Who will win NOTTS vs WARKS - T20 Blast?
In a repeat of last year's final, defending champions Nottinghamshire Outlaws face Birmingham Bears in the opening game of the 2018 t20 Blast. Taking place at Trent Bridge, the match is scheduled for July 4 and the live action begins at 18:30 local time.
NOTTS vs WARKS - T20 Blast: Where to watch/Live streaming
TV channels: Sky Sports, Sony Six, SuperSport, Fox Sports, Willow TV, OSN Sports Cricket
Live streaming: NOW TV, SkyGo, SonyLiv
Toss Prediction
Notts Outlaws won the final batting first against the Birmingham Bears last year, but at Trent Bridge they successfully chased in each of their final three games - including against the Bears. If Dan Christian wins the toss, he is likely to field first.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for Notts Outlaws vs Birmingham Bears - t20 Blast.
Nottinghamshire Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Ish Sodhi and Dan Christian will be Notts Outlaws' overseas players again for this year's t20 Blast competition. Sodhi has briefly been ranked world number one T20 bowler since his last stint at Trent Bridge - though he is now number four.
Paul Coughlin is out injured and Alex Hales and Jake Ball are on international duty with England, but the Outlaws are otherwise at full strength for the first game of this year's competition.
Key Players
Ish Sodhi has 107 wickets in 98 career T20 matches so far, including claiming five in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals from six games. The New Zealander is ranked as the fourth best T20 international bowler in the world.
Harry Gurney's left-arm seam made the difference in the final last year, however - the former England international, who was also in the wickets in this year's one-day cup, took 4-17 from his four overs against Birmingham in last year's final.
With the bat, Riki Wessels was the Outlaws top scorer in the 2017 competition with 559 from 16 matches at an average of 43 and strike rate of 151.49. Big-hitting Samit Patel provides middle-order runs, meanwhile - he scored 64* in last year's final and has since helped Islamabad United to Pakistan Super League victory too.
Captain Dan Christian's return is also good news for the Outlaws. He has been touring England with the Aboriginal XI of late and enjoyed plenty of success with the bat on that tour. The Australian all-rounder also played for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL.
Team Form
Notts Outlaws won last year's t20 Blast - their first title - after recovering from two defeats in their opening two games. Some high-scoring matches at Trent Bridge followed - including Notts' successfully chasing 224 to beat Yorkshire - as they topped the Northern Group.
A five-wicket win against Somerset earned Notts a spot in Finals Day at Edgbaston, where they posted 169/7 on their way to beating Hampshire by 23 runs in the semi-final, and then beat the hosts, Birmingham Bears, by 22 runs in the final after posting 190/4 from their 20 overs.
This season, they reached the quarter-finals of the Royal London One-Day Cup and are currently sat second in the County Championship with four wins from their first eight games.
Nottinghamshire Predicted Playing 11
Riki Wessels, Chris Nash, Tom Moores, Samit Patel, Dan Christian, Steven Mullaney, Billy Root, Ish Sodhi, Matthew Carter, Luke Fletcher, Harry Gurney
Warwickshire Team News & Playing 11
Team News
Jeetan Patel and Colin de Grandhomme return as overseas players for this year's t20 Blast as Birmingham Bears look to go one better than last year's final defeat. Grant Elliott remains as captain in what is likely to be a very similar team - though fast bowler Henry Brookes' emergence could see him force his way in.
Chris Woakes is on England duty - and has been battling recent injury troubles anyway.
Key Players
Jeetan Patel claimed 20 wickets in last season's t20 Blast, with an economy rate of 6.82 runs per over. His most recent match for Warwickshire saw him claim match figures of 9/129 in the County Championship win against Durham, meanwhile, to prove he is in top form.
With the bat, Colin de Grandhomme boasts a strike rate of 167.12 in T20 cricket and arrives back in Birmingham after a spell with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Sam Hain, who top scored in the final defeat to Notts Outlaws, scored 458 runs in 15 innings in last season's competition - including three half-centuries. Ed Pollock also hit three 50s.
Team Form
Birmingham Bears reached the final of last year's t20 Blast but could not add a second title to their name after falling short in the final to Notts Outlaws. They won eight of their 14 matches to qualify in third place from the North Division, before winning a high-scoring quarter-final against Surrey - scoring 207/4 on their way to victory.
At Edgbaston for Finals Day, they posted 175/9 before bowling Glamorgan out for 164 in the semi-final but then fell 22 runs short in their pursuit of Notts' 190/4 in the final, despite Sam Hain hitting 72 from 44 balls.
This season, they finished fourth in the Royal London One-Day Cup's Northern Division and are top of the County Championship Division Two table.
Warwickshire Predicted Playing 11
Ed Pollock, Dominic Sibley, Adam Hose, Sam Hain, Grant Elliott, Colin de Grandhomme, Aaron Thomasen, Tim Ambrose, Henry Brookes, Jeetan Patel, Oli Stone
Jul 04, 2018
23:00 IST / 17:30 GMT
Trent Bridge - Nottingham, England
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