The Vitality T20 Blast continues on Saturday evening where we have our first TV game since the restart when two South Group rivals do battle at Hove when Sussex go up against Hampshire in a big game in the section.
Sussex move into third spot in the South Group table with a win on Friday night and are now targeting a place in the top two. Hampshire have seen the top four get away from them and really need to win this game in hand to keep up with them.
Where to watch
The Test match might have the coverage on TV throughout the day but this match is live after it has finished. The short build-up begins on Sky Sports Cricket around 6.45pm with the first ball being sent down at 7pm.
Sussex
Having reached finals day last season, Sussex were expected to push on this term, especially as they are a more settled squad this time around. They had a lot of players playing their first season for the club last year but now their players are much more knowledgeable and secure in their roles and that is showing on the field. They have won five of their seven completed matches and with just under half of the group to go they are very much eyeing up a top two finish and a home quarter final.
Sussex have generally gone pretty well with the bat in this competition this season but where they have sometimes fallen down has been with the ball. If teams are able to get through the new ball spell and the powerplay without losing too many wickets, they are able to get at this Sussex bowling unit in the middle overs and put up a daunting score. I suspect that Sussex don’t mind that though because they have incredible depth to their batting and will back themselves to put up big scores to counter that.
Hampshire
We are so used to seeing Hampshire in the top four of this table that it is a surprise when we get into the second half of the group phase and they are not in those positions. They failed to make the quarter final a year ago though and are in danger of this season heading in the same direction. Things actually looked much different when they won their opening three matches but they only have a washout to show from their last five games and seriously need to restart their campaign with a win.
Hampshire have always had a good bowling unit in this competition but the loss of Liam Dawson to England set them back a little bit. He is back now and the likes of Chris Wood, John Turner and Sonny Baker are all fit which bodes well. If there were concerns that Hampshire were fading tamely in this competition they were lifted when it was announced that Chris Lynn and Hilton Cartwright would be arriving for the final part of the group stage so we should expect a strong showing here.
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Key Players
Daniel Hughes is the man who can lead Sussex to big scores with the bat. That isn’t to say they fail when he does but he clearly gives all of those who come after him the freedom to play if he has got them off to a decent start.
James Vince is the equivalent for Hampshire. When he goes well they nearly always put up a big total and then hand it over to their bowlers to get the job done. Hampshire need a big innings from their captain in this one.
Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets for this match with the first of them being over 42.5 boundaries. The last two matches on this ground between these two sides have been high scoring and this Sussex batting unit are very adept in putting up big totals at home. They have scored 173, 166/8 and 195/4 here this season and you would expect the scoring to be in that ball park here too when you consider that Hampshire have conceded 180 and more in three of their last four matches. Hampshire might get a weaker Sussex bowling unit to go at here though because it is always uncertain whether Tymal Mills can play back-to-back days and Danny Lamb might be rested as he is only recently back from injury. Chris Lynn and Hilton Cartwright are big hitters added to the Hampshire batting so over 42.5 boundaries looks a good thing to me.
I’ll have a small play on James Fuller to top score for Hampshire in this match too. He is just too big at 20/1 even though he might come in one spot lower in the order with Cartwright in the ranks. This ground isn’t remotely big enough for Fuller to be contained and if one or two at the top have fluffed their lines then he might not be chasing a massive score when he arrives at the crease. There is a world where he doesn’t get to the crease but there is also one where he is shoved up the order to up the scoring rate. The price is just too much to ignore here.
Tips
Back Over 42.5 boundaries for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back J.Fuller Top Hampshire Batter for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 with Spreadex
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