Essex welcome Gloucestershire to Chelmsford in what is a must-win match for both teams. The hosts are currently bottom of the South group, while Gloucestershire are just two points better off in seventh.
Our partners: 777Spinslot casino was created with the intention of offering the best gameplay, customer experience, and it provides a big range of no deposit slots from the best game developers of the industry.
Match Preview – Saturday 29th July – 1900 – Chelmsfordх.
Struggling Essex play host to the under-performing Gloucestershire in a match both sides need to win to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. Our Essex vs Gloucestershire preview features two sides that are already well adrift of the top four at the halfway stage of this year’s Natwest T20 Blast.
Ahead of our Essex vs Gloucestershire prediction, we first look at the key players for both sides in this match. For the hosts, former England star Ravi Bopara has been brilliant with the bat so far in this tournament. He has racked up 252 runs at 42 with two half-centuries and a strike rate of over 155. For the visitors, captain Michael Klinger is one of only six players in this year’s competition to score a hundred, and has been brilliant so far for his side. Klinger is averaging over 52 and scoring at over 152 per hundred balls.
Essex have struggled in the competition so far managing just two wins in the Blast this year. Wins over Hampshire and Somerset have been rare highlights in an otherwise disappointing run of results that has seen them rooted to the bottom of the South table. Gloucestershire opened with a tie over Middlesex before beating Kent to start the tournament well. A no-result and a win over Kent meant they were well placed but defeats to Glamorgan and Hampshire have stunted their progress.
Our Essex vs Gloucestershire head-to-head looks at the historical record between the two sides and in four previous matches, Gloucestershire hold the clear advantage over their hosts. They have won three out of four matches since the Natwest T20 Blast began. Essex won the first encounter between the two sides, with Gloucestershire winning the last three including the last match by eight wickets.
While neither side are out of the running for the knockout stages, both Essex and Gloucestershire will need to start winning to make a push for the top four. Essex are narrow favourites despite being bottom of the group, and have the talent and the firepower to win this match. The short boundaries at Chelmsford should make for an exciting high-scoring affair, with Essex’s more experienced bowling attack the difference between the two sides.
Both side are desperate for a win and the small ground will make it great for scoring. Ravi Bopara has been in fine form for Essex with the bat so expect him to be the lynchpin of the home side’s innings. Benny Howell has been brilliant with the ball in the tournament and will have to display the same control and wicket taking threat he has shown previously to limit the Essex threat.