Essex vs Somerset, VITALITY T20 BLAST 2021, Today Match Prediction 29 June 2021

ess vs som Match Prediction & Analysis

Essex and Somerset will be facing off once again after the two teams had started the new season with a match against each other. Essex had won that game comfortably by 3 wickets but since then their graph has been up and down. In 9 matches so far, they have won just 3 and lost 5 and are at the 6th position on the South Group table. Somerset have done a little better and are in the 5 place with 4 wins and 4 losses in 8 matches. Moreover, they are on a winning spree at the moment and will pose quite a challenge to Essex.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Essex Preview

In their last 4 matches, the Essex Eagles have won 2 and lost 2. They are coming off a loss against Kent where, in a rain-affected game, they had to chase 60 in 5 overs but fell short by 28 runs. 

Kent’s batting hasn’t been the most enterprising this season. James Neesham has been their highest run-getter with 156 runs at a strike rate of 152.9. And the others like Michael-Kyle Pepper (151 runs at 129), William Buttleman (136 runs at 120), and Daniel Lawrence (106 runs at 151) have been inconsistent. However, Lawrence looked great a couple of matches ago against Middlesex where his 59 off 37 balls helped the team chase down a target of 184.

Samuel Cook has been Essex’s best bowler this season with 11 wickets at an economy of 7.32. Captain and off-spinner Simon Harmer, who is fresh of a spell of 4-26 against Kent, has been their next best bowler with 9 wickets at 8.17. Aron Nijjar (6 wickets at 7.54) has been pretty decent too.
 

Essex Predicted Playing XI:

William Buttleman, Adam Wheater (wk), Daniel Lawrence, Michael-Kyle Pepper, James Neesham, Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (c), Aron Nijjar, Samuel Cook, James Porter

Essex Actual Playing XI:

Paul Walter, Daniel Lawrence, Aron Nijjar, Samuel Cook, RN ten Doeschate, William Buttleman, Jack Plom, Adam Wheater, Simon Harmer, Michael Pepper, James Neesham

Somerset Preview

Somerset is on a terrific victory run at the moment. In their last 3 matches, they have taken down Surrey, Hampshire, and Kent, and are looking better with each game. In the last match against Kent, Essex chased down a target of 169 in just 15.4 overs without losing a wicket courtesy of a blistering 107 off 51 balls by Tom Banton.

Somerset’s top-order suddenly looks strong with Banton and Devon Conway taking care of the opening role. Conway, who has just joined the team, showed his class with a well-composed unbeaten 51 in the match against Kent. His stability will really help the batting unit. Will Smeed and Lewis Goldsworthy have shown that they can be crucial to this batting unit, but they need to be a little more consistent. 

On the bowling front, Marchant de Lange (8 wickets at an economy of 7.78) and Lewis Gregory (7 wickets at 10.25) have been the leading wicket-takers for Somerset. Josh Davey has taken 7 wickets too but he’s been too expensive. Leg-spinner Max Waller (4 wickets at 8.83) hasn’t found his groove yet and needs to step things up.

Somerset Predicted Playing XI:

Tom Banton (wk), Devon Conway, Will Smeed, Lewis Goldsworthy, Lewis Gregory (c), Tom Lammonby, Ben Green, Craig Overton, Marchant de Lange, Jack Brooks, Max Waller

Somerset Actual Playing XI:

Tom Lammonby, Marchant de Lange, Ben Green, Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Max Waller, Will Smeed, Jack Brooks, Devon Conway, Lewis Goldsworthy, Tom Banton

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch at County Ground in Chelmsford is usually pretty good for batting with some assistance for seam bowlers at the start.

A couple of showers are expected in Chelmsford today and the game may be affected because of it.
 

Venue Details

The average first innings score at Chelmsford in the T20 Blast is 176 but the average first innings winning score here is 190. 11 totals above 190 have been scored on the venue with the highest being 226-4 by Essex against Surrey in 2019.

Toss: To Bowl

The team winning the toss is likely to bat second as rain is predicted in Chelmsford today.