Nottinghamshire vs Derbyshire, VITALITY T20 BLAST 2020, Today Match Prediction 17 Sep 2020

notts vs derby Match Prediction & Analysis

When a season is nearing its end, the battle of a top-placed team against a side placed last is often termed a mismatch. This fixture too seems so with the Notts being supremely formidable due to the strength of their batting ammunition that has destroyed all attacks that have come up against them. Derbyshire, already down on confidence, will have their task cut-out to compete, especially in the Nott’s den where they haven’t lost a game this season.

All the matches were won chasing, which is testimony to the lovely batting conditions that the venue has been known for in white-ball cricket. The strength and depth of the Notts batting will be on view once again and how Derbyshire’s bowlers respond to that challenge will decide the fate of this game. With qualification out of the window, one should expect the visitors to come out with more freedom in all departments. But that alone won’t suffice against a rampaging unit like the Notts. They did manage to stretch them in their previous fixture at the same venue, and Derby would take confidence from that.

 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Nottinghamshire Preview

They have won almost all their games chasing but as they showed in their previous game against Derbyshire, they are equally comfortable defending a score. The batting riches that they possess mean that they won’t really mind setting scores but chasing remains their biggest strength. The lengthened batting order means that they can attack from the ball one and they are often a very difficult side to stop on good batting decks. Alex Hales finding form at the business end of the tournament isn’t great news for bowlers in the tournament, and then there is Joe Clarke who has been the Notts’ best batsman this season so far.

The bowling might not be as threatening but it compliments the batsmen well. Also, when the batting firepower is of such intensity, the bowlers would feel confident, be it bowling first or second. The team appears to be a well-oiled machine at this stage and the Notts don’t seem to have any weakness at present. Tactically, they can be beaten if  made to bat first but even that isn’t a certainty.

Nottinghamshire Predicted Playing XI:

C Nash, A Hales, J Clarke, B Duckett, T Moores(wk), D Christian(c), S Mullaney, S Patel, I Wasim, J Ball, M Carter

Nottinghamshire Actual Playing XI:

Alex Hales, Steven Mullaney, Tom Moores, Matthew Carter, SI Wasim, Joe Clarke, Chris Nash, Ben Duckett, Samit Patel, Jake Ball, DT Christian

Derbyshire Preview

Despite enduring a miserable campaign, Derbyshire’s mood at the moment will be high. Despite losing to the Notts, they managed to really stretch them and then emerged victorious in a thriller against Leicestershire. While they have already been eliminated, they would want to end the season on a high. For that to happen, they would hope that their best batsmen in skipper Billy Godleman and Wayne Madsen produce sizeable scores, as the duo haven’t really set the stage alight. And that’s been one of the major concerns for Derbyshire.

The bowling has fared better in comparison and if only they had batted better, they could have had a much better tournament. Performances this season have been extremely opposite to the fortunes last year when there was an aura around the side which also became a dark horse. However, things went awry this year and avoiding embarrassment seems to be the only motive from here on.

Derbyshire Predicted Playing XI:

B Godleman(c), L Reece, W Madse, L du Plooy, M Critchley, A Hughes, A Dal, M McKiernan, B Guest(wk), M Cohen, D Melton

Derbyshire Actual Playing XI:

Michael Cohen, Wayne Madsen, Anuj Dal, Alex Hughes, Dustin Melton, Matt Critchley, Leus du Plooy, Matt McKiernan, Brooke Guest, Luis Reece, Billy Godleman

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

A warm and sunny day is in prospect with no forecast of rain at all. The pitches have been a tad tired due to the number of games played but should still be true and favourable for strokeplay. The dimensions of the ground ensure that the powerhitters should also have a gala time.

Venue Details

Trent Bridge has been a run-fest ground in recent years for white-ball cricket with England registering the world record ODI score of 481 at this very venue in 2018. While it remains traditional in Tests, limited-overs games have been high-scoring affairs.

Toss: To Bowl

Teams will want to chase at this ground due to the immense support that the batsmen enjoy and that means that no score is safe. The Notts especially have preferred to chase and that shows in their unbeaten home record.