It's another big and exciting week of action this week in the English Twenty20 Blast competition with the teams in the North and South groups battling away for the points that will become valuable with the top 4 from each group reaching the quarter-finals with the group stages ending in late July and matches taking place on a weekly basis, as always with the majority of games on a Friday (8 this week) while another 2 games are played on Thursday as we have a slightly earlier start to the round.
Right then it's time for me to look ahead to the action in this round of the T20 Blast:
Thursday 19th June:
Warwickshire Vs Northamptonshire - This should be a tight game, and is also an important one with only 2 points separating the 2 teams but in all forms of Cricket Northamptonshire have been on a downward spiral in the last month having won their first 2 T20 games, while Warwickshire have won 3 of their 4 games since an early no result. On paper Warwickshire also have a better team and certainly a stunning bowling attack for T20 which with a Northamptonshire batting line-up which has been shaky in the championship and a little of the T20. Form and momentum is certainly with Warwickshire who all things considered shape up as a very good T20 side.
Prediction: Warwickshire
Leicestershire Vs Nottinghamshire - This one should really be a very one-sided contest between one side that is very good in one-day Cricket and one side that is incredibly poor in all formats. Results don't necessarily reflect how good Notts are so far with 2 wins from 5, but Leicestershire have only had 1 win from 5 and look right now to be one of the weakest of the 18 counties in the overall competition. Notts have been building some batting momentum in the Championship so should be making a better effort of their T20 games based on that and they really need to start building some wins if they are to make the quarter-finals where they belong, while Leicestershire will be battling for the North Group wooden spoon.
Prediction: Nottinghamshire
Friday 20th July:
Glamorgan Vs Surrey - This should be a very entertaining game between 2 pretty even sides with Surrey having 3 wins from 5 games and Glamorgan having 3 from 6 with a no result and a tie. In their last games Surrey thrashed Sussex by 10 wickets while Glamorgan played out a dramatic tie with Kent where there was a run out with Kent needing 1 to win the game from the last ball. Surrey have the team that is better suited to T20 Cricket than Glamorgan and with no side having greater form or momentum than the other then that will probably be what it comes down to on the day.
Prediction: Surrey
Kent Vs Sussex - Sussex have been on the wrong end of some absolute hidings this year in the T20 Cricket, namely in their last match against Surrey while Kent have had the mixed bag you'd expect from a team that has a large mixture of experience and young stars. Sussex have only won a staggering 2 of their 7 games so far, which is very poor from a side you'd usually describe as a good one-day side. Kent have managed 3 wins and a tie from their 6 games and currently sit inside the top 4 of the South group and having had a larger break since their last T20 game, home advantage and a great deal more momentum than Sussex, Kent have to be good favourites to win this game. The only question is how will they recover having clutched a tie out of the jaws of victory against Glamorgan last week?
Prediction: Kent.
Essex Vs Middlesex - In this clash it's top against bottom in the South Group as Essex have had 5 very good wins this season from their 6 matches, only losing to 2nd placed Hampshire and they've already beaten Middlesex this season at Lord's. Meanwhile, Middlesex grabbed their first win of the competition tonight against Somerset which comes off the back of 6 straight T20 defeats, and that win should give them a little bit of confidence but not quite the confidence that Essex have. Not only do they have an incredibly solid line-up from top to bottom, Essex have always had a very good record in T20 games at Chelmsford and they will be looking to make their home a fortress again this year. Can't see all that much chance of a Middlesex win but T20 is always a bit of a lottery.
Prediction: Essex
Hampshire Vs Gloucestershire - The couldn't be a much bigger difference between these 2 sides coming into this contest with Hampshire sitting very pretty in this competition while Gloucestershire are in a very poor position. So far Hampshire have all of the momentum having only lost one of their 5 games since their opening match loss to Glamorgan and that was last week against Somerset by a single run. Meanwhile Gloucestershire only have 2 wins from 6 and really have no momentum to speak of having been thumped by Essex last week. Gloucestershire also have a much much poorer side than Hampshire who have looked a quality one-day outfit for a number of years and at the Ageas Bowl they are even harder to beat and Gloucestershire's hard task is made infinitely tougher.
Prediction: Hampshire
Durham Vs Leicestershire - Things went from bad to worse on Thursday against Nottinghamshire for Leicestershire as they succumbed to yet another defeat which means they only have one win from 6 games and continue to look very poor with a bowling line-up that can't fire or even restrict with a batting line-up that really only has 3 big players. Durham at home should be massive favourites then to win this game though they have struggled slightly only seeing 2 victories from 5 games but they certainly look to have a better side than Leicestershire and a win in this match could really get them back on track after a couple of recent defeats.
Prediction: Durham
Worcestershire Vs Warwickshire - Worcestershire have looked incredibly good this season only losing 2 of their first 7 games finding themselves top of the North Group and with the wind in their sails in all formats of the game. However, the absence of Moeen Ali again could make things interesting while Saeed Ajmal is certainly their key man. Warwickshire though are now up to 3rd in the table after beating Northamptonshire by 8 wickets after a fantastic bowling display once again and that could well be the deciding factor in this game as Worcestershire look decent all-round while Warwickshire have a very good bowling attack that could definetly restrict Worcestershire and restrict them to a very makeable score for their decent batting line-up. They should be able to take the momentum from a win the day before to give the group leaders a really good go.
Prediction: Warwickshire
Nottinghamshire Vs Derbyshire - Having beaten a very poor Leicestershire side on Thursday night, Nottinghamshire are back up to 5th in the North group with a much needed confidence boost there taking them onto 3 wins from 6 matches. Meanwhile, Derbyshire lost to Nottinghamshire at home a couple of weeks ago, and have lost 5 of their 6 matches with the other being a no result as they sit rock bottom of the North Group. As always Trent Bridge is a very tough place to go, especially against a Notts side as strong as this when you have very little confidence yourselves. I can only see one winner here.
Prediction: Nottinghamshire
Lancashire Vs Northamptonshire - Northamptonshire suffered a heavy loss on Thursday night by 8 wickets with 4 overs to spare against Warwickshire while Lancashire are only 2nd in the North Group on net run rate with 5 wins from 7 games putting them level on points with Worcestershire. After winning their opening 2 games Northamptonshire have not won since and have really struggled for form and I think they will continue to struggle simply because they have no momentum in any form of Cricket and the club must be incredibly downbeat and really lacking in confidence privately ahead of games like these. This game may also see the return of Andrew Flintoff which will be a huge boost for the home crowd if it happens and it could be a factor that will push Lancashire on to victory in this match.
Prediction: Lancashire
So, it should be another great week of T20 Blast action with another couple of matches on Sky Sports for Cricket fans to enjoy alongside the England Test match and I'm sure all of the fans heading to a county ground near them will be treated to some more exciting cricket. I'll be back at the same time next week for another T20 Blast Preview and I hope you've enjoyed this weeks offering.
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