It's quarter-finals time of the English Domestic T20 Blast competition with 8 teams battling away for 4 places on the best day of the cricketing year in my opinion, T20 Finals day. Lancashire, Surrey, Essex and Nottinghamshire are the 4 sides that finished in the top 2 of their respective groups and gained home advantage against their opponents who finished lower down in the top 4 and are Glamorgan, Worcestershire, Warwickshire (or the Birmingham Bears if you must) and Hampshire which did come at some surprise as they always seem to do brilliantly and secure a home draw. I do have to take my hats off to Glamorgan and Worcestershire who are the 2 surprise packages of the South and North groups in making the quarter-finals and it just signals to me how well they play as a team and how much they've improved over the last year or so, especially Glamorgan who made the final of what was the 40 over competition last year. Essex have been particularly impressive despite losing their last 3 games they still finished top of the group such was their early dominance and Surrey finished a place below Essex and are an absolute powerhouse of a team especially at home so they are huge favourites to make finals day once again. I'm always very impressed by Nottinghamshire who I'm going to stick my neck out and say are the best one-day side in the country with the likes of Michael Lumb, Alex Hales, James Taylor, Samit Patel, Harry Gurney and possibly one of the most underrated county cricketers in Steven Mullaney who is a massive player for them. Finally, Lancashire were equally as impressive in running away with the North Group and to be honest with the sides there I expected them to qualify but not necessarily in such an emphatic way, though that may be the influence that Jos Buttler had for them in part and it will be interesting to see how they play without their newest premier finisher.
Now it's time to have a look ahead to each of the quarter-finals which are taking place over the weekend and are all on Sky Sports.
Friday 1st August: (Evening)
Lancashire Vs Glamorgan - This to me looks like one of the closest of the quarter-finals with Lancashire dominating in the North group with a good squad that was able to pick up a lot of momentum and perform pretty consistently throughout and home advantage for them is both fully deserved and will be fully utilised as I'm sure they'll prepare a pretty favourable pitch and their fans will be out in full force to try and cheer them to victory. At home Lancashire have been very solid and they are consistent performers in the one-day format making the quarter-finals last year too. Glamorgan meanwhile have been one of the surprise packages of T20 to come through a South group where to be honest there are probably 2 or 3 stronger teams on paper that finished below them. However as a team they've played very well and that's the important thing and often a team of top individuals won't always do as well because they won't have the same togetherness. They're also a very confident side and that probably stems from the Lord's final they made last year but came up short in and I think given the consistency of their performances throughout the south group they do have a good chance of victory here. The one time they seemed to fall short was when they played the really top and strong one-day sides like Essex or Surrey and Lancashire are in that same bracket which may give them a slight edge.
Prediction: Lancashire
Saturday 2nd August: (Afternoon)
Surrey Vs Worcestershire - Surrey, as I said earlier, have a team full of top class players who all seem to have come together in this competition and turned Surrey into complete powerhouses. Batting wise they've been brilliant and Jason Roy has been a stand out player for them in doing so. They have a lot of international and really good experienced players, with the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Gareth Batty adding a lot along with their overseas players. In my opinion they are a side that has performed very well at home and can easily run Worcestershire ragged in this match as The Oval is a really big ground and home advantage will play a huge role here as they are far more experienced in defending every corner of it. Worcestershire have been another surprise package with the help of Saeed Ajmal as their star player but in my view they will have to be right at the top of their game to have any chance of qualifying given their opponents. Like Glamorgan, Worcestershire aren't filled with stars but are confident and have played very well as a consistent unit but have also struggled against those big sides that just have something extra over them and that is exactly what Surrey have here.
Prediction: Surrey
Saturday 2nd August: (Evening)
Essex Vs Warwickshire - Following that Surrey/Worcestershire game is another intriguing game between Essex who qualified with a home draw so early thanks to a stunning run in the middle that they were able to get away with losing their last 3 games while Warwickshire only just managed to sneak into the top 4 with good wins in their last games while Yorkshire missed 2 golden opportunities to book their place in the next round. Essex in my opinion are one of the best one day, and particularly T20, sides in the country. It's hard to find too much of a weakness in their side to be honest and at Chelmsford they are usually top class although they have lost some form recently which they need to get back, but they will certainly be up for this big game which is far far more important than any game they've had to play recently. Warwickshire do have a mixed line-up where it's easier to pick out possible holes or weaknesses unlike Essex and they have certainly not been as consistent this season in the one-day formats. In my opinion the way this match could go could depend on whether Chris Woakes is allowed to play. If the answer is no that probably just creates too many weaknesses for Warwickshire without at least one or two being exploited.
Prediction: Essex
Sunday 3rd August: (Afternoon)
Nottinghamshire Vs Hampshire - This is comfortably in my opinion the tightest of the quarter-finals to try and call. Nottinghamshire and Hampshire are probably 2 of the top 3 one-day sides in the country right now with both sides having plenty of top class batsmen, plenty of power hitters and the top class bowling to match. Nottinghamshire always seem to get off to great starts with the bat when they have Hales and Lumb to kick things off and with Taylor and Patel to come in the middle and Mullaney to finish off the innings it's easy to see why they consistently build good totals. With the ball again Mullaney shines out as his medium pace is always economical while Harry Gurney's performances over the last year have earned him an England call-up while Ajmal Shahzad, Samit Patel and of course Luke Fletcher who's come in half way through the season and turned out to be a fantastic death bowler. As you can see there is very in terms of weakness in Nottinghamshire's T20 team and at Trent Bridge they are possibly the hardest team to beat. Hampshire are equally as strong but they are much better at the Ageas Bowl than away from home which gives Notts an early edge. Compared to previous years Hampshire seem to be lacking in the bowling a little bit more which could be due to the retirement of Dimi Mascarenhas. With Chris Wood as a death bowler though they won't ever concede too many runs at the death while Danny Briggs allows them to keep things tight in the middle. Michael Carberry, Jimmy Adams and James Vince have all been brilliant this season along with the overseas signing of Glenn Maxwell which insures that they have plenty of batting. As I mentioned earlier Notts are great at home and have no obvious weakness while Hampshire do have a slight bowling weakness and another slight weakness away from their favourable Ageas Bowl pitches.
Prediction: Nottinghamshire
I really like the way that the ECB has scheduled the matches so that they can all be televised and so that as many spectators can get down over the course of the weekend. Not only do I expect to see plenty of full houses, we should be treated to 4 very close games with plenty of entertainment and looking at the line-up whoever makes finals day will fully deserve it.
Thursday, 31 July 2014
Saturday, 26 July 2014
Cricket: England Vs India 3rd Test Preview
Tomorrow (yes that's right tomorrow being Sunday) starts the 3rd test match of the 5 match series between England and India at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. India are now 1-0 up in the series after a defeat which was quite a poor one for England down at Lord's and was India's first test match win at Lord's for around 28 years. On the last afternoon down at Lord's on Monday England's batting collapsed once more just as it did in their innings at Trent Bridge, although this time with some ridiculous shots as Ishant Sharma blew England away. The calls for Alastair Cook to be sacked as captain continue as Cook continues to lack cutting edge as a leader but also severly lack runs with the bat as well. Matt Prior though has decided to give the rest of the summer a miss admitting that he has been playing with injury in the first 2 test matches, handing a Test debut to young wicket keeper Jos Buttler who is a massive prospect for the future and could be one of the great wicket keeper-batsmen in years to come. There could also be one unforced change on each side as Chris Jordan is likely to come in for the unimpressive Ben Stokes after Jordan played very well again for Sussex last week. For India, Stuart Binny as the medium paced all rounder is likely to miss out as the Indian's switch back to 4 bowlers after 2 poor matches for Binny and Rohit Sharma will be the first batsman in line to replace him.
The pitch at the Ageas Bowl is likely to be one that has a good amount of pace in it and a decent covering of grass as pitches down there usually are and i'd be surprised if anything different was prepared.
So then, here's how I see this Test match panning out:
England
England need desperate and drastic improvement from all corners of their side really as the batsmen have been too prone to a middle order collapse so far this summer while the bowlers have been unable to clean up the tail really in all series in the last couple of years which has really added about 50 or more to the oppositions total unnecessarily. At the top Alastair Cook hasn't managed a half-century since the middle of the winter and the added pressure of the media and captaincy is really getting to him as England haven't won a test match since the 4th test Vs Australia last August at Durham. Ian Bell has also struggled this summer and he along with Cook are the 2 experienced batsmen of this line-up. As the first player who would go if England wished to play 5 full time bowlers Moeen Ali wouldn't be harmed by putting some innings together to back up the hundred he made at Headingley against Sri Lanka. Joe Root seems like he is starting to add more consistency to his game though which is exactly what England needed with him making 2 big innings already this summer along with Gary Balance who has settled into the job at No.3 really well and Sam Robson has also been pretty decent in my view. Jos Buttler on debut I expect to do well at some point during these last 3 test matches, especially as a man who can push things on with the tail at the end but also but also I think he could hold things together in a crisis which is a good trait to have.
Bowling wise James Anderson will be key again so it's important he's rested and ready with this being he 3rd test match in quick succession as the leader of the attack and clearly the best bowler of the series for England. Chris Jordan will provide a fresh set of legs if selected which may be one massive reason for selecting him after Ben Stokes has been poor and looking tired at times to be fair as well, Jordan will offer a new option to the attack. Stuart Broad has been struggling and he will need to be used well if England want to play him for all 5 matches as he's starting to struggle after 2 and it's been showing in his performances with not much flowing from Broad right now. Liam Plunkett has been good though on his international renaissance acting as more of an options man for Cook who he can employ to bowl a good length and line but also bully the batsmen with some effective short stuff which has been just as good.
Key Man: Alastair Cook really needs to start pulling his finger out this summer with no half-century since mid winter and no century since the start of last summer which is appalling and that's starting to affect his captaincy and the confidence of the England side as a whole which is then coming back to affect his own performances. Cook has the rest of the summer in my view to save his captaincy and place in the side so now wouldn't be a bad time to perform.
India
India have been pretty good in this series, while their tail enders may have gotten them out of trouble on a couple of occasions they've still been pretty solid at the top, while their bowling has been brilliant with some good spells from Ishant Sharma and Kumar to put England's top order in big trouble at times.
Murali Vijay has been by far the star man for India batting wise making a sack full of runs so far in this series and he is currently the leading run scorer on either side by quite a distance with one big hundred and another near miss of 95. Pujara and Rahane in the middle order have showed signs of decent form with the bat. However, while Jadeja can push things on further down the order MS Dhoni is having big struggles with his technique which in my view is massively faltering. Virat Kohli's start to the series has been shocking with nothing to show for it at all yet and he's made me look quite silly for giving him the title of one of the best and most exciting batsmen in world Cricket right now. Dhawan hasn't dealt well at the top of the order and he'd like to have an innings where he settles in and makes some big runs at the top.
If India switch to 4 bowlers, Ravi Jadeja will be a key player in holding up and end and bowling economically to allow Dhoni to keep Shami, Sharma and Kumar fit and firing at the other end and taking wickets which is why Graeme Swann was so effective for England as he built pressure which the seam bowlers could then use to get their wickets so effectively and then leave Swann to clear up the tail. Shami hasn't been the pick of the bowlers so far by any stretch with 4 wickets but Ishant Sharma has bowled 2 brilliant spells both on day 3 of the first test and day 5 of the second test which have put India into strong positions both times while the 2nd leading wicket taker is Kumar who has also been vital and did bowl a very good spell in England's first innings at Lord's whilst also picking up other big wickets at key times which has been vital for their cause.
Key Man: Murali Vijay has really set the tone nicely and led from the front as India's star batsman and opening batsman in this series so far, and his is the wicket England will want to get early if they are to keep India down to a low total, particularly in the first innings.
We should be all set then for another quality 5 days of test match cricket with the sides shaping up nicely and the hosts now needing to strike at the Ageas Bowl to square up the series. One little niggle from me and that's that I find it very disappointing that this test starts on a Sunday meaning we won't see any Cricket on the Friday or Saturday which could be a really bad error in scheduling and possibly lose Hampshire CCC some money on this test, much like their heavily rain affected first ever test match in 2011.
The pitch at the Ageas Bowl is likely to be one that has a good amount of pace in it and a decent covering of grass as pitches down there usually are and i'd be surprised if anything different was prepared.
So then, here's how I see this Test match panning out:
England
England need desperate and drastic improvement from all corners of their side really as the batsmen have been too prone to a middle order collapse so far this summer while the bowlers have been unable to clean up the tail really in all series in the last couple of years which has really added about 50 or more to the oppositions total unnecessarily. At the top Alastair Cook hasn't managed a half-century since the middle of the winter and the added pressure of the media and captaincy is really getting to him as England haven't won a test match since the 4th test Vs Australia last August at Durham. Ian Bell has also struggled this summer and he along with Cook are the 2 experienced batsmen of this line-up. As the first player who would go if England wished to play 5 full time bowlers Moeen Ali wouldn't be harmed by putting some innings together to back up the hundred he made at Headingley against Sri Lanka. Joe Root seems like he is starting to add more consistency to his game though which is exactly what England needed with him making 2 big innings already this summer along with Gary Balance who has settled into the job at No.3 really well and Sam Robson has also been pretty decent in my view. Jos Buttler on debut I expect to do well at some point during these last 3 test matches, especially as a man who can push things on with the tail at the end but also but also I think he could hold things together in a crisis which is a good trait to have.
Bowling wise James Anderson will be key again so it's important he's rested and ready with this being he 3rd test match in quick succession as the leader of the attack and clearly the best bowler of the series for England. Chris Jordan will provide a fresh set of legs if selected which may be one massive reason for selecting him after Ben Stokes has been poor and looking tired at times to be fair as well, Jordan will offer a new option to the attack. Stuart Broad has been struggling and he will need to be used well if England want to play him for all 5 matches as he's starting to struggle after 2 and it's been showing in his performances with not much flowing from Broad right now. Liam Plunkett has been good though on his international renaissance acting as more of an options man for Cook who he can employ to bowl a good length and line but also bully the batsmen with some effective short stuff which has been just as good.
Key Man: Alastair Cook really needs to start pulling his finger out this summer with no half-century since mid winter and no century since the start of last summer which is appalling and that's starting to affect his captaincy and the confidence of the England side as a whole which is then coming back to affect his own performances. Cook has the rest of the summer in my view to save his captaincy and place in the side so now wouldn't be a bad time to perform.
India
India have been pretty good in this series, while their tail enders may have gotten them out of trouble on a couple of occasions they've still been pretty solid at the top, while their bowling has been brilliant with some good spells from Ishant Sharma and Kumar to put England's top order in big trouble at times.
Murali Vijay has been by far the star man for India batting wise making a sack full of runs so far in this series and he is currently the leading run scorer on either side by quite a distance with one big hundred and another near miss of 95. Pujara and Rahane in the middle order have showed signs of decent form with the bat. However, while Jadeja can push things on further down the order MS Dhoni is having big struggles with his technique which in my view is massively faltering. Virat Kohli's start to the series has been shocking with nothing to show for it at all yet and he's made me look quite silly for giving him the title of one of the best and most exciting batsmen in world Cricket right now. Dhawan hasn't dealt well at the top of the order and he'd like to have an innings where he settles in and makes some big runs at the top.
If India switch to 4 bowlers, Ravi Jadeja will be a key player in holding up and end and bowling economically to allow Dhoni to keep Shami, Sharma and Kumar fit and firing at the other end and taking wickets which is why Graeme Swann was so effective for England as he built pressure which the seam bowlers could then use to get their wickets so effectively and then leave Swann to clear up the tail. Shami hasn't been the pick of the bowlers so far by any stretch with 4 wickets but Ishant Sharma has bowled 2 brilliant spells both on day 3 of the first test and day 5 of the second test which have put India into strong positions both times while the 2nd leading wicket taker is Kumar who has also been vital and did bowl a very good spell in England's first innings at Lord's whilst also picking up other big wickets at key times which has been vital for their cause.
Key Man: Murali Vijay has really set the tone nicely and led from the front as India's star batsman and opening batsman in this series so far, and his is the wicket England will want to get early if they are to keep India down to a low total, particularly in the first innings.
