The TV action in the Vitality Blast continues on Thursday evening when the first London derby of the campaign takes place at Lord’s where Middlesex will be looking to get off to a winning start when they host the tournament favourites Surrey.
This will be the first game of the season for Surrey and with them already clear in the Championship, they will be looking to set up a shot at a potential second trophy for the season in the domestic T20 over the coming weeks.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Cricket channel with the build-up to it beginning at 6pm and the first ball to be bowled at 6.15pm.
Middlesex
I think it is fair to say that Middlesex have had a bit of an all or nothing history with this competition. They either win it or they offer very little in it and they will be hoping that they can start well in their quest to deliver on the former rather than the latter. Middlesex have the age old issues to solve for them in that the lack of availability of Lord’s for this competition sees them heading to outgrounds where the outcomes are often in the lap of the toss of a coin, so the men in pink will be eager to make full use of Lord’s here.
Middlesex began last season in acceptable fashion but still couldn’t come close to qualifying for the quarter final and will certainly be out to build on their four wins last term. With Chris Green and Jason Behrendorff not back and Pieter Malan not exactly known for T20 pyrotechnics it will be interesting to see what Middlesex can offer. They do have a decent enough seam attack but their batting looks incredibly light unless a youngster can deliver a big showing.
Surrey
Surrey went into the tournament as the favourites to win it. Their squad list looks like a who’s who of the domestic game and they might feel that this is their best chance to win the tournament in quite some time when you consider that there is no England white ball cricket at any stage in the competition. That is often what catches them out at the business end of this event but they can have no excuses in that department this time around.
Surrey were quarter finalists in the competition last year and are probably still wondering how they threw a place at finals day away. Sunil Narine has returned as one overseas player while Sean Abbott looks an appealing second overseas option. Surrey have contributed plenty of players to England in this format of the game recently and the majority of them are available for this match so they should be heading across the river in buoyant mood.
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Key Players
Steven Eskinazi was part of the Perth Scorchers setup which won the Big Bash League over the winter. That has earned him the Middlesex captaincy for the season and a deal in The Hundred. He’ll be out to show why here.
There will probably be a lot of eyes on Jason Roy here with news that he is set to give up his England contract to become a franchise player. He could do with a few runs to take the heat away from that and the focus to be on his cricket.
Betting
I have to say I expect Surrey to dominate this match but the odds and the handicap line are just about skewed enough in their favour to put me off backing them considering that this is a derby match and it is the opening game of the season for both teams. I just can’t believe there is enough in this Middlesex bowling unit to contain what looks like a rampant Surrey top order with Jason Roy back from the IPL and Will Jacks back from injury.
The only thing to work out with a Surrey win in mind is how to fully capitalise on it where we are getting paid out reasonably without betting the house on them and I think the best way to do it is to back them to cover 52.5 runs in their opening six overs with the bat. I expect Surrey to come out swinging whether they are setting a score or chasing one and it is isn’t like Middlesex can open with extreme pace or with mystery spin so Roy, Jacks and potentially Sam Curran, Laurie Evans or Sunil Narine or whoever else might come in at three can tee off. There hasn’t been any rain around Lord’s for a week or so therefore I expect perfect batting conditions and a big powerplay score from Surrey.
Tips
Back Surrey – Over 52.5 runs in first six overs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
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