The Vitality Blast continues with another full set of fixtures on Friday evening as the two groups begin to wander towards the halfway stage of the competition with eight matches taking place up and down the country.
Although the T20 World Cup is going on at the minute, we have got a match on TV to enjoy among the eight taking place on Friday night. If you have a bet on any of the others and want to watch it you’ll be able to do so on the live stream offered up by the home county.
North Group
It is from the incredibly congested North Group where the TV match comes from on Friday evening as the cameras head to Wantage Road for the match between Northamptonshire and Worcestershire, two sides who have started their campaign positively. It is the Birmingham Bears who are the only undefeated side in the group though and they head to Old Trafford to take on the leaders Lancashire in a battle of the top two. Leicestershire got their T20 season off to a good start but came unstuck in their second game and they’ll be looking for a second win when they host a Durham side who haven’t turned up in their opening two matches. Derbyshire host a worrying weak looking Nottinghamshire in the other game.
South Group
Surrey are blazing the early trail in the South Group and they will be looking to extend their early form when they welcome Sussex to The Oval. The champions Somerset looked good in their first game but came a cropper to Surrey in their second one and they head to a Kent side who also have a win and a defeat on their record. Glamorgan sit in second spot in the table after their win at Lord’s on Thursday night and they go to Chelmsford to take on an Essex side who got back on track last time out after defeat to Somerset in their first game. Two sides with a win and a defeat to their name meet in Bristol when Gloucestershire go up against Hampshire.
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TV Match Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets in the TV game with the first coming in the form of the performance line of David Willey. That line is 42.5 which for an all-rounder who will open the bowling, bowl at the death, bat at three and then be in some key fielding positions as captain of the side just looks way too low. In the two matches Northamptonshire have played so far Willey has already scored 79 against Nottinghamshire and he has taken a wicket in both games. The Worcestershire top order has failed twice in the three matches and with Willey remaining one of the better white ball cricketers in England I think he can cover this line here.
It looks like Coral haven’t noticed that Ed Pollock opened for Worcestershire in the absence of Brett D’Oliviera on Thursday night and while the Rapids captain has been named in the squad for this one he was ruled out with a shoulder issue on Thursday so something extravagant is going to have to have happened for him to have recovered in 24 hours to compete in this one. Should he not play then Pollock will open again and 7/1 on any opening batter in a T20 is a profitable position long-term. Even if D’Oliviera does play Pollock will potentially bat at six so there is still top scoring potential but just in case Worcestershire are unchanged I’ll take the price on Pollock leading the visiting run charts.
Other Match Betting
I like a couple of bets elsewhere on the evening where I can’t ignore the odds against on Derbyshire to beat Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire generally win this match but the Derbyshire captain Samit Patel could be the difference this time around. He’ll know which plans he needs against the gun Outlaws batters and he’ll be able to advise his batters on how to play the Nottinghamshire bowlers. The simple fact though is Nottinghamshire’s batting looks incredibly light and once they are three down there hasn’t been any resistance in their matches to date. Notts also have the issue of having played on Thursday and having to go again less than 24 hours later. Derbyshire looked a light undercooked against Northamptonshire in their opener but then they held themselves together in a good run chase in the second game against Leicestershire and are overpriced to follow that up here.
The other bet that I like comes in the match between Essex and Glamorgan down at Chelmsford where the 42.5 boundaries line looks very low. There isn’t much in either of these attacks perhaps with the exception of Simon Harmer and I expect the runs to flow in this one and the boundaries in particular. Both of these sides have explosive top sixes and even the number sevens can hit a long ball. Essex have played three times this season and conceded over 195 twice while Glamorgan have leaked runs as well. This has all the makings of another high scoring game where this boundary line can be comfortably covered.
Tips
Back D.Willey’s Performance – Over 42.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back E.Pollock Top Worcestershire Batter for a 1/10 stake at 8.00 with Coral
Back Derbyshire to beat Nottinghamshire for a 3/10 stake at 2.20 with William Hill
Back them here:
Back Essex vs Glamorgan – Over 42.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
