Gloucestershire are favourites to win
After facing back-to-back defeats, Essex Eagles have dropped down to the eighth spot in their group standings. Gloucestershire, with two wins and two losses in their four games, are sixth on the points table. The two teams from South Group will now be going head-to-head at the County Ground in Chelmsford on June 16. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 PM local time.
Read on for our betting tips and match prediction on Essex Eagles vs Gloucestershire Natwest T20 Blast 2016....
Dan Lawrence and Jesse Ryder will probably open the innings for Essex. Lawrence has scored 22 and 29 in his two matches while Ryder has not been in the best of forms lately. With skipper Ravi Bopara also struggling with form, Westley and ten Doeschate will have to play a big knock. Ashar Zaidi has also made decent contributions in each of his three innings, and so Essex will be backing these three to do most of the scoring for them.
Matthew Quinn has been their best bowler so far in this year's Natwest T20 Blast. The fast bowler, though expensive, has picked up 6 wickets in the tournament and he will be the one to watch out for on Thursday. Medium pacer Graham Napier bagged three scalps in the last match and his pace could be effective at Chelmsford. Bopara bowls well at the death and he will not be easy to score off in the final overs.
They are likely to open the batting with Marshall and Klinger who have had only one good partnership so far. Ian Cockbain has been the most consistent batsman for Gloucestershire and he should be backed to top-score against Essex. If the top three can score some quick runs, there will be much less pressure on Dent and Howell in the middle-order who can then take their time and look to accelerate later on.
Norwell and Taylor could be bowling with the new ball for Gloucestershire. However, Benny Howell and Andrew Tye will be their best bet to grab wickets and put the brakes on their opposition's scoring rate. The two fast bowlers, with eight and six wickets respectively, are among the leading wicket-takers this season. Essex will find themselves in trouble if Howell and Tye keep chipping away at the wickets.
The two teams have met at Chelmsford twice before, once each in the 2015 and 2014 editions, with Essex emerging victorious on both occasions. So the hosts will have a psychological advantage over Gloucestershire when they face off again at the same venue on Thursday. They will, however, be disappointed with the way they have started their campaign this year with three defeats in four games. Gloucestershire, on the other hand, have made a better start to the tournament and feature a stronger bowling attack this season.
Though Essex Eagles will have the benefit of playing on their home ground, we're predicting Gloucestershire to win this match due to a better bowling attack.
Bet online on Top Cricket Betting Sites and apps. Get Best Betting Sign-Up Offers and Exclusive Bonuses with Promo Codes. Deposit now with popular payment methods to bet online.
The most trusted gambling site of the US offers a gamut of cricket betting markets and features. Place your bets now and make huge winnings with the sportsbook.
A host to a store house of online betting features, BetOnline is here to stay for long. Turn your cricket betting cycle towards the best road map with the sportsbook.
Bet on Cricket with Everygame, one of the top USA bookmaker. Join Now and get Up to $750 Sign Up Bonus
SportsBetting.ag betting site is fully equipped with large betting markets, live betting, live streaming features along with a bunch of hefty bonuses and offers. Try SportsBetting.ag website for a unique all-rounder cricket betting fun at one place.
Leave Your Comment
We do our best to give you most accurate & useful match predictions and would love to hear from you. Let us know if we need to improve. Share your own predictions for the matches. Let's talk: