Gloucestershire vs Worcestershire, VITALITY T20 BLAST 2020, Today Match Prediction 04 Sep 2020

gloucs vs wor Match Prediction & Analysis

It is the second round of games for the Central Group in the T20 Blast 2020 where the Gloucestershire would play the Worcestershire Rapids. Gloucestershire come into this game with a convincing win against Birmingham Bears while Worcestershire Rapids have lost the last three games and the side is currently sitting at the bottom of the points table. Their bowling attack is looking in poor shape at the moment. 

The two sides had earlier met in the season where Gloucestershire had registered a 22-run win in a high scoring game. The side will carry this confidence into the next game. For Worcestershire Rapids this is a must-win game if they are to keep their hopes of making it into the next round alive. They have a strong batting unit and it will be interesting to see if they are able to break their losing run. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Gloucestershire Preview

Jack Taylor’s side registered a massive 57-run win in their last game against Birmingham Bears in a rain affected game. This was their second win in a row which has now pushed them to the second spot on the points table. Having defeated the Rapids earlier in the season Taylor’s boys would go into this game with great confidence. 

Miles Hammond looks in good form and he will look to offer a good start alongside and Chris Dent in this game. Ian Cockbain after his brilliant innings in the last game shall start confidently in this one. Jack Taylor, Ryan Higgins and James Bracey are specialists in this format and add to the strength of the lower order. 

Their bowlers performed brilliantly in the last game with Tom Smith grabbing a fifer and Higgins supporting him well at the other end. The side would like to see good show from their new ball pair of Graeme van Buuren and David Payne who went for runs in the last game. Matt Taylor adds to the strength of this bowling attack.

Gloucestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Jack Taylor (c), Miles Hammond, Chris Dent, Ian Cockbain, Ryan Higgins, James Bracey (wk), George Scott, Graeme van Buuren, Tom Smith, David Payne, Matt Taylor

Gloucestershire Actual Playing XI:

Chris Dent, David Payne, GLV Buuren, Matthew David Taylor, Jack Taylor, George Scott, Ryan Higgins, Tom Smith, Ian Cockbain, George Hankins, James Bracey

Worcestershire Preview

It has so far been a terrible season for Ed Barnard’s side and they are yet to win a game. While the side has done well it hasn’t been able to get over the finishing line. Their 16-run loss against Somerset where they lost despite good performance with the bat summarizes the poor form of their bowlers. They have to win this game by a big margin to keep their hopes alive for rest of the season.  

Their batsmen have done well so far in the tournament and openers Hamish Rutherford and Riki Wessels shall need to score runs here. Jack Hayne and Jake Libby add to the strength in the middle order with Libby having played a good knock in the last game. With Ben Cox, Daryl Mitchell and Ross Whiteley down the order the side has good strength in the batting department. 

The bowling attack has had a very poor season so far and in the last game they ended up conceding 229 runs. Apart from Daryl Mitchell none of their bowlers looked effective in the last game. The side will need good show from Dillon Pennington and Adam Finch with the new ball and expect the likes of Patrick Brown and Barnard to bowl tighter lines in the next game. 
 

Worcestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Ed Barnard (c), Hamish Rutherford, Riki Wessels, Jack Haynes, Jake Libby, Ben Cox (wk), Ross Whiteley, Daryl Mitchell, Patrick Brown, Dillon Pennington, Adam Finch

Worcestershire Actual Playing XI:

Riki Wessels, Patrick Brown, Jake Libby, Hamish Rutherford, Ben Cox, Dillon Pennington, Jack Haynes, Ed Barnard, Adam Finch, Brett D Oliveira, Ross Whiteley

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

It will be overcast skies over Bristol on September 4 but we don’t expect to see rains as we had seen earlier in the season. Under these conditions batting would be difficult and batsmen will need to be careful with their short selection. Any side that scores in the range of 150 runs would feel comfortable on this wicket. 

Venue Details

The Bristol County Ground is one of the best T20 venues in UK that offers batsmen with hitting opportunities thanks to closer boundaries and at the same time offers decent bounce and swing to the fast bowlers. There isn’t much in this surface for the spinners who haven’t enjoyed great record here over the years. 

Toss: To Bowl

The track at this venue has isn’t the easiest of wickets to bat on under overcast conditions as bowlers get lot of seam movement here. The captains aren’t likely to be in too much of doubt at the toss. The side that wins the spin of the coin is most likely to opt for bowling first on this surface.