We should be all set then for another quality 5 days of test match cricket with the sides shaping up nicely and the hosts now needing to strike at the Ageas Bowl to square up the series. One little niggle from me and that's that I find it very disappointing that this test starts on a Sunday meaning we won't see any Cricket on the Friday or Saturday which could be a really bad error in scheduling and possibly lose Hampshire CCC some money on this test, much like their heavily rain affected first ever test match in 2011.
Thursday, 24 July 2014
Cricket: T20 Blast final group games preview
As we head into the final group games in the T20 Blast there is still a reasonable amount to play for in both the North and South groups which means we will at least have a couple of games with some meaning in this final group round. In the South group Essex, Hampshire and Surrey are all through to the quarter finals with Essex having a home draw secured while Surrey should be the other side with a home draw. Anything other than a defeat for Glamorgan coupled with a big win for either Somerset or Kent will see Glamorgan join them. Heading Northwards, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire are into the quarter-finals and Lancashire have the home draw secured while Nottinghamshire's is practically in the bag as well. Worcestershire should be through barring a collapse from them in their game and wins for both Yorkshire and Warwickshire, who are battling for 4th place with just a point between them but it's in Yorkshire's hands.
So then, there is still a little bit to be decided tomorrow so it's time to look at those all important games:
Friday 25th July:
Durham Vs Northamptonshire - This match is a complete dead rubber with neither defending champions Northamptonshire or Durham being able to qualify. So they're just playing for pride here and Northamptonshire lost their last game on Wednesday to Nottinghamshire while Durham were beaten tonight by Lancashire and have had a very mixed season. I still think Northamptonshire are the better side of the 2 and a poor middle of the campaign for them is the main reason they aren't challenging or already in the last 8. Durham though have been far too inconsistent and that's been the reason for their failings and that is never a positive thing.
Prediction: Northamptonshire
Essex Vs Sussex - This match is a thorough dead rubber with Sussex in with no chance of qualifying while Essex are pretty much guaranteed top spot in the South group despite losing their last 2 games to Hampshire and Gloucestershire while resting a few players for the quarter's but also suffering a couple of injuries. Sussex though are just playing for pride and will want to go out with a bang in this tournament, but with Essex playing well with a good unit and looking to pick up another win at Fortress Chelmsford to boost their momentum for the knock-out stages.
Prediction: Essex
Worcestershire Vs Derbyshire - Again this is another dead rubber with Worcestershire already being through and Derbyshire having been unable to qualify for some time. Derbyshire have been so poor in this competition only winning the one game in the whole tournament while a win last time out for Worcestershire against Northamptonshire secured their quarter-final place and they'll be wanting to build the momentum for that big knock-out match and they have the perfect chance to do it against a weak Derbyshire side that are very unlikely to win this game after such a poor season.
Prediction: Worcestershire
Somerset Vs Middlesex - Somerset will be after a victory in this game should Glamorgan falter being 2 points behind and able to qualify on net run rate which would be huge for them after the season they've had. As that suggests it's been a mixed bag for them including a loss last time out to Kent. Middlesex though have been appalling this season and they've been dead and buried for a long time in this tournament and haven't really provided anyone with much of a challenge though they did beat Somerset earlier in this season as one of their 2 wins this season after another loss to Surrey tonight. Somerset haven't been playing as well this season after some injuries and of course the loss of Jos Buttler to Lancashire but they should still finish strongly with a win here.
Prediction: Somerset
Warwickshire Vs Leicestershire - This is a must win game for a Warwickshire side that are 1 point behind 4th placed Yorkshire who are playing Nottinghamshire tomorrow night and there is every chance that Yorkshire can slip up there and open the door for Warwickshire who have much easier opponents in Leicestershire. Last time out Leicestershire were bowled out for 90 chasing just 122 to win which really is quite poor. Warwickshire though have the momentum and the confidence staying in this competition by beating Yorkshire in their last game and that sort of confidence booster will help them here and so will the fact that they are just a much stronger team than Leicestershire and they will be well aware of that without taking any liberties.
Prediction: Warwickshire
Kent Vs Surrey - Kent have the slimmest of slim chances here to qualify for the quarter-finals and with their net run rate as it is it means that an inconsistent campaign that was always bound to happen when you have a large mixture of youth and experience in the side, especially when they had injuries to their experienced guys in the middle of the campaign which cost them. That infact really is the key difference between them and Surrey who are a much stronger side and are full of experience in their team from top to bottom which is why the likelihood is they will qualify in the top 2 of the South group with a home draw. When you look at things like that it points at Surrey doing really well in the competition and probably making finals day.
Prediction: Surrey
Yorkshire Vs Nottinghamshire - This is probably the biggest match of the round with Yorkshire needing to win to get their quarter-final place secure after a set back losing last week to Warwickshire when they could've won through then. In Nottinghamshire though they have incredibly tough opponents who have won their last couple of games on Sunday and Wednesday to secure their knock-out phase place and 99% secure a home draw. Nottinghamshire's batting may fail at times but they have such a strong bowling line-up to the extent that I could easily see them winning this tournament and knocking Yorkshire out tomorrow if Warwickshire get their win. As the holders of the 4th position all the pressure will be on Yorkshire to win while Warwickshire won't be as pressured and there will certainly be no pressure on Notts to perform either which could be a telling factor.
Prediction: Nottinghamshire
Glamorgan Vs Gloucestershire - Here Glamorgan are looking to absolutely confirm their place in the knock-out stages with Somerset and Kent still possibly being able to qualify on net run rate although Glamorgan would need to lose quite badly for that to happen. Glamorgan did lose though last time out to Essex when they would've guaranteed a place beyond doubt while Gloucestershire have been no push overs in this tournament actually inflicting a rare defeat on Essex in their last game and they have played a little better at times than 8th place would suggest. Glamorgan though have been good in this tournament and haven't lost many games against poorer opposition like Gloucestershire and their home form and home advantage will help them to the quarter-finals here in my opinion.
Prediction: Glamorgan
There may be some dead rubber games out there, but at least half of the games have some interest in them for one of the teams involved if any of the sides poised in 4th lose out and the guys in 5th can pounce so it should be a nervy, tense and incredibly close finish to the group stages of this years T20 Blast competition and I'm excited to see how it plays out.
So then, there is still a little bit to be decided tomorrow so it's time to look at those all important games:
Friday 25th July:
Durham Vs Northamptonshire - This match is a complete dead rubber with neither defending champions Northamptonshire or Durham being able to qualify. So they're just playing for pride here and Northamptonshire lost their last game on Wednesday to Nottinghamshire while Durham were beaten tonight by Lancashire and have had a very mixed season. I still think Northamptonshire are the better side of the 2 and a poor middle of the campaign for them is the main reason they aren't challenging or already in the last 8. Durham though have been far too inconsistent and that's been the reason for their failings and that is never a positive thing.
Prediction: Northamptonshire
Essex Vs Sussex - This match is a thorough dead rubber with Sussex in with no chance of qualifying while Essex are pretty much guaranteed top spot in the South group despite losing their last 2 games to Hampshire and Gloucestershire while resting a few players for the quarter's but also suffering a couple of injuries. Sussex though are just playing for pride and will want to go out with a bang in this tournament, but with Essex playing well with a good unit and looking to pick up another win at Fortress Chelmsford to boost their momentum for the knock-out stages.
Prediction: Essex
Worcestershire Vs Derbyshire - Again this is another dead rubber with Worcestershire already being through and Derbyshire having been unable to qualify for some time. Derbyshire have been so poor in this competition only winning the one game in the whole tournament while a win last time out for Worcestershire against Northamptonshire secured their quarter-final place and they'll be wanting to build the momentum for that big knock-out match and they have the perfect chance to do it against a weak Derbyshire side that are very unlikely to win this game after such a poor season.
Prediction: Worcestershire
Somerset Vs Middlesex - Somerset will be after a victory in this game should Glamorgan falter being 2 points behind and able to qualify on net run rate which would be huge for them after the season they've had. As that suggests it's been a mixed bag for them including a loss last time out to Kent. Middlesex though have been appalling this season and they've been dead and buried for a long time in this tournament and haven't really provided anyone with much of a challenge though they did beat Somerset earlier in this season as one of their 2 wins this season after another loss to Surrey tonight. Somerset haven't been playing as well this season after some injuries and of course the loss of Jos Buttler to Lancashire but they should still finish strongly with a win here.
Prediction: Somerset
Warwickshire Vs Leicestershire - This is a must win game for a Warwickshire side that are 1 point behind 4th placed Yorkshire who are playing Nottinghamshire tomorrow night and there is every chance that Yorkshire can slip up there and open the door for Warwickshire who have much easier opponents in Leicestershire. Last time out Leicestershire were bowled out for 90 chasing just 122 to win which really is quite poor. Warwickshire though have the momentum and the confidence staying in this competition by beating Yorkshire in their last game and that sort of confidence booster will help them here and so will the fact that they are just a much stronger team than Leicestershire and they will be well aware of that without taking any liberties.
Prediction: Warwickshire
Kent Vs Surrey - Kent have the slimmest of slim chances here to qualify for the quarter-finals and with their net run rate as it is it means that an inconsistent campaign that was always bound to happen when you have a large mixture of youth and experience in the side, especially when they had injuries to their experienced guys in the middle of the campaign which cost them. That infact really is the key difference between them and Surrey who are a much stronger side and are full of experience in their team from top to bottom which is why the likelihood is they will qualify in the top 2 of the South group with a home draw. When you look at things like that it points at Surrey doing really well in the competition and probably making finals day.
Prediction: Surrey
Yorkshire Vs Nottinghamshire - This is probably the biggest match of the round with Yorkshire needing to win to get their quarter-final place secure after a set back losing last week to Warwickshire when they could've won through then. In Nottinghamshire though they have incredibly tough opponents who have won their last couple of games on Sunday and Wednesday to secure their knock-out phase place and 99% secure a home draw. Nottinghamshire's batting may fail at times but they have such a strong bowling line-up to the extent that I could easily see them winning this tournament and knocking Yorkshire out tomorrow if Warwickshire get their win. As the holders of the 4th position all the pressure will be on Yorkshire to win while Warwickshire won't be as pressured and there will certainly be no pressure on Notts to perform either which could be a telling factor.
Prediction: Nottinghamshire
Glamorgan Vs Gloucestershire - Here Glamorgan are looking to absolutely confirm their place in the knock-out stages with Somerset and Kent still possibly being able to qualify on net run rate although Glamorgan would need to lose quite badly for that to happen. Glamorgan did lose though last time out to Essex when they would've guaranteed a place beyond doubt while Gloucestershire have been no push overs in this tournament actually inflicting a rare defeat on Essex in their last game and they have played a little better at times than 8th place would suggest. Glamorgan though have been good in this tournament and haven't lost many games against poorer opposition like Gloucestershire and their home form and home advantage will help them to the quarter-finals here in my opinion.
Prediction: Glamorgan
There may be some dead rubber games out there, but at least half of the games have some interest in them for one of the teams involved if any of the sides poised in 4th lose out and the guys in 5th can pounce so it should be a nervy, tense and incredibly close finish to the group stages of this years T20 Blast competition and I'm excited to see how it plays out.
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Cricket: T20 Blast Preview
It's another massively important week of T20 Blast cricket coming up with another 8 Friday games as the sides all close in on the end of the group stages with a lot of sides still looking for a place in the top 4 and the quarter-finals with about 6 sides still in contention in the South group and 7 in the North group with a lot of teams around there still having 3 games left but most teams only have a couple of games to go as the final group games take place next Friday and you can expect another massive preview there. It's been another mixed week of results from last Friday and in a couple of games since then heading into this week so it's another case of perhaps expecting the unexpected in some games as we have a lot more tough calls.
On we go then as I look ahead to this weekends games:
Friday 18th July:
Gloucestershire Vs Surrey - Here in Gloucestershire we have a side that are basically out with 3 games to go and will be confirmed as out if they do lose this game but I think we can consider them out already having lost their last game to Somerset last week and sitting 8th in the table means there are much better teams ahead of them with a better chance of making the quarters. That could see them rest a few players as they have struggled with injuries in this campaign and they won't want to risk many more players. Surrey though are in a great position having beaten Somerset in mid-week and while not having their quarter-final place secured they do have 3 games left, an incredibly strong side and a nice 3 point cushion sitting in 2nd place, and they'll be looking for that home draw so will certainly be looking to keep the momentum up in this game, and I'd expect them to as well.
Prediction: Surrey
Leicestershire Vs Durham - Leicestershire haven't been too useful so far in this competition and their chances of qualifying are no more after a loss last week to Lancashire, while Durham do still have hope with 3 games left and a 4 point gap between them and 4th place but they do have to win this game, of that we can be sure of. That means with Leicestershire perhaps looking to re-shuffle the team while Durham have a clear objective and motivation although things didn't go great in the last game where they were thrashed by Yorkshire so they clearly have a lot to work on before this game but Leicestershire having only won 3 games have been consistently weak all season and that points to a clear prediction in my mind.
Prediction: Durham
Kent Vs Somerset - Again this looks like a real mixed bag as Kent realistically can't qualify for the quarters after their latest defeat to Essex in what was a real rout last weekend, and with a squad that is now packed with youth and has been struggling with injuries their attention will now turn to the upcoming 50 over competition. Somerset though have 2 games to go and are only a couple of points behind Glamorgan and also importantly only the one place off of the quarter-finals although they did receive a dent by losing out to Surrey in mid-week they have picked up their momentum and started building up some pace in this competition after what certainly seemed like a very slow start. One team of experience against a team with a lot of youth, a team struggling and out against a team with high ambitions really points to one winner in this game in my mind.
Prediction: Somerset
Yorkshire Vs Warwickshire - Yorkshire should have their place in the quarter-finals secure after a couple of thrashings they handed out last week, and on top of that they are 3 points clear of 5th placed Warwickshire and actually sat in 2nd place which also leaves them further room for manoeuvre and with their momentum and home advantage in this game they'll be confident of securing the one win that would seal the deal. Warwickshire's win last week against Worcestershire keeps them well and truly in the hunt with the gap being 2 points with both having 2 games to play but Warwickshire do have to win this game and I'd put them as slight outsiders given the strength of both sides and Yorkshire's other advantages coming into the game but it'll be a game that is decided on moments of brilliance.
Prediction: Yorkshire
Hampshire Vs Sussex - This game to me looks like one where we have one side who are almost into the quarter-finals in Hampshire who are in 3rd place in the South Group and are 3 points clear of 5th place with a win here confirming that place although they could've had it secured by now if it wasn't a heavy defeat to Middlesex last time out. Sussex kept their hopes alive last time out against Glamorgan with a very nice victory but the fact is that they are still 3 points behind 4th place with only 2 games to go and they are now relying on other results going massively their way which is never what you want. With Hampshire having a supposedly strong batting line-up and Sussex's bowling seeming like a weak area and this being at the Ageas Bowl which Hampshire have made pretty close to a fortress over the last few years, Sussex's qualification hopes may have just taken a further hit.
Prediction: Hampshire
Lancashire Vs Derbyshire - This is definetly a tale of 2 sides with massively differing fortunes as Derbyshire are bottom of the table having only won one game, and are certainly out of the competition as well after a huge defeat last time out against Yorkshire so it may not be a bad time for them to start resting players as they know they can do nothing in this competition. Lancashire though have been at the other end of the spectrum having only lost 2 out of 12 games and their quarter-final place is confirmed but they will want to keep their momentum going after several games unbeaten including their last against Leicestershire as they big to go into the quarter-finals on a hot streak and with that important home draw that they missed out on last season. I really can't see them slipping up and losing this game either so it should be another routine win with confidence high.
Prediction: Lancashire
Glamorgan Vs Essex - This game is a huge game in the South Group with 4th placed Glamorgan really looking for 2 wins from their remaining 2 games to keep hold of their 4th placed spot with them currently sitting 2 points clear of 5th. However, when you need to win both of your remaining games you don't want to be starting off against a side that is top of the table having lost just the one game in the whole competition and that was some time ago. Essex in my opinion look to have the strongest team in this years competition across both of the groups and it shows from the fact that they still have 4 games left and yet they're already into the quarter-finals and it would take a dramatic collapse in these last games for them to not have a home draw at fortress Chelmsford which would always have been their aim. Glamorgan on the other hand did lose last time out to Sussex and in my view the actual body of their team doesn't look horrendously strong but they've clearly gelled very well as a team. Essex though look a monstrous team to try and beat right now with no obvious weaknesses in my opinion.
