Middlesex vs Somerset, Royal London One-Day Cup, Today Match Prediction 01 May 2019

mdx vs som Match Prediction & Analysis

Middlesex is having a mixed run-up in the tournament with 2 losses and 3 wins in their five matches. They are very much in fray for the qualification to knockouts. They have lost 2 out of last three matches and must stop the slide in momentum soon. Their batsmen were bowled out in three consecutive matches and Ross Taylor has been the lone half-centurion in the last three innings. They were bowled out for just 176 runs the last match with Sean Eskinazi`s 42 being the top score. Their bowling has been their biggest positive and has taken 46 wickets in 5 matches played so far. Nathan Sowter and Tom Helm have taken 15 and 12 wickets respectively and are among the top 5 wicket takers this season. Nathan Sowter is the leading wicket-taker till and has 2 four-fors and a five-for already. 

Somerset finally faced defeat against Gloucestershire the last match after winning their first four matches. Their batsmen failed to put a big score and had just 242 runs on board after 50 overs. Lewis Gregory was the high scorer with his knock of 51 runs. Skipper Tom Abell and Azhar Ali chipped in with 40s but did not continue to make a big score. Their bowling unit was left with below par score to deal with and they put up a valiant fight and the match finally ended in last over finish. Lewis Gregory was the highest wicket taker and run scorer last match with 2 wickets and a fifty. Craig Overturn and Josh Davey tried hard but were not able to run through the opposition batting line-up and ended with economical bowling spells. Somerset will be fired up to bring back their team to winning ways.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Middlesex Preview

Key Players:

Dawid Malan – Skipper Malan has just 78 runs in last 4 matches after his 95 in the first match. He needs to step up and score runs consistently to improve his team`s morale and momentum in batting.  

Tom Helm – Helm has figures of 2/84, 4/40 & 5/71 in last three innings. Despite taking wickets he has been taken for runs and he needs to control his economy rate to further strengthen the bowling attack. 

Stats from the season:

SS Eskinazi – 211 runs, Avg. – 52.8, HS-107, 100s-1

Nathan Sowter – 15 wickets, Bowl Avg. – 18.1, Economy – 5.5 RPO, BB – 6/62

Middlesex Predicted Playing XI:

Ross Taylor, Paul Stirling, James Harris, John Simpson (wk), Dawid Malan (c), Tim Murtagh, Toby Roland-Jones, Nick Gubbins, Tom Helm, George Scott, Nathan Sowter, Max Holden, Stephen Sean Eskinazi

Somerset Preview

Key Players:

Lewis Gregory - Lewis Gregory has two fifties in last three matches and is looking hungry for runs. In fact, he has scored runs at a strike rate of over 170 in both the matches. He has to contribute with his batting and bowling for the team.  

Josh Davey –Davey is having a good season with 8 wickets at an economy rate of just 4.5 RPO. He along with Craig Overturn form a formidable pace attack at the start and get wickets early in the match. 

Stats from the season:

Azhar Ali – 236 runs, Avg. – 47.2, HS-110, 100s-1, 50s -1

Craig Overturn – 11 wickets, Bowl Avg. – 12, Economy – 3.8 RPO, BB – 5/18

Somerset Predicted Playing XI:

Azhar Ali, Tom Banton (wk), Peter Trego, James Hildreth, Tom Abell (c), George Bartlett, Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Roelof van der Merwe, Tim Groenewald, Josh Davey

Weather Conditions

Radlett promises to be a good batting pitch always and has consistently seen scores in excess of 300 runs. Batsmen will look to bat aggressively and post a massive score here. Any score less than 280 will be chased down easily by the team batting second. The match day weather at Radlett does not look good with 70% chances of rain.

Toss: WIN the toss, BOWL First

With rains expected and pitch helpful for batting both teams will look to bat second and chase down the total. Teams can never slip at any point of the match as rain may bring DL equation into consideration any time.