Who Will Win Essex vs Kent, Vitality Blast 2018?
Table-toppers Kent Spitfires are set to clash with the bottom-placed Essex Eagles in this South Group fixture of the Vitality Blast 2018. The match is scheduled to be played on August 2 at the former's home ground - St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury. Live action will begin at 7 PM local time.
Kent vs Ess : Where to Watch/Live Streaming
TV channels: Sky Sports, Fox Sports, Sony Six, SuperSport
Live Streaming: Bet365, SonyLIV, Now TV, Sky Go
Toss Prediction
St Lawrence Ground sports a good batting track and it is not expected to change after the first period of play. Since it could be difficult to determine a safe score here, the team that wins the toss in this match will probably prefer to bowl first rather than set a target for the opposition.
Read on for team previews, betting odds, betting tips and match prediction for Kent vs Essex, Vitality Blast 2018....
Kent Team News & Playing 11
KENT Team News
Kent made just the one change to their side in the last match against Sussex - they brought Australian allrounder Marcus Stoinis in place of the West Indian allrounder Carlos Brathwaite. The latter was very expensive in the game against Surrey, leaking 55 runs off his three overs. The team is likely to retain Stoinis for this game and so we expect them to come up with an unchanged line-up.
KENT Key Players
Joe Denly has been Kent's best batsman and bowler so far in this year's Vitality Blast and he is definitely the player to watch out for. He has scored the most runs for the side and is coming off a well-made 36-ball 52 against Sussex. He is also their leading wicket-taker with nine wickets in six matches and he could be effective against Essex with his leg-spin. Sam Billings is having a strike-rate of 173 while Marcus Stoinis can also be dangerous on his day. Apart from Denly, Kent will turn to the likes of Adam Milne and Imran Qayyum to do the job with the ball. Milne has a fair amount of experience in T20 cricket and he has done well for his national team New Zealand. Qayyum claimed a three-wicket haul recently against Surrey and the left-arm spinner will be expected to deliver another good performance.
KENT Recent Form
Kent Spitfires are leading the South Group standings with three wins and one loss from seven league matches. They got their Vitality Blast campaign off to an excellent start, winning three of their first four matches. Unfortunately, they had to share points with Surrey, Sussex and Glamorgan in their next three fixtures respectively as each of those ended in a wash out. Their only defeat so far in the tournament has come against Gloucestershire and they lost that match by five runs at Bristol.
Kent Predicted Playing 11
Joe Denly, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Heino Kuhn, Sam Billings (c/wk), Alex Blake, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Dickson, Calum Haggett, Adam Milne, Mitchell Claydon, Imran Qayyum
Essex Team News & Playing 11
ESS Team News
Essex replaced Samuel Cook with fast bowler James Porter in their previous game against Hampshire. Porter who finished with acceptable figures of 0-21 from three overs could be given another game here. The team is free from injury concerns at the moment and we expect them to go in with an unchanged line-up for this match.
ESS Key Players
The opening pair of Adam Wheater and Varun Chopra hold the key to Essex's batting. The latter is currently the team's leading run-getter and has hit three half-centuries in six matches. Wheater has not played a big knock yet but he has been chipping in with decent contributions every now and then. Daniel Lawrence who scored 49 in the last game against Hampshire is a vital cog in this middle order. Neil Wagner and Adam Zampa are the most reliable bowlers for Essex and the onus will be on these two to exert pressure on Kent's batsmen. Leg-spinner Zampa has been the team's most successful bowler with nine wickets in six matches and he was also pretty impressive against Hampshire with figures of 2-30 from four overs. Wagner seems the most threatening among the seam bowlers and Essex will back him to strike early in his spell.
ESS Recent Form
Essex are languishing at the bottom of the South Group standings with just one win and three defeats from six matches. That solitary win was secured against Middlesex by three wickets at the County Ground in Chelmsford. They played their last match against Hampshire at the same venue. Essex, after losing the toss and put into bowl first, conceded 170 runs in the allotted 20 overs and then scored the exact number of runs to end the game in a tie.
Essex Predicted Playing 11
Adam Wheater (wk), Varun Chopra, Tom Westley, Ryan ten Doeschate (c), Daniel Lawrence, Ravi Bopara, Simon Harmer, Neil Wagner, Adam Zampa, James Porter, Matthew Quinn
Aug 02, 2018
23:30 IST / 18:00 GMT
St Lawrence Ground - Canterbury, England
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