Prediction: Essex
Northamptonshire Vs Worcestershire - This game is going to be an incredibly tense one with the winner certainly having the best chance of qualification. Northamptonshire are 3 points behind Worcestershire in 4th place being sat in 6th place themselves with a game in hand on them and if they were to win their 3 remaining games they would certainly finish above Worcestershire. Worcestershire did start really well in this competition but successive loses will have left them under huge pressure and their momentum would've gone while Northamptonshire's is coming back to them with successive victories. As the home side here and defending champions as well knowing exactly what they're capable of in this format now with very much that same team I think they have a slight edge in this game but this easily one that could go either way.
Prediction: Northamptonshire
Sunday 20th July:
Nottinghamshire Vs Leicestershire - Preview to follow Friday's games
Gloucestershire Vs Essex - Preview to follow Friday's games
As I say it will be another tense week of Cricket but also incredibly exciting stuff as it's a make or break week for a lot of teams in both groups as the chances of many to make the top 4 will be dashed and others will guarantee qualification and finally it will be completed in the group stages next Friday with some thrilling games in store there too and i'll be back again to preview those.
On we go then as I look ahead to this weekends games:
Friday 18th July:
Gloucestershire Vs Surrey - Here in Gloucestershire we have a side that are basically out with 3 games to go and will be confirmed as out if they do lose this game but I think we can consider them out already having lost their last game to Somerset last week and sitting 8th in the table means there are much better teams ahead of them with a better chance of making the quarters. That could see them rest a few players as they have struggled with injuries in this campaign and they won't want to risk many more players. Surrey though are in a great position having beaten Somerset in mid-week and while not having their quarter-final place secured they do have 3 games left, an incredibly strong side and a nice 3 point cushion sitting in 2nd place, and they'll be looking for that home draw so will certainly be looking to keep the momentum up in this game, and I'd expect them to as well.
Prediction: Surrey
Leicestershire Vs Durham - Leicestershire haven't been too useful so far in this competition and their chances of qualifying are no more after a loss last week to Lancashire, while Durham do still have hope with 3 games left and a 4 point gap between them and 4th place but they do have to win this game, of that we can be sure of. That means with Leicestershire perhaps looking to re-shuffle the team while Durham have a clear objective and motivation although things didn't go great in the last game where they were thrashed by Yorkshire so they clearly have a lot to work on before this game but Leicestershire having only won 3 games have been consistently weak all season and that points to a clear prediction in my mind.
Prediction: Durham
Kent Vs Somerset - Again this looks like a real mixed bag as Kent realistically can't qualify for the quarters after their latest defeat to Essex in what was a real rout last weekend, and with a squad that is now packed with youth and has been struggling with injuries their attention will now turn to the upcoming 50 over competition. Somerset though have 2 games to go and are only a couple of points behind Glamorgan and also importantly only the one place off of the quarter-finals although they did receive a dent by losing out to Surrey in mid-week they have picked up their momentum and started building up some pace in this competition after what certainly seemed like a very slow start. One team of experience against a team with a lot of youth, a team struggling and out against a team with high ambitions really points to one winner in this game in my mind.
Prediction: Somerset
Yorkshire Vs Warwickshire - Yorkshire should have their place in the quarter-finals secure after a couple of thrashings they handed out last week, and on top of that they are 3 points clear of 5th placed Warwickshire and actually sat in 2nd place which also leaves them further room for manoeuvre and with their momentum and home advantage in this game they'll be confident of securing the one win that would seal the deal. Warwickshire's win last week against Worcestershire keeps them well and truly in the hunt with the gap being 2 points with both having 2 games to play but Warwickshire do have to win this game and I'd put them as slight outsiders given the strength of both sides and Yorkshire's other advantages coming into the game but it'll be a game that is decided on moments of brilliance.
Prediction: Yorkshire
Hampshire Vs Sussex - This game to me looks like one where we have one side who are almost into the quarter-finals in Hampshire who are in 3rd place in the South Group and are 3 points clear of 5th place with a win here confirming that place although they could've had it secured by now if it wasn't a heavy defeat to Middlesex last time out. Sussex kept their hopes alive last time out against Glamorgan with a very nice victory but the fact is that they are still 3 points behind 4th place with only 2 games to go and they are now relying on other results going massively their way which is never what you want. With Hampshire having a supposedly strong batting line-up and Sussex's bowling seeming like a weak area and this being at the Ageas Bowl which Hampshire have made pretty close to a fortress over the last few years, Sussex's qualification hopes may have just taken a further hit.
Prediction: Hampshire
Lancashire Vs Derbyshire - This is definetly a tale of 2 sides with massively differing fortunes as Derbyshire are bottom of the table having only won one game, and are certainly out of the competition as well after a huge defeat last time out against Yorkshire so it may not be a bad time for them to start resting players as they know they can do nothing in this competition. Lancashire though have been at the other end of the spectrum having only lost 2 out of 12 games and their quarter-final place is confirmed but they will want to keep their momentum going after several games unbeaten including their last against Leicestershire as they big to go into the quarter-finals on a hot streak and with that important home draw that they missed out on last season. I really can't see them slipping up and losing this game either so it should be another routine win with confidence high.
Prediction: Lancashire
Glamorgan Vs Essex - This game is a huge game in the South Group with 4th placed Glamorgan really looking for 2 wins from their remaining 2 games to keep hold of their 4th placed spot with them currently sitting 2 points clear of 5th. However, when you need to win both of your remaining games you don't want to be starting off against a side that is top of the table having lost just the one game in the whole competition and that was some time ago. Essex in my opinion look to have the strongest team in this years competition across both of the groups and it shows from the fact that they still have 4 games left and yet they're already into the quarter-finals and it would take a dramatic collapse in these last games for them to not have a home draw at fortress Chelmsford which would always have been their aim. Glamorgan on the other hand did lose last time out to Sussex and in my view the actual body of their team doesn't look horrendously strong but they've clearly gelled very well as a team. Essex though look a monstrous team to try and beat right now with no obvious weaknesses in my opinion.
Prediction: Essex
Northamptonshire Vs Worcestershire - This game is going to be an incredibly tense one with the winner certainly having the best chance of qualification. Northamptonshire are 3 points behind Worcestershire in 4th place being sat in 6th place themselves with a game in hand on them and if they were to win their 3 remaining games they would certainly finish above Worcestershire. Worcestershire did start really well in this competition but successive loses will have left them under huge pressure and their momentum would've gone while Northamptonshire's is coming back to them with successive victories. As the home side here and defending champions as well knowing exactly what they're capable of in this format now with very much that same team I think they have a slight edge in this game but this easily one that could go either way.
Prediction: Northamptonshire
Sunday 20th July:
Nottinghamshire Vs Leicestershire - Preview to follow Friday's games
Gloucestershire Vs Essex - Preview to follow Friday's games
As I say it will be another tense week of Cricket but also incredibly exciting stuff as it's a make or break week for a lot of teams in both groups as the chances of many to make the top 4 will be dashed and others will guarantee qualification and finally it will be completed in the group stages next Friday with some thrilling games in store there too and i'll be back again to preview those.
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Cricket: England Vs India 2nd Test Preview
After a draw in the first test match up at Trent Bridge on a horribly flat and slow pitch that even allowed James Anderson to knock in a score of 81, the hosts England and tourists India head down to Lord's for the second instalment of this 5 match series as both teams have positives to take into the game and will be aiming to put the first one on the board starting on Thursday for 5 days of top quality cricket. Both sides will be hoping for a pitch that has a little more in it for the bowlers, especially the England seam bowlers who spent a great deal of time bowling a dead surface in Nottingham. Judging by the pitch that was prepared for the Lord's test against Sri Lanka I wouldn't be holding my breath if I was a bowler shaping up to bowl over the next 5 days but hopefully there will be a little bit of pace in it.
Despite it being back to back test matches the likelihood is that the sides will remain unchanged, especially the Indian team although it wouldn't surprise me too much if Ben Stokes didn't play the whole of this test series, while James Anderson did have an altercation with Ravi Jadeja at Trent Bridge that is being looked at by the ICC who are deciding on what to do with the pair. All in all it should be unchanged teams which means the talk ahead of the game will be much of the same as it was last time with India's seam bowlers not impressing as much with Ishant Sharma looking clearly like the biggest threat, while England's top order looks a little frail with Alastair Cook failing again and Ian Bell starting to feel some pressure too.
For the bowling as a whole I think James Anderson is feeling a lot of pressure as the leader of attack that is struggling on unresponsive pitches, and in my mind there is absolutely no way that he can last this series without injury or his performances really dropping off. Stuart Broad seemed to be bowling ok and was really quite economical in the first innings taking a couple of wickets and he could really be a key bowler in this series if Anderson is to be rested at some stage and they will want to keep Broad as fit as possible given his winter injury problems. Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes also offer too very similar things as bowlers which is why I don't necessarily like the tactic of playing them both as they are clearly in the side to do a similar job, especially on flatter pitches which is try and get any pace they can and bang the ball into the pitch with some short pitched stuff to try trouble the Indian batsmen.
Key Man: In my opinion Alastair Cook is in desperate need of some runs in this series and to get them at Lord's would certainly be special. His captaincy looked a lot better in the first test so in my opinion he just needs to back up his place in the side with some runs in a batting line-up that is prone to a big collapse. After all the captain should lead from the front.
India's bowling certainly didn't look complete although it was never going to on that Trent Bridge pitch with Ishant Sharma bowling a great spell and doing most of the work while Kumar also bowled pretty well but I wasn't too impressed with Shami who was always going to struggle there so this test match was always going to be a big one for him. I'm not sure it necessarily works as well for India to play Ravi Jadeja without Ravi Ashwin and I think they ultimately regretted doing that and that could provide a change for Lord's with Binny showing that his bowling is pretty dispensable not bowling very well at all and there's no way he'll play out all 5 matches here. Ishant Sharma's pace though will be the key here as he is very much the leader of the attack and in my view he'll have a lot of work to do again in this match if the Lord's pitch is typically flat.
Key Man: As I say it certainly seemed that Ishant Sharma carried the Indian bowling line-up with his great spell on Friday afternoon and his pace and general threat with leave England more worried about him than they will be about any other bowler. If India are to take 20 wickets and win the game he'll have to take a large majority.
Whatever happens it should be a great test match again and hopefully this time we can get a result on what will hopefully be a pitch with some life in it but I wouldn't be holding out too much hope if I was a seamer coming to bowl on it but you never know we may actually see an even contest between bat and ball this time around.
Despite it being back to back test matches the likelihood is that the sides will remain unchanged, especially the Indian team although it wouldn't surprise me too much if Ben Stokes didn't play the whole of this test series, while James Anderson did have an altercation with Ravi Jadeja at Trent Bridge that is being looked at by the ICC who are deciding on what to do with the pair. All in all it should be unchanged teams which means the talk ahead of the game will be much of the same as it was last time with India's seam bowlers not impressing as much with Ishant Sharma looking clearly like the biggest threat, while England's top order looks a little frail with Alastair Cook failing again and Ian Bell starting to feel some pressure too.
England
England's top order still struggled on a flat pitch in the first test at Trent Bridge in the one innings they did have with Alastair Cook failing again and you really feel he has 4 tests to make runs and save his place that things are getting that desperate. Ian Bell is also looking like he's feeling the pressure of being a huge player in England's middle order now that the order is less experienced and he is at the heart of the middle order, where things for him didn't use to be as pressured when the middle order was full of talent and he was allowed to bat at 5. Sam Robson and Gary Ballance did look impressive again at Trent Bridge though while Joe Root played another big innings with the bat to get England out of a quite tricky situation on day 4. Matt Prior is also continuing to struggle and Ben Stokes may have been batting at No.8 but he'd have wanted more than a duck that he got and didn't really back up with the ball either to be honest taking 0 wickets in the 2nd innings while Alastair Cook was even able to pick up his first test wicket in some quite funny scenes. Prior and Stokes will want good games here if they both play of course knowing that guys like Buttler and Jordan are breathing down their necks.For the bowling as a whole I think James Anderson is feeling a lot of pressure as the leader of attack that is struggling on unresponsive pitches, and in my mind there is absolutely no way that he can last this series without injury or his performances really dropping off. Stuart Broad seemed to be bowling ok and was really quite economical in the first innings taking a couple of wickets and he could really be a key bowler in this series if Anderson is to be rested at some stage and they will want to keep Broad as fit as possible given his winter injury problems. Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes also offer too very similar things as bowlers which is why I don't necessarily like the tactic of playing them both as they are clearly in the side to do a similar job, especially on flatter pitches which is try and get any pace they can and bang the ball into the pitch with some short pitched stuff to try trouble the Indian batsmen.
Key Man: In my opinion Alastair Cook is in desperate need of some runs in this series and to get them at Lord's would certainly be special. His captaincy looked a lot better in the first test so in my opinion he just needs to back up his place in the side with some runs in a batting line-up that is prone to a big collapse. After all the captain should lead from the front.
India
India's batting look reasonably solid in the first test although it did take a 100 run partnership for the last wicket for them to get up to a decent total in the first innings and the likes of Dhawan and Kohli will feel like they missed out a little on that pitch by not making more. Pujara was very impressive from what I saw of him and apparently he has modelled himself a lot on Rahul Dravid which let's face it is never a bad thing. Murali Vijay will be targeted early as the big wicket for England after his first innings century while MS Dhoni can quickly turn things around like in the first innings if he plays his shots and starts to give the England bowlers a little punishment. The all-rounders in Stuart Binny and Ravi Jadeja will be looking to keep making runs as they did more in the second innings at Trent Bridge, especially Binny who will probably the man that would be most likely to make way for a 2nd spinner.India's bowling certainly didn't look complete although it was never going to on that Trent Bridge pitch with Ishant Sharma bowling a great spell and doing most of the work while Kumar also bowled pretty well but I wasn't too impressed with Shami who was always going to struggle there so this test match was always going to be a big one for him. I'm not sure it necessarily works as well for India to play Ravi Jadeja without Ravi Ashwin and I think they ultimately regretted doing that and that could provide a change for Lord's with Binny showing that his bowling is pretty dispensable not bowling very well at all and there's no way he'll play out all 5 matches here. Ishant Sharma's pace though will be the key here as he is very much the leader of the attack and in my view he'll have a lot of work to do again in this match if the Lord's pitch is typically flat.
Key Man: As I say it certainly seemed that Ishant Sharma carried the Indian bowling line-up with his great spell on Friday afternoon and his pace and general threat with leave England more worried about him than they will be about any other bowler. If India are to take 20 wickets and win the game he'll have to take a large majority.
Whatever happens it should be a great test match again and hopefully this time we can get a result on what will hopefully be a pitch with some life in it but I wouldn't be holding out too much hope if I was a seamer coming to bowl on it but you never know we may actually see an even contest between bat and ball this time around.
Golf: The Open Championsip Preview
It's that time of the year that the only British major comes around as we head to Hoylake and the Royal Liverpool golf course for the Open Championship on what is a beautiful British links course and will provide a massive test to every Golfer that will be competing over the upcoming four days from Thursday to Sunday. You always know that when an Open Championship comes around that the best player will win it at the end of the week and that it will be no fluke having almost certainly had to battle a tough course and some testing weather conditions that will provide some tricky winds and the possibility of some rain. Coming into this the major winners so far this season are Bubba Watson who the green jacket at Augusta while Martin Kaymer coupled his Players Championship win with one at Pinehurst No.2 at the US Open. Coming into this weekend it's Justin Rose that's been hot on the course not only winning at Congressional 3 weeks ago at the Quicken Loans National, but then following that up with victory last week at the Scottish Open. Of course last years champion Phil Mickelson won the Scottish Open the week before so the tournament provides a good marker for the players form coming into this and he'll be another man with high hopes for the week.
