Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Feels like the season only started 2 minutes away, but we're already in July and the t20 Blast starts this Wednesday. So to do my usual summary:

DATES

The group games go right through to Friday 17 August (with the QFs a week later). So other than the first two weeks of the competition, England's white-ball only players (Hales, Roy, Rashid, Wood, Willey, Plunkett, Moeen, and no doubt one or two others) will be available. The test players though can pretty much be ignored.

BETTING

Odds as per Skybet

Notts 7/1
Hants 8/1
Surrey 8/1
Sussex 8/1
Yorks 10/1
Birmingham 12/1
Essex 12/1
Middlesex 12/1
Lancs 14/1
Northants 14/1
Glamorgan 16/1
Kent 16/1
Somerset 16/1
Gloucs 20/1
Derby 25/1
Durham 25/1
Leics 33/1
Worcs 33/1

Given that they've just made the one-day final, and have some very good batting power, Kent's odds look quite attractive. And I would suggest that, beyond any doubt, Sussex will have the best bowling attack - although their batting does look very light.

But as I seem to say every year, I struggle to look beyond Surrey and Notts.

OVERSEAS

Birmingham - Patel & De Grandhomme
Derby - Riaz & Ferguson
Durham - Lathan & Tahir
Essex - Zampa & Wagner (then replaced by Siddle)
Glamorgan - Marsh & Khawaja
Gloucs - Tye
Hants - Mujeeb & Munro (then replaced by Steyn)
Kent - MIlne & Brathwaite (then replaced by Stoinis)
Lancs - Mennie & Faulkner
Leics - Abbas & Nabi
Middlesex - Bravo & Agar
Northants - Kleinveldt & Prasanna
Notts - Christian & Sodhi
Somerset - Anderson
Surrey - Finch & Maddison
Sussex - Khan & Bruce
Worcs - Guptil & Ferguson (then replaced by Head)

Apologies for anything incorrect with the above.

Good start by Birmingham.

Duckett reaches 50 off 22 balls.

DiligentDefence wrote:Duckett reaches 50 off 22 balls.

Josh Cobb deciding he wants to catch up.

Grant Elliot can do no wrong today.

Interview at the toss, he manages to squeeze in a "It's coming home". Then takes a wonder catch. Then gets a wicket in his first over.

Sussex are two down, so Essex are almost into the tail.

Based on his time with us, I could have told Essex that Coles and t20 don't go together.

Too quick, too erratic, too short, too brainless. Too expensive.

Duckett falls just short of his century. Northants post 218/3. If they have stuck to the same formula then the boundaries will not be too small so that is a formidable total

Birmingham thrashing Notts, atm

Leics not even going to get close

Even though there's only three matches tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if half of the quarter-finalists are on show (Notts, Birmingham, Northants & Sussex - maybe even Essex too).

Ravi becomes the first of, very probably, many.

Durhamfootman wrote:Leics not even going to get close

although Northants probably don't want to be bowling Crook much more

Durhamfootman wrote:Leics not even going to get close

Did you really need to jinx it?

Just out of reach for Leics.

Fast runs for Ian Bell...

Wonder if battingforbell is still fighting for the cause.