The last set of matches in the Vitality Blast prior to the two week break for the mid-season Championship action takes place on Friday evening where we have a full set of fixtures across both of the groups.
Even though England are in action in the T20 World Cup on Friday afternoon, there is still a TV match for us to enjoy once that contest has finished. As always, the other matches will be live to watch via the live stream provided by the home county.
North Group
The leaders Lancashire are not in action on Friday night so the Birmingham Bears have the chance to move to the top of the table when they make the short trip to New Road to take on their rivals Worcestershire. Two teams are on eight points behind the top two and a pair of them meet at Wantage Road where Northamptonshire play host to Leicestershire. The other team on that tally are Yorkshire and they will looking to back up their Roses win with a trip to Durham. Two of the bottom three meet in the other game when Nottinghamshire host Derbyshire.
South Group
Surrey are now out in front in the South Group after their capital win on Thursday evening and they will look to stay at the summit when they host a Glamorgan side whose form has left them in the last couple of games. The champions Somerset are in second place in the group and they go to Bristol to take on Gloucestershire on Friday evening. Sussex are in third and they will be on show in the TV game where they face their arch rivals Hampshire in ‘El Coastico’ at the Utilita Bowl. The other match in the group sees Kent hosting Essex in a big game for the home side.
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TV Match Betting
It is fair to say that Sussex don’t have the best record away to Hampshire having lost their last three trips to Southampton in this competition but this looks like a much better and stronger in depth Sussex side this season whereas Hampshire are missing a couple of genuine batters in their middle order and are having to rely on their lower order a little too often for liking. That has put a bit of pressure on their bowlers and you would have to say that unit hasn’t coped having shipped 241/5 and 170/2 in 16.5 overs in their last two full outings. You can argue that the rain hasn’t helped Hampshire but they have to be better with the ball than that. The issue then comes in the form of the fact that those bowlers will be meeting arguably the two most in form openers in the competition. You could certainly make a case that the Sussex attack isn’t going great in terms of runs they are conceding but Hampshire being a batter light might negate that. Usually Hampshire get off to flying starts but with neither James Vince or Ben McDermott averaging 20 this season and a top score of 46 between them if Sussex can continue to keep them quiet they can finally end this poor run on this ground.
That Hampshire lower order has been bailed out a couple of times by James Fuller this season. He was smashing the Essex attack all around Chelmsford on Thursday evening and he is now the second highest scorer in this competition for Hampshire this term so you would have to think that the 18/1 on him top scoring in this encounter is a little on the big side. With Ollie Robinson picking up wickets with the new ball and Tymal Mills operating in the middle overs a bit more the innings might be set up for Fuller to deliver a big impression once again. I’ll pay to see how he goes at the prices.
Other Match Betting
The other two bets that I like over the course of the evening come in the North Group where to be fair to Northamptonshire they are going along nicely but an aging side having to play back-to-back days and after a pummelling at Edgbaston on Thursday evening isn’t exactly ideal and they might feel that on what is going to be a hot day on Friday. They go up against the opposite in Leicestershire. The Foxes are a pretty young team who didn’t have to play on Thursday evening so they will be fresh. In an ideal world Rehan Ahmed would be available for the visitors but Wantage Road doesn’t spin too much anyway so I’m still happy to get involved in the fresher side in this match.
The other bet I like is for Derbyshire to beat Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire have now won a match in this competition but there is no guarantee that they would have completed the chase against Worcestershire last week had the rain not come. Derbyshire have already demolished Nottinghamshire once in this competition and while Liam Patterson-White is bringing some better balance to the Outlaws side, I still think they are worth taking on here. Derbyshire have Samit Patel returning to Trent Bridge and he’ll know conditions well while Pat Brown is the second leading wicket taker in the competition. Nottinghamshire look like a side missing a number of players from previous seasons and so at even money I’ll take Derbyshire to get the better of them.
Tips
Back Sussex to beat Hampshire for a 3/10 stake at 2.30 with Bet365
Back J.Fuller Top Hampshire Batter for a 1/10 stake at 19.00 with Betfred
Back Leicestershire to beat Northamptonshire for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
Back Derbyshire to beat Nottinghamshire for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Boylesports
Back them here:
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