I'll start off this preview by picking out some of the exciting groupings for the first 2 days at Royal Liverpool:
Selected Open Groupings: (Winning pick of each in bold)
Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Bubba Watson - This grouping for me is all about Masters champion Bubba Watson and last years champion Phil Mickelson more than it is the ageing champion of 2 years ago in Ernie Els who simply struggles to compete to the highest level now on a regular basis. Bubba Watson though is at the top of his game right now and you'd expect him to add to the 2 Masters titles he has in terms of majors. Watson does seem to struggle a little away from Augusta though and he missed the cut at the US Open so i'll be intrigued to see what he can do on British soil here having never made a top 10. Phil Mickelson as defending champion though will have all the confidence he needs that he can repeat the feat this year and even though he didn't do great at Augusta missing the cut and then never really looking in the running at the US Open he did have a good finish at last weeks Scottish Open and that was what gave him the confidence to win last years Open so why can't he have a strong finish again?
Now it's time for me to pick out the guys I think have the best chance of taking the title on Sunday evening:
8 picks for the Open Championship:
Henrik Stenson -Henrik Stenson has been in fantastic form lately and he'll be a massive contender this week for the title as I think he can't be too far away from winning a major championship. Before finishing tied for 4th at this years US Open he finished tied for 14th at the Masters as well as 3rd at last years US PGA Championship and 2nd at the Open a year ago as well which all shows his consistency across all of the majors demonstrating that he has what it takes to push on and win any of them, and that's all coupled with 3 tournament wins in 2013 alone which is a great record for the man that is now up to No.2 in the world. Stenson's resurgence has been very impressive and the only thing that's lacking from his CV having won the unofficial 5th major the Players Championship in 2009 is a full major championship and in my opinion there's no reason that this week won't be his week.
Adam Scott - As the new world No.1 you have to feel that Adam Scott is one guy who is a contender for every major he enters and he'll be out to avenge what happened in 2012 where he really went under the pressure of winning his first major and having finished tied 3rd last year he'll want to seal the deal if he puts himself in with a chance which he is consistently doing in the major tournaments. For Scott this year the best is yet to come but he'll feel confident knowing he can play in British conditions and put himself up there to win his 2nd major. As world no.1 now and a regular PGA Tour winner at the age of 34 this is the stage of Scott's career where he should be cashing in and adding to his major tally and this week is as good a week as any to start and there's no reason in my opinion why he shouldn't.
Phil Mickelson - The defending champion Phil Mickelson is always up there to win every major he plays in and it's no surprise to anyone when he does win a major as it was when he won his first Claret Jug last year. He won that coming off the back of a good win at the Scottish Open and I believe he felt that that was the perfect preparation for the big one and in my view you can't go wrong with a good run the week before a major in similar conditions. Mickelson had another pretty good run at the Scottish Open last week where he finished tied for 11th and that will really boost his confidence ahead of this week after a poor first half to the season which saw him miss the cut at the Masters and fail once again to win the US Open after struggling throughout the 4 days with his putting and he'll know that that was his area to work on ahead of this week and he'd have worked hard on that to make sure that he can match his ever impressive iron work with some good work on the greens to take the opportunities that present themselves. I think we can expect Phil to be nearer the top of the leaderboard at Hoylake this week.
Matt Kuchar - Matt Kuchar has been mister consistency in the last few years as possibly the nicest guy on the golf tour and one of the most hard working has hit so many top 10s that it's quite staggering and a particularly good run of form around April saw him lose a play-off at the Shell Houston before finishing tied for 5th at the Masters and winning the RBC Heritage. He also finished tied for 12th at the US Open and the only thing that seemed to let him down in both of the years first 2 majors that for me were the difference between a top 10 finish and winning the title was the way he finished picking up late bogey's every time after a lot of hard work that had gone before, and that wasn't simply down to the latter holes being tough because every hole on a major course is. His record in the last 2 years at the Open Championship is also pretty good finishing tied for 15th last year and tied for 9th in 2012, showing he has the game to compete at the Open and possibly win a claret jug. If you look at Matt Kuchar I think you see a pretty consistent player who almost has the complete game with great iron play and some more than handy putting to boot. Over the course of the last 3 years Matt has challenged for a lot of major titles and my view is that he can't be all that far from winning his first ever major championship and I'd actually be amazed if I'm sat here this time next year saying that Kuch hasn't won a major. There's absolutely no reason that coming into this event fresh after about 2 or 3 weeks off won't help him as long as he's well prepared and that means that there's no reason for this to not be his week.
Rickie Fowler - Rickie Fowler has really impressed me this season and whether he can win this tournament or not is one question, but I certainly feel like he can secure a top 5 finish. Now that his coach is Butch Harmon who also coaches the likes of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson I feel like we'll start to see more of the potential come out of Rickie and that his all round game will improve which makes him a solid contender for this week. After finishing tied for 5th at the Masters and then tied for second at the US Open Rickie is clearly in good form and his best finish at an Open championship is also tied 5th which isn't bad for a 25 year old. Finishing tied 8th at the Scottish Open also confirms that he can certainly play in British conditions and has the form behind him on what was a pretty solid weekend that finished with a 65 on the Sunday. He'll be confident that he can keep his form going and as a young man of 25 he shouldn't be necessarily be thinking about winning majors as much as getting strong finishes which he is doing.
Martin Kaymer - It was always going to be hard for me to not include Kaymer as a contender this week with him winning both the Players Championship and of course last months US Open by quite a large number of shots showing his dominance and there is certainly a case right now that even though he is ranked at 12 in the world that he is certainly one of if not the best golfer in the world right now. His best finish at the Open is tied for 7th but that doesn't necessarily reflect his return to form which has been taking place in 2014 after a couple of years of him struggling a little and working hard to change and tinker with his game. With him in the right place now though he has to be a contender for most golf tournaments he plays in and that will be the case with this Open Championship. All it's about now is whether he can play the conditions as well as the course with that being a big challenge in Britain.
Justin Rose - Justin Rose right now is at the top of his game after winning in Scotland just as Phil Mickelson did before winning the Open last year but Rose has also won a PGA Tour event just a couple of weeks ago too at Congressional in the Quicken Loans national so he'll be one of the most confident players coming to Hoylake which will be fantastic for him. However, he has missed the cut in the last 2 years at the Open and that will be in the back of his mind as well although of course winning his first major last year will give him all the confidence he needs to go on and win more and I'm sure that he can. As I say he'll be full of confidence and he certainly has the game and the form to do well on this course because he'll always have confidence in the shots he'll play which is key.
Rory McIlroy - For me Rory is always a contender for any major that he's playing in these days but there is still a lot for him to work on in order for him to put the perfect week together at the Open Championship. Rory has showed off some good Golf this year at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth where he won and then again last week at the Scottish Open where he opened up with a round of 64 only to take all of that back with another typically bad show on Friday where he shot 78 before a good weekend eventually meant that he finished on 7 under par on a week that could've been so much better than it actually was. We know that Rory has the power in his game that will serve him well on this course and he's been working hard to try and get his game in better shape for the links courses that the Open Championship throws up. However, the thing that has let him down in the majors so far is his putting where he hasn't been able to take his opportunities and his general lack of consistency over 4 days where he always seems to open a weekend nicely before struggling on Friday and I'm not sure what it is about the second round of a golf tournament that seems to get to McIlroy but if he can work it out and fix it he's a really hot favourite to take away the title on Sunday in my opinion.
It will be a great weekend of Golf and for me my 3 picks for the week are Matt Kuchar, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler as I think they all have very good chances and I'm looking forward to how it all pans out this week at Hoylake.
I'll start off this preview by picking out some of the exciting groupings for the first 2 days at Royal Liverpool:
Selected Open Groupings: (Winning pick of each in bold)
Jim Furyk, Darren Clarke and Tom Watson - To match the legendary veteran in Tom Watson in this pairing we have what should be a good little battle between Jim Furyk and Darren Clarke. Darren has been struggling for form in the last couple of years but he did win this title back in 2011 and he certainly knows his way around these types of courses and the poor weather, as it was dreadful the year he won it. In my view though Jim Furyk has been playing the better golf this year and he has so much experience that no adverse conditions will bother him this week.
Luke Donald, Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia - This looks like a cracking little grouping, and in my view Rickie Fowler is at the forefront of it. Sergio Garcia didn't have a great time of it at the US Open and his form has been pretty inconsistent for a while and you feel his best chance at winning a major will be in the US rather than in the tougher Open Championship conditions. For Luke Donald though Britain may be his best place to attempt a major win. I thought he'd go well at the US Open but he struggled dramatically on the Thursday at Pinehurst and missed the cut. However, he did perform well at the PGA Championships at Wentworth making the top 10 and he showed some decent golf again at the Scottish Open with a good overall finish pointing this event out as a major that he should target fully. Rickie Fowler though is the man rising fast in golf at the moment in my opinion after a start to the season in the majors that has included top 10 finishes at the Masters and US Open followed by another at the Scottish Open makes him a strong contender for this.
Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson and Angel Cabrera - The return of Tiger Woods to major competition will be the major talking point here and he says that nothing less than a victory will do and I think he'll be disappointed this week so soon after such a lengthy time away from the game no matter how good he is. Angel Cabrera may have won his first PGA Tour event for some time last weekend but I'm not sure he has another strong major run in him these days. However, it's Henrik Stenson that is the man at the moment and clearly the strongest contender out of these 3 for the title having risen up the rankings lately while having stronger runs at the majors. Stenson certainly has the game to win multiple major championships.
Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama - Matsuyama is certainly an exciting Japanese golfer but whether he has the game to compete with other hot younger prospects like Jordan Spieth and someone that's still young but has bags of experience at this level now in Rory McIlroy time will tell but on his weekend he can certainly play top quality golf. Spieth has had 2 decent runs at the majors this year and good runs at both the Players Championship and in an attempt to defend his John Deere Classic title last week show that he has a lot of talent for a young man. However, he's yet to prove himself in these conditions as much which is where McIlroy may have the edge on his 2 companions for the first 2 days. The only thing stopping Rory having strong runs left, right and centre is his consistency at this stage as he started like a train in Scotland at the weekend before taking several steps back on Friday as his Friday curse continued. Other than that Rory is showing some of the good form that he showed at Wentworth and his best in the majors this year is yet to come.
Ian Poulter, Dustin Johnson and Jimmy Walker - For me this grouping is all about Dustin Johnson and Ian Poulter. Poulter did have an injury scare having to go for a scan earlier in the week on his wrist but he's declared himself fit to play and I like his chances of another strong major run as he just searches for a breakthrough after some consistent performances in the majors but nothing troubling the very top of the leaderboard. Dustin Johnson struggled at the Masters but he looked a very strong player at Pinehurst with a top 10 finish there and this is a course that will suit his big hitting game. Expect him to have a run this week as well.
Graeme McDowell, Matt Kuchar and Louis Oosthuizen - For me this grouping is all about McDowell and Kuchar as they are the guys in form with Louis struggling to put good finishes together in more recent times. McDowell won the Open De France a couple of weeks back but he did struggle at the US Open after a great start to the week and in the majors he's not been great of late. The win in France will be a confidence boost though and he can take that into this and do well here as he said he thinks it's all about mindset for an Open Championship and his will be in a good place. As will Matt Kuchar's whose taken 3 weeks off to prepare for this after making several top 10 and top 20 finishes this season including a top 10 at the Masters a top 20 at the US Open and a PGA Tour win. Matt's a great guy and will be well prepared and confident for this and in my view he has as good a chance of winning as anyone.
Martin Kaymer, Jason Day and Zach Johnson - Martin Kaymer is proving himself once more to be one of the best players in world golf after the problems he's had in the last 2 years to then come back this year and capture the Players Championship and be in a totally different league in winning the US Open by several shots. Kaymer's game is so good right now that you have to fancy his chances of going well again this week. Jason Day is someone that's been a little quiet this season after the problems he's had with injury at the Masters, but he did have a much better finish in the US Open thanks mainly to a good final day for him there and he does have an impressive record when it comes down to the majors, but not an overly impressive record in the Open Championship which will make it harder for him to challenge if he can't step up. Zach Johnson had a good finish in a recent PGA Tour event but other than that he's not been as impressive this season and doesn't seem to have as much form behind him but he certainly has the big game to go well this week, but in this grouping I fell like he has 2 players that are better than him which he'll either thrive on or struggle with. Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Bubba Watson - This grouping for me is all about Masters champion Bubba Watson and last years champion Phil Mickelson more than it is the ageing champion of 2 years ago in Ernie Els who simply struggles to compete to the highest level now on a regular basis. Bubba Watson though is at the top of his game right now and you'd expect him to add to the 2 Masters titles he has in terms of majors. Watson does seem to struggle a little away from Augusta though and he missed the cut at the US Open so i'll be intrigued to see what he can do on British soil here having never made a top 10. Phil Mickelson as defending champion though will have all the confidence he needs that he can repeat the feat this year and even though he didn't do great at Augusta missing the cut and then never really looking in the running at the US Open he did have a good finish at last weeks Scottish Open and that was what gave him the confidence to win last years Open so why can't he have a strong finish again?
Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Jason Dufner - Due to Jason Dufners poor fortunes where he really struggled at the Masters and the US Open since last years US PGA victory and the fact that he has never had a top 20 at the Open and has only made the cut twice won't fill him with confidence to be a top challenger this week. Adam Scott will be confident he can avenge his final day meltdown in 2012 at the Open to win this week as the world No.1 and clearly the best player in the world. He's been consistent in the first half of the year without challenging for a major but he has won a couple of events on the PGA Tour and you'd expect someone like Scott to do well this week given his experience in majors and of challenging at the Open. Justin Rose is clearly the form man though as he has won the last 2 events that he's entered which is fantastic going for him and will fill him with confidence especially to win the Scottish Open like Mickelson did last year before winning the Open and someone with Rose's ability and confidence will believe that he can do exactly the same thing with his game being there or thereabouts ahead of the little run that he's been with him playing good golf in the last few months. Rose is one of the hot favourites now to win this, having climbed up as well to No.3 in the world.
Ryo Ishikawa, Lee Westwood and Keegan Bradley - This grouping for me is all about Lee Westwood and Keegan Bradley as you'd expect one of them to do a fair bit better than Ishikawa given their experience of these majors and being near the top of the leaderboard in them. Westwood is still searching for his first major and he hasn't been playing great this year to challenge in them as yet missing the cut at the US Open and his preparation hasn't gone great for this one having missed another cut at the Scottish Open. In my view there comes a point in someone's career when you come so close to winning majors that the mental damage must pile up and make your chances of actually winning one a lot less. Keegan Bradley though doesn't have the same damage, and even though his form hadn't been great he did manage a strong week at Pinehurst No.2 and I think he can take that nicely into this Open and while I don't think he's a main contender I think he'll make the cut and be found around the middle of the leaderboard on Sunday.
Now it's time for me to pick out the guys I think have the best chance of taking the title on Sunday evening:
8 picks for the Open Championship:
Henrik Stenson -Henrik Stenson has been in fantastic form lately and he'll be a massive contender this week for the title as I think he can't be too far away from winning a major championship. Before finishing tied for 4th at this years US Open he finished tied for 14th at the Masters as well as 3rd at last years US PGA Championship and 2nd at the Open a year ago as well which all shows his consistency across all of the majors demonstrating that he has what it takes to push on and win any of them, and that's all coupled with 3 tournament wins in 2013 alone which is a great record for the man that is now up to No.2 in the world. Stenson's resurgence has been very impressive and the only thing that's lacking from his CV having won the unofficial 5th major the Players Championship in 2009 is a full major championship and in my opinion there's no reason that this week won't be his week.
Adam Scott - As the new world No.1 you have to feel that Adam Scott is one guy who is a contender for every major he enters and he'll be out to avenge what happened in 2012 where he really went under the pressure of winning his first major and having finished tied 3rd last year he'll want to seal the deal if he puts himself in with a chance which he is consistently doing in the major tournaments. For Scott this year the best is yet to come but he'll feel confident knowing he can play in British conditions and put himself up there to win his 2nd major. As world no.1 now and a regular PGA Tour winner at the age of 34 this is the stage of Scott's career where he should be cashing in and adding to his major tally and this week is as good a week as any to start and there's no reason in my opinion why he shouldn't.
