a short price is for the home side to be past 50.5 runs when the sixth over of their batting effort has been completed. Hampshire are no strangers to going hard at the top of their batting innings knowing full well that they have someone like Liam Dawson batting at eight if all goes to plan.
That certainly helps when we require them to go after a target of 8.5 an over for the first six overs but the other thing that helps is the only Worcestershire seamer who isn’t going at more than nine an over this season is Dillon Pennington but even he can go the distance when he gets it wrong. It might be that there is an over of spin in the top six but spin is like a red rag to a bull for this Hampshire top order. The boundary is likely to be in for this match too because an Arctic Monkeys concert recently naffed up the outfield so that too will help the run scoring so I expect Hampshire to have brought their 50 up before the powerplay ends.
Tips
Back Hampshire first six overs – Over 50.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Betway
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