Phil Mickelson - The defending champion Phil Mickelson is always up there to win every major he plays in and it's no surprise to anyone when he does win a major as it was when he won his first Claret Jug last year. He won that coming off the back of a good win at the Scottish Open and I believe he felt that that was the perfect preparation for the big one and in my view you can't go wrong with a good run the week before a major in similar conditions. Mickelson had another pretty good run at the Scottish Open last week where he finished tied for 11th and that will really boost his confidence ahead of this week after a poor first half to the season which saw him miss the cut at the Masters and fail once again to win the US Open after struggling throughout the 4 days with his putting and he'll know that that was his area to work on ahead of this week and he'd have worked hard on that to make sure that he can match his ever impressive iron work with some good work on the greens to take the opportunities that present themselves. I think we can expect Phil to be nearer the top of the leaderboard at Hoylake this week.
Matt Kuchar - Matt Kuchar has been mister consistency in the last few years as possibly the nicest guy on the golf tour and one of the most hard working has hit so many top 10s that it's quite staggering and a particularly good run of form around April saw him lose a play-off at the Shell Houston before finishing tied for 5th at the Masters and winning the RBC Heritage. He also finished tied for 12th at the US Open and the only thing that seemed to let him down in both of the years first 2 majors that for me were the difference between a top 10 finish and winning the title was the way he finished picking up late bogey's every time after a lot of hard work that had gone before, and that wasn't simply down to the latter holes being tough because every hole on a major course is. His record in the last 2 years at the Open Championship is also pretty good finishing tied for 15th last year and tied for 9th in 2012, showing he has the game to compete at the Open and possibly win a claret jug. If you look at Matt Kuchar I think you see a pretty consistent player who almost has the complete game with great iron play and some more than handy putting to boot. Over the course of the last 3 years Matt has challenged for a lot of major titles and my view is that he can't be all that far from winning his first ever major championship and I'd actually be amazed if I'm sat here this time next year saying that Kuch hasn't won a major. There's absolutely no reason that coming into this event fresh after about 2 or 3 weeks off won't help him as long as he's well prepared and that means that there's no reason for this to not be his week.
Rickie Fowler - Rickie Fowler has really impressed me this season and whether he can win this tournament or not is one question, but I certainly feel like he can secure a top 5 finish. Now that his coach is Butch Harmon who also coaches the likes of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson I feel like we'll start to see more of the potential come out of Rickie and that his all round game will improve which makes him a solid contender for this week. After finishing tied for 5th at the Masters and then tied for second at the US Open Rickie is clearly in good form and his best finish at an Open championship is also tied 5th which isn't bad for a 25 year old. Finishing tied 8th at the Scottish Open also confirms that he can certainly play in British conditions and has the form behind him on what was a pretty solid weekend that finished with a 65 on the Sunday. He'll be confident that he can keep his form going and as a young man of 25 he shouldn't be necessarily be thinking about winning majors as much as getting strong finishes which he is doing.
Martin Kaymer - It was always going to be hard for me to not include Kaymer as a contender this week with him winning both the Players Championship and of course last months US Open by quite a large number of shots showing his dominance and there is certainly a case right now that even though he is ranked at 12 in the world that he is certainly one of if not the best golfer in the world right now. His best finish at the Open is tied for 7th but that doesn't necessarily reflect his return to form which has been taking place in 2014 after a couple of years of him struggling a little and working hard to change and tinker with his game. With him in the right place now though he has to be a contender for most golf tournaments he plays in and that will be the case with this Open Championship. All it's about now is whether he can play the conditions as well as the course with that being a big challenge in Britain.
Justin Rose - Justin Rose right now is at the top of his game after winning in Scotland just as Phil Mickelson did before winning the Open last year but Rose has also won a PGA Tour event just a couple of weeks ago too at Congressional in the Quicken Loans national so he'll be one of the most confident players coming to Hoylake which will be fantastic for him. However, he has missed the cut in the last 2 years at the Open and that will be in the back of his mind as well although of course winning his first major last year will give him all the confidence he needs to go on and win more and I'm sure that he can. As I say he'll be full of confidence and he certainly has the game and the form to do well on this course because he'll always have confidence in the shots he'll play which is key.
Rory McIlroy - For me Rory is always a contender for any major that he's playing in these days but there is still a lot for him to work on in order for him to put the perfect week together at the Open Championship. Rory has showed off some good Golf this year at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth where he won and then again last week at the Scottish Open where he opened up with a round of 64 only to take all of that back with another typically bad show on Friday where he shot 78 before a good weekend eventually meant that he finished on 7 under par on a week that could've been so much better than it actually was. We know that Rory has the power in his game that will serve him well on this course and he's been working hard to try and get his game in better shape for the links courses that the Open Championship throws up. However, the thing that has let him down in the majors so far is his putting where he hasn't been able to take his opportunities and his general lack of consistency over 4 days where he always seems to open a weekend nicely before struggling on Friday and I'm not sure what it is about the second round of a golf tournament that seems to get to McIlroy but if he can work it out and fix it he's a really hot favourite to take away the title on Sunday in my opinion.
It will be a great weekend of Golf and for me my 3 picks for the week are Matt Kuchar, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler as I think they all have very good chances and I'm looking forward to how it all pans out this week at Hoylake.
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Football: World Cup final Preview
The football world cup then is nearing it's conclusion with the semi-finals completed last night with yet another penalty shoot-out in there, so we just have the final left to come on Sunday while third and fourth will be decided on Saturday. The drama continued in the semi-finals to follow up a fantastic world cup that we'd had so far particularly the group stages and the Last 16. The first semi-final saw the hosts Brazil take on the 2006 hosts and 2010 3rd placed side Germany, and Brazil's key absentees in Neymar and Thiago Silva showed from the outset as Brazil were left pretty shell shocked by several first half goals in quick succession as the hosts weak defence was pulled apart along with the dreams of a nation wanting to see their team lift the world cup on home soil. At half time Brazil were 5-0 down and basically out then and things only got worse in the second half as the Germans added a couple more before Brazil got a consolation goal losing the semi-final 7-1. Joining the Germans in the final will be Argentina after they came through a penalty shoot-out against the Netherlands after a dull 120 minutes of play. The first half saw both teams showing a lot of energy and creativity but the defences were solid and up to the challenge and as the game went on and the attacking threat started to tire and weaken the match became quite dull as we went to penalties. Fatefully it was Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder that couldn't convert that penalties as Netherlands bowed out.
Before I get on to the main event of the world cup final I will quickly have a few words on the 3rd place Play-off:
Saturday 12th July:
Brazil Vs Netherlands - Both of these sides now after disappointing world cup defeats will have to pick their heads out of the bin and fight on for their own pride as it's never nice to get to the semi-finals and then finish 4th. Both of these sides were also poor in their semi-finals so they have a lot to make up for, although I think it's to an even greater extent for Brazil who are on home soil and will desperately need to rescue their dignity after a 7-1 drubbing to make something of this. However, defensively Brazil were absolutely rubbish while Netherlands just lacked a little bit of cutting edge against a much stronger Argentine defence than they will face here and I think the side that loses these games is always the one side that finds it harder to pick themselves up and Brazil have a long way to pick themselves up from after such an embarrassing defeat where pretty much everything went wrong tactically.
Prediction: Netherlands
Now it's time for me to take a look at the main event then, as the biggest prize in world sport will be decided:
Sunday 13th July:
Germany Vs Argentina - The first thing that has to be said is that the 2 strongest sides in this world cup have managed to make it into the final which can often be a novelty with some big events in other sports. What the Germans boast is a lot of power while Argentina have the stand out player skill wise in Lionel Messi and probably just have a little bit more skill in terms of players. Germany's defence has been rock solid in these knock-out stages with keeper Manuel Neuer really taking charge of things on the biggest stages and he has been the stand-out keeper of the world cup by a distance in my mind. Both sides have a great amount of quality and once again Germany have one of the best finishers ever to grace the world cup in Miroslav Klose who is now the leading scorer in world cup finals of all time and he certainly knows how to take the chances a top class midfield creates for him. Lionel Messi has been pretty impressive in this world cup, and it's probably been his best world cup performance showing to many that he's the best player in the world and there are a large number of football fans that say he deserves a world cup win. However, one man doesn't make a team and as a whole the rest of the Argentine's haven't played to a collective standard that Germany have as an enormous powerhouse in world football and if anyone deserves a world cup it's them and for me they have been the best side in this tournament and they just need to produce that one more time now.
Prediction: Germany
Whatever the outcome this world cup will go down as one of the best ones for a little while with so much drama in the group stages followed by several knock-out games going down to penalties with a whole host of surprise results as well as quality football and I hope the final can reflect this as well. Wherever you are to watch the final, I hope you enjoy it and I hope you've enjoyed the tournament as much as myself and the whole population of football fans worldwide have.
Before I get on to the main event of the world cup final I will quickly have a few words on the 3rd place Play-off:
Saturday 12th July:
Brazil Vs Netherlands - Both of these sides now after disappointing world cup defeats will have to pick their heads out of the bin and fight on for their own pride as it's never nice to get to the semi-finals and then finish 4th. Both of these sides were also poor in their semi-finals so they have a lot to make up for, although I think it's to an even greater extent for Brazil who are on home soil and will desperately need to rescue their dignity after a 7-1 drubbing to make something of this. However, defensively Brazil were absolutely rubbish while Netherlands just lacked a little bit of cutting edge against a much stronger Argentine defence than they will face here and I think the side that loses these games is always the one side that finds it harder to pick themselves up and Brazil have a long way to pick themselves up from after such an embarrassing defeat where pretty much everything went wrong tactically.
Prediction: Netherlands
Now it's time for me to take a look at the main event then, as the biggest prize in world sport will be decided:
Sunday 13th July:
Germany Vs Argentina - The first thing that has to be said is that the 2 strongest sides in this world cup have managed to make it into the final which can often be a novelty with some big events in other sports. What the Germans boast is a lot of power while Argentina have the stand out player skill wise in Lionel Messi and probably just have a little bit more skill in terms of players. Germany's defence has been rock solid in these knock-out stages with keeper Manuel Neuer really taking charge of things on the biggest stages and he has been the stand-out keeper of the world cup by a distance in my mind. Both sides have a great amount of quality and once again Germany have one of the best finishers ever to grace the world cup in Miroslav Klose who is now the leading scorer in world cup finals of all time and he certainly knows how to take the chances a top class midfield creates for him. Lionel Messi has been pretty impressive in this world cup, and it's probably been his best world cup performance showing to many that he's the best player in the world and there are a large number of football fans that say he deserves a world cup win. However, one man doesn't make a team and as a whole the rest of the Argentine's haven't played to a collective standard that Germany have as an enormous powerhouse in world football and if anyone deserves a world cup it's them and for me they have been the best side in this tournament and they just need to produce that one more time now.
Prediction: Germany
Whatever the outcome this world cup will go down as one of the best ones for a little while with so much drama in the group stages followed by several knock-out games going down to penalties with a whole host of surprise results as well as quality football and I hope the final can reflect this as well. Wherever you are to watch the final, I hope you enjoy it and I hope you've enjoyed the tournament as much as myself and the whole population of football fans worldwide have.
Cricket: T20 Blast round preview
It's another huge round of T20 Blast action this week as we have about 3 weeks of action left in this seasons group stages and the race for quarter-final spots is really on fire now with fewer and fewer teams left with a chance of reaching the top 4 in both the North and South groups. As always the big games are on Friday night which seems to have worked very well, but the weather hasn't quite been favourable with a large amount of Friday night games being rained out in 2 of the last 3 weeks which is slightly disappointing and has hampered certain teams chances of progressing.
Now it's time for me to take a look at the 8 games coming up on Friday night across the 2 groups:
Friday 11th July:
Leicestershire Vs Lancashire - In this contest we have 2 sides very much at different ends of the table with very differing hopes in this competition. With 3 games to go and following a win last time out in Andrew Flintoff's comeback game against Worcestershire, Lancashire are top of the North group and 6 points clear of 5th placed Durham which practically means that they are into the quarter-finals already and can relax a little bit for this game this weekend. Meanwhile, Leicestershire are 8th in the table with a win last time out against 9th placed Derbyshire only one of 3 that they've managed in their 10 games, and because of the teams between them and 4th placed Yorkshire as well as a 4 point gap, as expected Leicestershire are highly unlikely to qualify and have struggled throughout with a poor squad and I don't expect things to turn around for them soon either.
Prediction: Lancashire
Hampshire Vs Middlesex - This game is a similar tale of 2 sides at very different ends of the T20 Blast spectrum, with Hampshire flying and Middlesex already out and turning to the kids for their remaining games. Hampshire may have played a game or 2 more than the teams around them and they did lose their last game to now 5th placed Somerset, but they are still 5 points clear of them having played a game more and that defeat was one of only 4 in their 11 games, all of which have been completed and not fallen to the weather. It's now officially mathematically impossible for Middlesex to make the quarter-finals with only one win in 11 games for the bottom placed side and the chances of them getting another are pretty slim as they continue to rest their better players for the County Championship and these games will purely be seen as a run out for lesser experienced players and to try some different tactics. Hampshire though will be in full strength and wanting a strong finish in their final 3 games and I think they're almost certain to grab a win here and continue building momentum.
Prediction: Hampshire
Northamptonshire Vs Derbyshire - Northamptonshire and Derbyshire are much closer in the table in terms of position however, when it comes to points there is actually a drastic difference and Northamptonshire still have qualification hopes and although they were skittled for 82 by Leicestershire in their last game before the rain came, Northamptonshire did win their last completed game against Warwickshire and are only a couple of points away from 4th placed Yorkshire if they could have a strong finish they are well in with a chance of making the quarter-finals and continuing their title defence. The fact that they won this last year with a very strong finish to the group stages and their squad is still very similar to that squad will help their confidence. One thing that will boost their confidence is that Derbyshire offer little to no threat at all as a team having won only one of 10 games, losing last time out to Leicestershire by quite a margin really and Leicester aren't much better than themselves. T20 certainly doesn't seem to be Derbyshire's game like it is Northamptonshire's.
Prediction: Northamptonshire
Sussex Vs Kent - This game definetly has the feel of a do or die game in the South group with both sides still having mathematical, but realistically slim chances of qualifying sitting 7th and 8th in the table. A loss last time out in a rain effected match dented Sussex's chances of qualifying pushing them down to 7th and 3 points from Glamorgan with 4 games left, knowing that another loss in this game would see them realistically go out of the competition and with their general inconsistency of the season I can't see them making the cut. Kent were thrashed in their last game against Hampshire and also lost their first game against Sussex earlier in the year as a few injuries to experienced faces have left their young team fairly exposed and now really struggling for form. Their chances of qualifying are low with a 4 point gap between them and 4th place and those chances will be non-existent in my view if they lose here with the games they have to come. Both sides will be giving it their all in this game but that general feeling youth about Kent has them closer to a side like Middlesex in rock bottom than the quarter-final challengers like Sussex.
Prediction: Sussex
Durham Vs Yorkshire - This game is absolutely massive in the context of the North group with Yorkshire sitting in 4th place in the last qualifying spot, while Durham are just a place and a point below them with both sides having an equal 4 games left. Yorkshire had a large number of games last week and it really was a make or break week for them, although in the end it went neither way with a win, a loss to Durham and then a no result on the Friday which Durham also mirrored. As I said Durham did win last time the 2 sides met just last week, but that was on a pretty poor pitch where Yorkshire unexpectedly collapsed. Yorkshire I'd say are marginally that bit stronger than Durham whose squad does look a little bit bare in patches compared to Yorkshire who have big guns from top to bottom and a great deal of experience in there.
Prediction: Yorkshire
Somerset Vs Gloucestershire - There's only a point separating these 2 in 5th and 6th with Somerset being 2 points off of the quarter-final spots and Gloucestershire 3 points away. Both sides have struggled at times in this tournament but they seem to be getting back on track now, with Gloucestershire winning a rain affected match against Sussex last Friday while Somerset beat Hampshire quite well on Sunday to keep them in the hunt. On paper though Somerset are perhaps a little too strong to not be making it to the quarter-finals and I'm sure a lot of people would love to see them there, while Gloucestershire in my opinion are a much weaker side to the extent that they'd look slightly out of place in the last 8. In games like these with the loser left struggling to qualify both sides have plenty of inspiration but I always feel that a home crowd and home advantage really comes into play.
Prediction: Somerset
Warwickshire Vs Worcestershire - This game is another huge North group game in the context of things with Worcestershire having lost their last game to Lancashire and with only 3 games left which is one less than 4th placed Yorkshire and Durham which gives both a realistic chance of passing them as they sit in 3rd but still 4 points clear of 5th placed Durham, but a loss here would certainly leave them sweating in their final couple of games if Yorkshire, Durham and Northamptonshire could keep winning. Meanwhile, Warwickshire are only 1 point behind 4th placed Yorkshire but again they have played a game more and have lost a fair bit of momentum which showed in their Tuesday night loss to Nottinghamshire. Another loss here will make it very tough for them to qualify with only a couple of games left but the momentum is really not with them at the moment as they were in the top 3 only a couple of weeks ago.
Prediction: Worcestershire
Surrey Vs Glamorgan - This game is absolutely huge in the South group for Glamorgan much more than Surrey and for the chasing pack outside of the top 4. With 5 games to go still Surrey are very well placed in 3rd despite a defeat last time out to Essex at Chelmsford which is always a fortress for them, but equally The Oval is always a tough place to go and try and beat a Surrey side full of big guns right the way through the line-up and they will be full of confidence being 3 points clear of 5th with a game in hand and qualification certainly in their own hands. It's a similar story for Glamorgan who have qualification in their hands but a defeat here may well take it out of their hands with Somerset breathing down their necks 2 points behind them in 5th with a superior net run rate. Glamorgan have been well but, Surrey do look like a side in very good form ahead of this game and despite Glamorgan's form they are always a tough side to beat at home.
Prediction: Surrey
As you can see there is so much to play for this week with a lot of sides set to have their quarter-final hopes smashed this week, while others will have there's heavily boosted. Will be incredibly interesting to see how it all pans out and as always it will be good fun too. I'll be back next week to preview some more action as the thermostat is turned up another notch.
Now it's time for me to take a look at the 8 games coming up on Friday night across the 2 groups:
Friday 11th July:
Leicestershire Vs Lancashire - In this contest we have 2 sides very much at different ends of the table with very differing hopes in this competition. With 3 games to go and following a win last time out in Andrew Flintoff's comeback game against Worcestershire, Lancashire are top of the North group and 6 points clear of 5th placed Durham which practically means that they are into the quarter-finals already and can relax a little bit for this game this weekend. Meanwhile, Leicestershire are 8th in the table with a win last time out against 9th placed Derbyshire only one of 3 that they've managed in their 10 games, and because of the teams between them and 4th placed Yorkshire as well as a 4 point gap, as expected Leicestershire are highly unlikely to qualify and have struggled throughout with a poor squad and I don't expect things to turn around for them soon either.
Prediction: Lancashire
Hampshire Vs Middlesex - This game is a similar tale of 2 sides at very different ends of the T20 Blast spectrum, with Hampshire flying and Middlesex already out and turning to the kids for their remaining games. Hampshire may have played a game or 2 more than the teams around them and they did lose their last game to now 5th placed Somerset, but they are still 5 points clear of them having played a game more and that defeat was one of only 4 in their 11 games, all of which have been completed and not fallen to the weather. It's now officially mathematically impossible for Middlesex to make the quarter-finals with only one win in 11 games for the bottom placed side and the chances of them getting another are pretty slim as they continue to rest their better players for the County Championship and these games will purely be seen as a run out for lesser experienced players and to try some different tactics. Hampshire though will be in full strength and wanting a strong finish in their final 3 games and I think they're almost certain to grab a win here and continue building momentum.
Prediction: Hampshire
Northamptonshire Vs Derbyshire - Northamptonshire and Derbyshire are much closer in the table in terms of position however, when it comes to points there is actually a drastic difference and Northamptonshire still have qualification hopes and although they were skittled for 82 by Leicestershire in their last game before the rain came, Northamptonshire did win their last completed game against Warwickshire and are only a couple of points away from 4th placed Yorkshire if they could have a strong finish they are well in with a chance of making the quarter-finals and continuing their title defence. The fact that they won this last year with a very strong finish to the group stages and their squad is still very similar to that squad will help their confidence. One thing that will boost their confidence is that Derbyshire offer little to no threat at all as a team having won only one of 10 games, losing last time out to Leicestershire by quite a margin really and Leicester aren't much better than themselves. T20 certainly doesn't seem to be Derbyshire's game like it is Northamptonshire's.
Prediction: Northamptonshire
Sussex Vs Kent - This game definetly has the feel of a do or die game in the South group with both sides still having mathematical, but realistically slim chances of qualifying sitting 7th and 8th in the table. A loss last time out in a rain effected match dented Sussex's chances of qualifying pushing them down to 7th and 3 points from Glamorgan with 4 games left, knowing that another loss in this game would see them realistically go out of the competition and with their general inconsistency of the season I can't see them making the cut. Kent were thrashed in their last game against Hampshire and also lost their first game against Sussex earlier in the year as a few injuries to experienced faces have left their young team fairly exposed and now really struggling for form. Their chances of qualifying are low with a 4 point gap between them and 4th place and those chances will be non-existent in my view if they lose here with the games they have to come. Both sides will be giving it their all in this game but that general feeling youth about Kent has them closer to a side like Middlesex in rock bottom than the quarter-final challengers like Sussex.
Prediction: Sussex
Durham Vs Yorkshire - This game is absolutely massive in the context of the North group with Yorkshire sitting in 4th place in the last qualifying spot, while Durham are just a place and a point below them with both sides having an equal 4 games left. Yorkshire had a large number of games last week and it really was a make or break week for them, although in the end it went neither way with a win, a loss to Durham and then a no result on the Friday which Durham also mirrored. As I said Durham did win last time the 2 sides met just last week, but that was on a pretty poor pitch where Yorkshire unexpectedly collapsed. Yorkshire I'd say are marginally that bit stronger than Durham whose squad does look a little bit bare in patches compared to Yorkshire who have big guns from top to bottom and a great deal of experience in there.
Prediction: Yorkshire
Somerset Vs Gloucestershire - There's only a point separating these 2 in 5th and 6th with Somerset being 2 points off of the quarter-final spots and Gloucestershire 3 points away. Both sides have struggled at times in this tournament but they seem to be getting back on track now, with Gloucestershire winning a rain affected match against Sussex last Friday while Somerset beat Hampshire quite well on Sunday to keep them in the hunt. On paper though Somerset are perhaps a little too strong to not be making it to the quarter-finals and I'm sure a lot of people would love to see them there, while Gloucestershire in my opinion are a much weaker side to the extent that they'd look slightly out of place in the last 8. In games like these with the loser left struggling to qualify both sides have plenty of inspiration but I always feel that a home crowd and home advantage really comes into play.
Prediction: Somerset
Warwickshire Vs Worcestershire - This game is another huge North group game in the context of things with Worcestershire having lost their last game to Lancashire and with only 3 games left which is one less than 4th placed Yorkshire and Durham which gives both a realistic chance of passing them as they sit in 3rd but still 4 points clear of 5th placed Durham, but a loss here would certainly leave them sweating in their final couple of games if Yorkshire, Durham and Northamptonshire could keep winning. Meanwhile, Warwickshire are only 1 point behind 4th placed Yorkshire but again they have played a game more and have lost a fair bit of momentum which showed in their Tuesday night loss to Nottinghamshire. Another loss here will make it very tough for them to qualify with only a couple of games left but the momentum is really not with them at the moment as they were in the top 3 only a couple of weeks ago.
Prediction: Worcestershire
Surrey Vs Glamorgan - This game is absolutely huge in the South group for Glamorgan much more than Surrey and for the chasing pack outside of the top 4. With 5 games to go still Surrey are very well placed in 3rd despite a defeat last time out to Essex at Chelmsford which is always a fortress for them, but equally The Oval is always a tough place to go and try and beat a Surrey side full of big guns right the way through the line-up and they will be full of confidence being 3 points clear of 5th with a game in hand and qualification certainly in their own hands. It's a similar story for Glamorgan who have qualification in their hands but a defeat here may well take it out of their hands with Somerset breathing down their necks 2 points behind them in 5th with a superior net run rate. Glamorgan have been well but, Surrey do look like a side in very good form ahead of this game and despite Glamorgan's form they are always a tough side to beat at home.
Prediction: Surrey
As you can see there is so much to play for this week with a lot of sides set to have their quarter-final hopes smashed this week, while others will have there's heavily boosted. Will be incredibly interesting to see how it all pans out and as always it will be good fun too. I'll be back next week to preview some more action as the thermostat is turned up another notch.
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Cricket: England Vs India First Test Preview
After England's Test match summer got off to an unsuccessful and poor start with a 1-0 series loss in the 2 match series against Sri Lanka, failing to close out the First Test and then falling a couple of balls short of successfully saving the 2nd Test match despite being in total control after the first couple of days, it's now the Indians that are in town for a five test match series that starts tomorrow at Trent Bridge and then takes us to Lord's, the Ageas Bowl, Old Trafford and finishing at The Oval, before 5 one-day internationals and T20 match to complete the English international summer of Cricket.
England have a pretty similar squad assembled for the first test here as they did for the tests against Sri Lanka with Ben Stokes being added in after his successful winter in Australia making a century and taking a 6 wicket haul along the way, while Jos Buttler was called up as cover for Matt Prior who the England camp are pretty confident will be fit to play but that will certainly give Buttler even further incentive if Prior can't perform.
A lot has changed though since India were last here with greats like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar long gone while the likes of Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag are also no longer in the side. What does arrive at Trent Bridge though is a squad full of top young players like the amazing Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Ajkinya Rahane, Ravi Jadeja, while guys like Ishant Sharma and MS Dhoni offer a bigger deal of experience having played on English test tours previously. The likes of B Kumar and Mohammed Shami are also expected to be in the bowling line-up that will have a great deal of inexperience and that may lead to India's downfall.
England
As I mentioned earlier this team will very much be similar to the team that played Sri Lanka earlier this summer, with 1 possible change seeing Chris Jordan make way for Ben Stokes who was very impressive in Australia and England had to quickly had to find a path into the team. With the batting things will be unchanged with everyone going nicely in the Sri Lanka series with hundreds for all of Balance, Robson, Root and Ali but it's the experienced guys like captain Cook and Ian Bell that will need to be on top form to steer what is still a very inexperienced batting line-up in the right direction as I could see several middle order collapses coming if the young lads can't fire in every game which won't happen over a 5 match series and you wouldn't expect it to. In big 5 match series like this you're looking for your captain to step up and do his job leading from the front. Alastair Cook hasn't led from the front with the bat for a very long time now and in my opinion he's got this series to make some big runs and save his job because England soon won't be able to justify keeping him in the side.
As for England's bowling you'd expect the man of the series against Sri Lanka in James Anderson to lead from the front on his favourite ground to bowl on and if conditions are very kind to him this week then he could rip through an Indian batting line-up that doesn't have all that much experience in these tough English conditions. Stuart Broad and Liam Plunkett also bowled well against Sri Lanka and I expect them to go well again in this series, while Ben Stokes return sets up what could certainly be an attack of short pitched bowling that will be unleashed on the Indian batsmen, but what worries me and many English fans is the lack of a genuine spin on a pitch here that will be a hard surface and could spin later on in the match if we have dry weather and surely with tests to come at Old Trafford and The Oval, England will need to bring in a front line spinner as they can't expect Moeen Ali to do all of the work to the standard that Graeme Swann most recently set.
Key Man: James Anderson will thrive on of his favourite and best grounds to bowl on here, and he seemed to be back to top form against Sri Lankan bowling very quickly once again and swinging the ball round corners. If conditions are good for him he could single-handedly rip through the Indian order.
India
As I've said India do look quite inexperienced when it comes to playing in Indian conditions, even though they do have a very good batting line-up and I've been very impressed of what I've seen of Dhawan so far, while Virat Kohli is quickly becoming one of the best batsmen in the modern game. The likes of Murali Vijay and Rahane are also very impressive and MS Dhoni will have to put in a big shift as he's expected to bat at 6 with 2 all-rounders to follow him. For me though Virat Kohli is the batsman I expect to score the heaviest in this series and I think how he goes will be the key to how the series turns out. With inexperience surrounding him in the middle order poor performances could see this Indian side fall in a heap and post some quite low scores just as they did on their last tour of England.
The bowlers meanwhile are also much changed from that last trip and it will be very interesting to see how they go for the first time in English except for Ishant Sharma who will have a growing amount of weight on his shoulders since that last tour. Sharma though is a class performer when he is on top form and he bowls at a very good pace which is something the England order didn't have to deal with too much against Sri Lanka and Ishant could well be the man that puts a bit of fear into the English batsmen with some fiery bowling. Ravindra Jadeja will have a big part to play as well in the series and as a young player I've been equally impressed with his bowling as I have his batting and he has a very long test career in front of him and with the England boys always struggling against spin he will have another big role to play. However, the possible inexperience of B Kumar and Mohammed Shami could offer England a little more to cheer during the test series and I could see a lot of changes coming to the Indian line-up where those 2 bowlers are concerned especially with the 4th bowler when we get to the more spin friendly Old Trafford and Oval surfaces.
Key Man: Virat Kohli will have a lot of responsibility in the Indian middle order because if he fails the whole team could crumble around him and England could bowl them out for a cheap score but if he settles in and starts to score heavy, all of the pressure will be back on England's seam attack.
This should be a very interesting and intriguing test match in my opinion with plenty of players to keep an eye for the rest of the series to see how they performed. The warm ups are done now it's time to get this monster test series underway as these 2 brilliant sides continue to rebuild their teams in the longest and best format of Cricket.
England have a pretty similar squad assembled for the first test here as they did for the tests against Sri Lanka with Ben Stokes being added in after his successful winter in Australia making a century and taking a 6 wicket haul along the way, while Jos Buttler was called up as cover for Matt Prior who the England camp are pretty confident will be fit to play but that will certainly give Buttler even further incentive if Prior can't perform.
A lot has changed though since India were last here with greats like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar long gone while the likes of Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag are also no longer in the side. What does arrive at Trent Bridge though is a squad full of top young players like the amazing Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Ajkinya Rahane, Ravi Jadeja, while guys like Ishant Sharma and MS Dhoni offer a bigger deal of experience having played on English test tours previously. The likes of B Kumar and Mohammed Shami are also expected to be in the bowling line-up that will have a great deal of inexperience and that may lead to India's downfall.
England
As I mentioned earlier this team will very much be similar to the team that played Sri Lanka earlier this summer, with 1 possible change seeing Chris Jordan make way for Ben Stokes who was very impressive in Australia and England had to quickly had to find a path into the team. With the batting things will be unchanged with everyone going nicely in the Sri Lanka series with hundreds for all of Balance, Robson, Root and Ali but it's the experienced guys like captain Cook and Ian Bell that will need to be on top form to steer what is still a very inexperienced batting line-up in the right direction as I could see several middle order collapses coming if the young lads can't fire in every game which won't happen over a 5 match series and you wouldn't expect it to. In big 5 match series like this you're looking for your captain to step up and do his job leading from the front. Alastair Cook hasn't led from the front with the bat for a very long time now and in my opinion he's got this series to make some big runs and save his job because England soon won't be able to justify keeping him in the side.
As for England's bowling you'd expect the man of the series against Sri Lanka in James Anderson to lead from the front on his favourite ground to bowl on and if conditions are very kind to him this week then he could rip through an Indian batting line-up that doesn't have all that much experience in these tough English conditions. Stuart Broad and Liam Plunkett also bowled well against Sri Lanka and I expect them to go well again in this series, while Ben Stokes return sets up what could certainly be an attack of short pitched bowling that will be unleashed on the Indian batsmen, but what worries me and many English fans is the lack of a genuine spin on a pitch here that will be a hard surface and could spin later on in the match if we have dry weather and surely with tests to come at Old Trafford and The Oval, England will need to bring in a front line spinner as they can't expect Moeen Ali to do all of the work to the standard that Graeme Swann most recently set.
Key Man: James Anderson will thrive on of his favourite and best grounds to bowl on here, and he seemed to be back to top form against Sri Lankan bowling very quickly once again and swinging the ball round corners. If conditions are good for him he could single-handedly rip through the Indian order.
India
As I've said India do look quite inexperienced when it comes to playing in Indian conditions, even though they do have a very good batting line-up and I've been very impressed of what I've seen of Dhawan so far, while Virat Kohli is quickly becoming one of the best batsmen in the modern game. The likes of Murali Vijay and Rahane are also very impressive and MS Dhoni will have to put in a big shift as he's expected to bat at 6 with 2 all-rounders to follow him. For me though Virat Kohli is the batsman I expect to score the heaviest in this series and I think how he goes will be the key to how the series turns out. With inexperience surrounding him in the middle order poor performances could see this Indian side fall in a heap and post some quite low scores just as they did on their last tour of England.
The bowlers meanwhile are also much changed from that last trip and it will be very interesting to see how they go for the first time in English except for Ishant Sharma who will have a growing amount of weight on his shoulders since that last tour. Sharma though is a class performer when he is on top form and he bowls at a very good pace which is something the England order didn't have to deal with too much against Sri Lanka and Ishant could well be the man that puts a bit of fear into the English batsmen with some fiery bowling. Ravindra Jadeja will have a big part to play as well in the series and as a young player I've been equally impressed with his bowling as I have his batting and he has a very long test career in front of him and with the England boys always struggling against spin he will have another big role to play. However, the possible inexperience of B Kumar and Mohammed Shami could offer England a little more to cheer during the test series and I could see a lot of changes coming to the Indian line-up where those 2 bowlers are concerned especially with the 4th bowler when we get to the more spin friendly Old Trafford and Oval surfaces.
Key Man: Virat Kohli will have a lot of responsibility in the Indian middle order because if he fails the whole team could crumble around him and England could bowl them out for a cheap score but if he settles in and starts to score heavy, all of the pressure will be back on England's seam attack.
This should be a very interesting and intriguing test match in my opinion with plenty of players to keep an eye for the rest of the series to see how they performed. The warm ups are done now it's time to get this monster test series underway as these 2 brilliant sides continue to rebuild their teams in the longest and best format of Cricket.
Monday, 7 July 2014
Football: World Cup Semi-finals Preview
Unfortunately for Football fans the 2014 edition of the World Cup is almost over, but we do still have 4 games to go in the tournament with the 2 semi-finals, the 3rd place Play-off and of course the final all to come. The drama has been massive so far especially in the group stages and then with several Last 16 games going down to extra time and penalties and even though many of the quarter-finals weren't quite that close there were still 4 very close and exciting games in those quarters. The first of those quarters saw an early Germany goal prove enough to see off the French who battled hard but couldn't force an equaliser and the Germans will now play Brazil who just overcame against Colombia, looking in control for a large part but still having to see off a valiant Colombian side winning by just the single goal. The quarters saw Argentina see off Belgium by a single goal after the world cup's dark horses couldn't quite hit top form and they will now play the Netherlands who thanks to Louis Van Gaal's tactical genius to bring on Tim Krul for the penalty shoot-out saw Krul star as Netherlands saw off Costa Rica in the tightest of fashions.
This then is my look ahead to those semi-finals, and who I think will line up for the big final on Sunday:
Semi-Final Draw:
Brazil Vs Germany - In my opinion Brazil have still not been at their best in this world cup and have become pretty reliant on some of their key players to get them this far, rather than playing as a strong team unit. With the absence of key players like Neymar and Thiago Silva though through injury and suspension for this semi-final it will force Brazil to play better as a team unit. They've managed to scrape through knock-out games against Chile and Colombia but the important thing for them and their fans is that Brazil are still in their home world cup with as good a chance of winning as the other 3 sides and if they can put 2 brilliant performances together than they will win it. However, Brazil will be under even more pressure now without Neymar and although they've coped well so far, I'm not sure how long this can continue. Germany will obviously be under pressure themselves but they don't have that same expectation to deal with as the world cup hosts, and the Germans have quietly gone about their business as a very strong unit who in my mind given the results they've picked up, seeing off some tough opponents with a very strong team they've built, they are my new world cup favourites especially as they may see themselves as underdogs with nothing to lose in this match, while Brazil have everything to lose.
Prediction: Germany
Netherlands Vs Argentina - This semi-final looks even tighter than the first one with Netherlands and Argentina both being very evenly matched. Early on for me Argentina definetly have the fire power with the likes of Messi, Di Maria and Aguero in the team but for them their defence has been a massive issue because for all the goals they seem to score they still haven't won a match by more than a single goal and that's not the convincing kind of performance levels that will win you a world cup when you come up against much tougher teams playing much better football than Argentina's previous opponents have been. The Netherlands though have been much better in my view always fighting to the death in matches with their strong team that certainly has strength in depth and for my money if it was managers that won world cups Louis Van Gaal would win this from here for the Netherlands because his tactics have been great in beating Spain so comfortably and to pull off that tactical masterstroke for Saturday's penalty shoot-out against a very strong Costa Rican side. Having reached the world cup final in 2010 this Netherlands side is no stranger to matches on the biggest stage of all, while Argentina have struggled in recent world cups, with this being their best performance in one for some time. That extra little bit of experience therefore that the Netherlands hold and that extra all-round strength they have to exploit Argentina may just be the difference.
Prediction: Netherlands
It should be a really fun and enjoyable conclusion to the World Cup from here for the neutrals with the some really great sides remaining in the competition and for those of you supporting one particular side it will be a very nervy ride if your team is to win the world cup, but after such an exciting and dramatic world cup so far we should have an equally exciting and dramatic end to the tournament and I hope all of you enjoy it. Who will win the World Cup? Well let's just wait and see!
This then is my look ahead to those semi-finals, and who I think will line up for the big final on Sunday:
Semi-Final Draw:
Brazil Vs Germany - In my opinion Brazil have still not been at their best in this world cup and have become pretty reliant on some of their key players to get them this far, rather than playing as a strong team unit. With the absence of key players like Neymar and Thiago Silva though through injury and suspension for this semi-final it will force Brazil to play better as a team unit. They've managed to scrape through knock-out games against Chile and Colombia but the important thing for them and their fans is that Brazil are still in their home world cup with as good a chance of winning as the other 3 sides and if they can put 2 brilliant performances together than they will win it. However, Brazil will be under even more pressure now without Neymar and although they've coped well so far, I'm not sure how long this can continue. Germany will obviously be under pressure themselves but they don't have that same expectation to deal with as the world cup hosts, and the Germans have quietly gone about their business as a very strong unit who in my mind given the results they've picked up, seeing off some tough opponents with a very strong team they've built, they are my new world cup favourites especially as they may see themselves as underdogs with nothing to lose in this match, while Brazil have everything to lose.
Prediction: Germany
Netherlands Vs Argentina - This semi-final looks even tighter than the first one with Netherlands and Argentina both being very evenly matched. Early on for me Argentina definetly have the fire power with the likes of Messi, Di Maria and Aguero in the team but for them their defence has been a massive issue because for all the goals they seem to score they still haven't won a match by more than a single goal and that's not the convincing kind of performance levels that will win you a world cup when you come up against much tougher teams playing much better football than Argentina's previous opponents have been. The Netherlands though have been much better in my view always fighting to the death in matches with their strong team that certainly has strength in depth and for my money if it was managers that won world cups Louis Van Gaal would win this from here for the Netherlands because his tactics have been great in beating Spain so comfortably and to pull off that tactical masterstroke for Saturday's penalty shoot-out against a very strong Costa Rican side. Having reached the world cup final in 2010 this Netherlands side is no stranger to matches on the biggest stage of all, while Argentina have struggled in recent world cups, with this being their best performance in one for some time. That extra little bit of experience therefore that the Netherlands hold and that extra all-round strength they have to exploit Argentina may just be the difference.
Prediction: Netherlands
It should be a really fun and enjoyable conclusion to the World Cup from here for the neutrals with the some really great sides remaining in the competition and for those of you supporting one particular side it will be a very nervy ride if your team is to win the world cup, but after such an exciting and dramatic world cup so far we should have an equally exciting and dramatic end to the tournament and I hope all of you enjoy it. Who will win the World Cup? Well let's just wait and see!
Friday, 4 July 2014
Football: World Cup Quarter Finals
The drama of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil just keeps on going and going as we head into the quarter-finals after an incredibly dramatic Last 16 that could have seen a number of different results to what we actually saw as the games between Brazil and Chile and Costa Rica and Greece went down to penalty shoot-outs while Netherlands beat Mexico with 2 very late goals and Germany, Belgium and Argentina had to win in extra time against Algeria, USA and Switzerland. What it all means is that we have 8 quality teams into the quarter-finals all with very good chances of picking up the biggest prize in world sport, including the hosts who are still battling it out with a chance of lifting a World Cup on home soil, but the pressure is certainly on them to produce.
As I say things are moving at a very fast pace as we hit the quarter-finals and the pressure will start to tell on all of the remaining teams, so lets have a look at the big ties:
Quarter Final Draw:
France Vs Germany - First up tonight in the World Cup quarter-finals is a very tight little all-European tie between France and Germany who have both been very strong so far in this World Cup. Germany have a very strong squad with plenty of hard working players just like the French, but I think the difference in this game could lie within the management. A lot of people have been impressed with the style of play that Didier Deschamps has brought to this French side and it has worked for them with a more convincing Last 16 win and 2 great wins and a draw in the group stages. Meanwhile Germany have struggled at times including in the Last 16 where they had to go through extra time to see off Algeria and they could have to go through extra time again here which could take it's toll on a side that has already had to work harder than expected to get to this stage. In all honesty Germany haven't quite been as strong as everyone really expected them to be after that cracking start against Portugal, but essentially Portugal were always a one man team, while France are working much better as a team than they did in 2010 and are still performing to a great standard playing brilliant football with plenty of class players throughout the team.
Prediction: France
Brazil Vs Colombia - This all South-American tie looks like an incredibly close match that could quite easily go to extra time or even penalties like many of the Last 16 ties. Brazil have hardly been convincing so far in this tournament with a couple of games in the group stages that could've gone very differently and with their last 16 game going down to penalties in a game that they could've so easily lost and in fact I expected them to lose because of their poorer performances and they'll have to play a lot better as a collective unit to make it into the semi-finals and then go on and meet the expectations of the home crowds and win the tournament. Colombia however, have really impressed me and a lot of other people who've been watching this world cup closely and in my opinion they've got to have a brilliant chance at seeing off the hosts. They were brilliant in what can be considered as an easier group, but they were equally as good and convincing against Uruguay without the need for any extra time or penalties like Brazil have had, and let's face it Brazil have had to work a lot harder to get to this stage in their games than Colombia have, there's no pressure on Colombia and Brazil have a lot more to improve upon than Colombia to progress further in this world cup.
Prediction: Colombia
Argentina Vs Belgium - Belgium were tipped by many as the dark horses for this world cup, while Argentina were always going to be one of the South American favourites for this tournament but it has to be said that despite the fact they have a very good team, they still don't seem to be playing like one and they are still reliant so much on Lionel Messi to do all of the work for them and that won't always work against much stronger teams like Belgium. Messi had to provide the assist for the Di Maria goal that sent Argentina through with just minutes to go before them and Switzerland were set for penalties. Belgium did have to go through extra time though to beat a very spirited USA that were led by record breaking Tim Howard. However, Belgium despite having a very strong unit of quality players have struggled to actually produce much quality in the world cup having to scrape 2 or 3 wins now and that's not necessarily the basis for a strong run. This game could come down to experience, and with a lot of young players Belgium probably don't have as much as they'd like to here, but I have a feeling this could go right down to a penalty shoot-out and it is certainly one of those you could flip a coin on. Argentina might just nick it with their extra world cup experience.
Prediction: Argentina
Netherlands Vs Costa Rica - Costa Rica have been one of the surprise packages of this World Cup in Brazil topping a very difficult group that many thought they wouldn't even make it out of, before beating Greece on penalties with some very impressive penalties in what was a near perfect shoot-out for them and they've shown they can hold themselves together well in the big games and high pressured situations. Meanwhile Netherlands have also come good at the right times so far in this tournament. In very crucial first and final group games against Spain and Chile they produced 2 very good performances, while they also got 2 late goals when they needed them the most against Mexico to get into the quarter-finals and on paper they are a much stronger side with a manager in Louis Van Gaal that is also used to the big occasions like they're just normal practice for him so Netherlands will have no problems in experience and there's no reason why with their strength they can't go 1 better than their 2010 performance, while Costa Rica's relative inexperience could make this the end of the road for them.
Prediction: Netherlands
Whoever the winners are from here I really hope that this world cup can continue to bring us plenty more excitement, tension and entertainment, just as it has down throughout the group stages and the start of the knockout phase as it's full steam ahead now for the remainder of the tournament. Who can walk away with the title? Well their are plenty of good sides remaining so it's a very tough one to call so let's just sit back and see how it pans out.
As I say things are moving at a very fast pace as we hit the quarter-finals and the pressure will start to tell on all of the remaining teams, so lets have a look at the big ties:
Quarter Final Draw:
France Vs Germany - First up tonight in the World Cup quarter-finals is a very tight little all-European tie between France and Germany who have both been very strong so far in this World Cup. Germany have a very strong squad with plenty of hard working players just like the French, but I think the difference in this game could lie within the management. A lot of people have been impressed with the style of play that Didier Deschamps has brought to this French side and it has worked for them with a more convincing Last 16 win and 2 great wins and a draw in the group stages. Meanwhile Germany have struggled at times including in the Last 16 where they had to go through extra time to see off Algeria and they could have to go through extra time again here which could take it's toll on a side that has already had to work harder than expected to get to this stage. In all honesty Germany haven't quite been as strong as everyone really expected them to be after that cracking start against Portugal, but essentially Portugal were always a one man team, while France are working much better as a team than they did in 2010 and are still performing to a great standard playing brilliant football with plenty of class players throughout the team.
Prediction: France
Brazil Vs Colombia - This all South-American tie looks like an incredibly close match that could quite easily go to extra time or even penalties like many of the Last 16 ties. Brazil have hardly been convincing so far in this tournament with a couple of games in the group stages that could've gone very differently and with their last 16 game going down to penalties in a game that they could've so easily lost and in fact I expected them to lose because of their poorer performances and they'll have to play a lot better as a collective unit to make it into the semi-finals and then go on and meet the expectations of the home crowds and win the tournament. Colombia however, have really impressed me and a lot of other people who've been watching this world cup closely and in my opinion they've got to have a brilliant chance at seeing off the hosts. They were brilliant in what can be considered as an easier group, but they were equally as good and convincing against Uruguay without the need for any extra time or penalties like Brazil have had, and let's face it Brazil have had to work a lot harder to get to this stage in their games than Colombia have, there's no pressure on Colombia and Brazil have a lot more to improve upon than Colombia to progress further in this world cup.
Prediction: Colombia
Argentina Vs Belgium - Belgium were tipped by many as the dark horses for this world cup, while Argentina were always going to be one of the South American favourites for this tournament but it has to be said that despite the fact they have a very good team, they still don't seem to be playing like one and they are still reliant so much on Lionel Messi to do all of the work for them and that won't always work against much stronger teams like Belgium. Messi had to provide the assist for the Di Maria goal that sent Argentina through with just minutes to go before them and Switzerland were set for penalties. Belgium did have to go through extra time though to beat a very spirited USA that were led by record breaking Tim Howard. However, Belgium despite having a very strong unit of quality players have struggled to actually produce much quality in the world cup having to scrape 2 or 3 wins now and that's not necessarily the basis for a strong run. This game could come down to experience, and with a lot of young players Belgium probably don't have as much as they'd like to here, but I have a feeling this could go right down to a penalty shoot-out and it is certainly one of those you could flip a coin on. Argentina might just nick it with their extra world cup experience.
Prediction: Argentina
Netherlands Vs Costa Rica - Costa Rica have been one of the surprise packages of this World Cup in Brazil topping a very difficult group that many thought they wouldn't even make it out of, before beating Greece on penalties with some very impressive penalties in what was a near perfect shoot-out for them and they've shown they can hold themselves together well in the big games and high pressured situations. Meanwhile Netherlands have also come good at the right times so far in this tournament. In very crucial first and final group games against Spain and Chile they produced 2 very good performances, while they also got 2 late goals when they needed them the most against Mexico to get into the quarter-finals and on paper they are a much stronger side with a manager in Louis Van Gaal that is also used to the big occasions like they're just normal practice for him so Netherlands will have no problems in experience and there's no reason why with their strength they can't go 1 better than their 2010 performance, while Costa Rica's relative inexperience could make this the end of the road for them.
Prediction: Netherlands
Whoever the winners are from here I really hope that this world cup can continue to bring us plenty more excitement, tension and entertainment, just as it has down throughout the group stages and the start of the knockout phase as it's full steam ahead now for the remainder of the tournament. Who can walk away with the title? Well their are plenty of good sides remaining so it's a very tough one to call so let's just sit back and see how it pans out.
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Cricket: T20 Blast Preview
Another week of T20 Blast action means another week of exciting Twenty20 Cricket and tense, intriguing games and there are a lot of them this week as the race for the top 4 in the North and South groups continues as the sides look for quarter-final spots, but who will get there? Slowly but surely in both groups the likely candidates for the top 4 are being whittled down with really about 6 sides in each group being in with a really good chance though there are still 7 or 8 in each that could still mathematically make it, you wouldn't fancy them.
After a few games have already taken place during this week, it's time to have a look at what we can look ahead to this week from Thursday right through to Sunday, with a quick mention of what's already happened this week:
Thursday 3rd July:
Middlesex Vs Glamorgan - This game could really be a one sided one with one side in Glamorgan that are sat in 5th on net run rate behind Sussex and really need every win they can to have a chance of making it into the quarter-finals, while Middlesex with 4 games to go and only a single win to their name have no qualification hopes have already turned to the young players in order to give them some experience and rest their best players for the County Championship which is the best way forward for them you feel. Glamorgan have been playing really well this year and Middlesex simply haven't been playing at all in the T20 competition so with one team very determined and another with nothing to play for there is one very obvious way that this game should go.
Prediction: Glamorgan
Northamptonshire Vs Warwickshire - This game should be a lot closer in the North Group with both sides needing the points to have any chance of making the quarter-finals. Northants won their opening couple of games but haven't won a single one of their next 6 with a couple of no results just about keeping them in the hunt if they can get a win tomorrow as they'd still have 5 games left if they could get on a run. Warwickshire were sitting pretty ahead of their last game, but with losing that in poor fashion and the likes of Durham, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire all getting wins since. Warwickshire may have a game in hand but they need to use it well by getting a win otherwise their chances of making the quarter-finals will start to fade out. Northants have been a bad run in recent times so this a good time for Warwickshire to get their own form back after a couple of bad games.
Prediction: Warwickshire
Friday 4th July:
Durham Vs Nottinghamshire - This is another massive game in the North group with Nottinghamshire sitting in 3rd place on 11 points from 9 games whilst Durham are in 5th on 9 points from 9 games with both sides beating 4th placed Yorkshire in their most recent games. The first game between these 2 sides was won by Durham by just 3 runs and this game is bound to be just as good. Durham have managed to pick up a couple of consecutive wins while Nottinghamshire have been slowly warming up in this event which is always good news for a side with their sights set on winning the whole tournament. Durham have been far from convincing though this year and even in their win on Wednesday against Yorkshire they could only make 123 with the bat in 20 overs showing some certain batting weaknesses and I think Notts look pretty strong all round which makes them the favourites in this tight game.
Prediction: Nottinghamshire
Leicestershire Vs Northamptonshire - Leicestershire have almost been the whipping boys of the T20 Blast this season with a poor squad that really has struggled to gain any real momentum or pick up very many wins at all. Northamptonshire have also struggled after early successes but a win yesterday against Warwickshire keeps them well in the hunt and only 2 points behind 4th placed Yorkshire. Therefore, this game is much more crucial for what is still a very good Northants side who of course won this last year, than it is for Leicestershire and if Northamptonshire could just pick up a bit more confidence they could go on a run that'd take them to the quarter-finals.
Prediction: Northamptionshire
Worcestershire Vs Yorkshire - Here we see top of the table Worcestershire take on Yorkshire in yet another key game in the North group as Yorkshire need the points to keep up their push for the quarter-finals. This has been a big week for Yorkshire with games on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday of which they've only won the one against Leicestershire losing the other 2 against much better opponents. Worcestershire have been very all season long though losing only 2 of their 9 games and they should make the quarter-finals as long as they don't collapse in their last 5 games. If they can pick up a win here though they should be as safe as houses and they have been a strong all-round unit home and away while Yorkshire have just lacked a little bit of consistency to their performances and a side high on confidence like Worcestershire should take advantage after a long week for Yorkshire.
Prediction: Worcestershire
Gloucestershire Vs Sussex - Back onto the South group now and these 2 sides again are at opposite ends of the table with Gloucestershire struggling in 7th place and although they can still qualify for the quarter-finals, they don't really have the squad to compete and make that mark now with a win here certainly being a must if they have any hopes. Sussex meanwhile are in 4th place and won't want to let that position slip from there with the good one-day side that they have, coming into this after an easy win over Middlesex. As I say their is quite a large difference in these 2 sides squads even if that isn't reflected in the group tables as much but I can't really see Gloucestershire having as much of a chance if Sussex are on form.
Prediction: Gloucestershire
Warwickshire Vs Lancashire - Warwickshire are just hitting a little bit of a downward curve in the T20 Blast as they were nicely situated in the top 4 a couple of games ago but now with bad defeats to Derbyshire and then Northamptonshire yesterday the Bears are down to 6th in the table still within a point of 4th spot but they need to get their momentum back and they have a tough game here if they are to do so. Lancashire have played really well in this seasons competition siting joint top with Worcestershire and their only losses being their opening game to 3rd placed Notts and a Roses clash with 4th placed Yorkshire. However, when it's come to playing sides lower down the table Lancashire have been on top form home and away, and they will need to be again here for victory, but right now they are playing really well as a T20 unit and that is one of the biggest factors to T20 success.
Prediction: Lancashire
Glamorgan Vs Somerset - Last night Glamorgan had a nice win against poorly placed Middlesex who have been very poor in this competition, but with a much stronger side than Middlesex, Somerset have also been struggling and only picking up 3 wins from 8 games leaving them 4 points behind 4th placed Glamorgan with a game in hand on them. Therefore, it doesn't take an idiot to work out that, even with 6 games to go, this is a do or die game for Somerset who can't afford to go 6 points off of the top 4 with only 5 games left as that would leave them needing to win them all, but a win tonight would mean that winning their game in hand would put them level on points with Glamorgan so it's all to play for. Somerset have a very strong side but Glamorgan have been playing well as a unit and last nights win gets them slightly back on track having lost a few games since a very good start. However, when the pressure is on and the need to win is this great the cream rises to the top and that cream is Somerset.
Prediction: Somerset
Essex Vs Surrey - With Surrey's convincing win on Wednesday over Kent these 2 are now the top 2 sides in the South group with Essex just a couple of points clear of Surrey having only lost the single game while Surrey have lost a couple of games including the first between these 2 teams. Both of these sides look like powerhouses with the teams they have with neither side really having much weakness throughout the side which makes this such a great contest. Surrey's big hitting batsmen should thrive on the much smaller Chelmsford ground and Jason Roy is probably one of the in form batsmen of the whole competition right now the way he is striking the ball. Both sides weakness may be the bowling and things will all depend on how the Essex quick bowlers like Topley, Napier and Masters go as they can either be very economic when going well but if the big hitting Surrey batsmen go at them from the off that may be the difference as both sides bat very deep.
Prediction: Surrey
Kent Vs Hampshire - Hampshire's last game may have seen them lose out to Surrey in quite a crushing defeat there for the one-day specialists but they will be massive favourites for this match as Kent are now starting to tail off thanks to injuries of experienced players in what was already a team packed with young players and even more so now. Realistically that could be the difference from Kent making the quarter-finals with games like these to come as they really needed their experienced players to make a game of it or even win games like this against strong one-day sides with fewer weaknesses like Hampshire, even if their bowling doesn't look quite as good as it has done in previous years. However, their bowling line-up is still very good and their batting is even stronger than ever now with lots of quality ball strikers in the line-up.
Prediction: Hampshire
Saturday 5th July:
Hampshire Vs Somerset - Preview to follow Friday's games
Sunday 6th July:
Derbyshire Vs Leicestershire - Preview to follow Friday's games
Worcestershire Vs Lancashire - Preview to follow Friday's games
As you can see there are plenty of games to keep us entertained throughout the week and this may well be one of the really key weeks of action as I think we will really have a feel of who the main contenders for the quarter-finals will be as most sides will only have about 3 or 4 games left at the end of this week. Will be very interesting as always to see how it pans out.
After a few games have already taken place during this week, it's time to have a look at what we can look ahead to this week from Thursday right through to Sunday, with a quick mention of what's already happened this week:
Thursday 3rd July:
Middlesex Vs Glamorgan - This game could really be a one sided one with one side in Glamorgan that are sat in 5th on net run rate behind Sussex and really need every win they can to have a chance of making it into the quarter-finals, while Middlesex with 4 games to go and only a single win to their name have no qualification hopes have already turned to the young players in order to give them some experience and rest their best players for the County Championship which is the best way forward for them you feel. Glamorgan have been playing really well this year and Middlesex simply haven't been playing at all in the T20 competition so with one team very determined and another with nothing to play for there is one very obvious way that this game should go.
Prediction: Glamorgan
Northamptonshire Vs Warwickshire - This game should be a lot closer in the North Group with both sides needing the points to have any chance of making the quarter-finals. Northants won their opening couple of games but haven't won a single one of their next 6 with a couple of no results just about keeping them in the hunt if they can get a win tomorrow as they'd still have 5 games left if they could get on a run. Warwickshire were sitting pretty ahead of their last game, but with losing that in poor fashion and the likes of Durham, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire all getting wins since. Warwickshire may have a game in hand but they need to use it well by getting a win otherwise their chances of making the quarter-finals will start to fade out. Northants have been a bad run in recent times so this a good time for Warwickshire to get their own form back after a couple of bad games.
Prediction: Warwickshire
Friday 4th July:
Durham Vs Nottinghamshire - This is another massive game in the North group with Nottinghamshire sitting in 3rd place on 11 points from 9 games whilst Durham are in 5th on 9 points from 9 games with both sides beating 4th placed Yorkshire in their most recent games. The first game between these 2 sides was won by Durham by just 3 runs and this game is bound to be just as good. Durham have managed to pick up a couple of consecutive wins while Nottinghamshire have been slowly warming up in this event which is always good news for a side with their sights set on winning the whole tournament. Durham have been far from convincing though this year and even in their win on Wednesday against Yorkshire they could only make 123 with the bat in 20 overs showing some certain batting weaknesses and I think Notts look pretty strong all round which makes them the favourites in this tight game.
Prediction: Nottinghamshire
Leicestershire Vs Northamptonshire - Leicestershire have almost been the whipping boys of the T20 Blast this season with a poor squad that really has struggled to gain any real momentum or pick up very many wins at all. Northamptonshire have also struggled after early successes but a win yesterday against Warwickshire keeps them well in the hunt and only 2 points behind 4th placed Yorkshire. Therefore, this game is much more crucial for what is still a very good Northants side who of course won this last year, than it is for Leicestershire and if Northamptonshire could just pick up a bit more confidence they could go on a run that'd take them to the quarter-finals.
Prediction: Northamptionshire
Worcestershire Vs Yorkshire - Here we see top of the table Worcestershire take on Yorkshire in yet another key game in the North group as Yorkshire need the points to keep up their push for the quarter-finals. This has been a big week for Yorkshire with games on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday of which they've only won the one against Leicestershire losing the other 2 against much better opponents. Worcestershire have been very all season long though losing only 2 of their 9 games and they should make the quarter-finals as long as they don't collapse in their last 5 games. If they can pick up a win here though they should be as safe as houses and they have been a strong all-round unit home and away while Yorkshire have just lacked a little bit of consistency to their performances and a side high on confidence like Worcestershire should take advantage after a long week for Yorkshire.
Prediction: Worcestershire
Gloucestershire Vs Sussex - Back onto the South group now and these 2 sides again are at opposite ends of the table with Gloucestershire struggling in 7th place and although they can still qualify for the quarter-finals, they don't really have the squad to compete and make that mark now with a win here certainly being a must if they have any hopes. Sussex meanwhile are in 4th place and won't want to let that position slip from there with the good one-day side that they have, coming into this after an easy win over Middlesex. As I say their is quite a large difference in these 2 sides squads even if that isn't reflected in the group tables as much but I can't really see Gloucestershire having as much of a chance if Sussex are on form.
Prediction: Gloucestershire
Warwickshire Vs Lancashire - Warwickshire are just hitting a little bit of a downward curve in the T20 Blast as they were nicely situated in the top 4 a couple of games ago but now with bad defeats to Derbyshire and then Northamptonshire yesterday the Bears are down to 6th in the table still within a point of 4th spot but they need to get their momentum back and they have a tough game here if they are to do so. Lancashire have played really well in this seasons competition siting joint top with Worcestershire and their only losses being their opening game to 3rd placed Notts and a Roses clash with 4th placed Yorkshire. However, when it's come to playing sides lower down the table Lancashire have been on top form home and away, and they will need to be again here for victory, but right now they are playing really well as a T20 unit and that is one of the biggest factors to T20 success.
Prediction: Lancashire
Glamorgan Vs Somerset - Last night Glamorgan had a nice win against poorly placed Middlesex who have been very poor in this competition, but with a much stronger side than Middlesex, Somerset have also been struggling and only picking up 3 wins from 8 games leaving them 4 points behind 4th placed Glamorgan with a game in hand on them. Therefore, it doesn't take an idiot to work out that, even with 6 games to go, this is a do or die game for Somerset who can't afford to go 6 points off of the top 4 with only 5 games left as that would leave them needing to win them all, but a win tonight would mean that winning their game in hand would put them level on points with Glamorgan so it's all to play for. Somerset have a very strong side but Glamorgan have been playing well as a unit and last nights win gets them slightly back on track having lost a few games since a very good start. However, when the pressure is on and the need to win is this great the cream rises to the top and that cream is Somerset.
Prediction: Somerset
Essex Vs Surrey - With Surrey's convincing win on Wednesday over Kent these 2 are now the top 2 sides in the South group with Essex just a couple of points clear of Surrey having only lost the single game while Surrey have lost a couple of games including the first between these 2 teams. Both of these sides look like powerhouses with the teams they have with neither side really having much weakness throughout the side which makes this such a great contest. Surrey's big hitting batsmen should thrive on the much smaller Chelmsford ground and Jason Roy is probably one of the in form batsmen of the whole competition right now the way he is striking the ball. Both sides weakness may be the bowling and things will all depend on how the Essex quick bowlers like Topley, Napier and Masters go as they can either be very economic when going well but if the big hitting Surrey batsmen go at them from the off that may be the difference as both sides bat very deep.
Prediction: Surrey
Kent Vs Hampshire - Hampshire's last game may have seen them lose out to Surrey in quite a crushing defeat there for the one-day specialists but they will be massive favourites for this match as Kent are now starting to tail off thanks to injuries of experienced players in what was already a team packed with young players and even more so now. Realistically that could be the difference from Kent making the quarter-finals with games like these to come as they really needed their experienced players to make a game of it or even win games like this against strong one-day sides with fewer weaknesses like Hampshire, even if their bowling doesn't look quite as good as it has done in previous years. However, their bowling line-up is still very good and their batting is even stronger than ever now with lots of quality ball strikers in the line-up.
Prediction: Hampshire
Saturday 5th July:
Hampshire Vs Somerset - Preview to follow Friday's games
Sunday 6th July:
Derbyshire Vs Leicestershire - Preview to follow Friday's games
Worcestershire Vs Lancashire - Preview to follow Friday's games
As you can see there are plenty of games to keep us entertained throughout the week and this may well be one of the really key weeks of action as I think we will really have a feel of who the main contenders for the quarter-finals will be as most sides will only have about 3 or 4 games left at the end of this week. Will be very interesting as always to see how it pans out.
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