Nottinghamshire vs Durham, VITALITY T20 BLAST 2020, Today Match Prediction 20 Sep 2020

notts vs dur Match Prediction & Analysis

The knockout stage is fast approaching with teams jostling for that spot in the quarterfinals. The Notts are already there comfortably and Durham with newly-found momentum will hope to be there but they face a must-win game as otherwise, they would have to depend on other results to qualify. With a four-match winning streak, Durham are clearly brimming with confidence but conditions at Trent Bridge aren’t essentially suited their style of play with the surfaces aiding strokeplay and powerhitting – two aspects that define the Notts’ brand of play.

The hosts did however lose their first game of the season in the previous fixture and while the team won’t panic over a one-off defeat, it is certainly a minor opening for Durham to capitalize on. For that, they will have to be on top of their game collectively to have a chance of downing the Notts. The Trent Bridge surface might be a bit weary with a lot of cricket played but it should still aid the batsmen, and that’s where the Notts are at their most dangerous.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Nottinghamshire Preview

The defeat to Leicestershire was definitely a setback for the Notts and it isn’t a surprise their first defeat of the season came batting first. They have been a phenomenal chasing side and though they had won a game batting first, that was a tight contest. It was obvious that the only chink, albeit a minor one, was if the Notts ended up batting first. Perhaps they wanted to test that out and there was also probably a thought about the surfaces being tired at this stage of the tournament.

The Notts were proved wrong as the deck still played fairly well through the 40 overs and the total that they got to was below-par. It was one of those rare games when the start and finish both went awry for the Notts with only Tom Moores and Ben Duckett getting sizeable scores. The Notts still hung on gamely and it took a combative innings from the opposition captain to get the better of them. There was also that controversial moment in the game where Notts were penalised for fake fielding, resulting in the opponents getting five penalty runs. Overall, it was just a tight loss and given the firepower in the Notts camp, they are unlikely to be too ruffled just yet. They have already qualified but would love to head to the knockouts with a win.

Nottinghamshire Predicted Playing XI:

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

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

Durham Preview

They have peaked at just about the right time as the start to the season was miserable for Durham but as the tournament went on, they have found the right methods to win games. And after registering four successive victories on the bounce, they are one win away from sealing their quarterfinal spot. They can make it even with a loss but they wouldn’t want to leave their fate in somebody else’s hands, not if they can help it.

Durham’s success has come on the back of their ability to maximise dry and slow decks, with their bowling tailormade for such conditions. Their bowling unit which is a mix of slow medium bowlers and spinners, relish such decks. The conditions at Trent Bridge could be a bit different though. Surfaces should be a tad slower than usual and Durham will hope it to be as dry as possible. The batting isn’t exactly their stronger suite and so, a balanced playing surface will be Durham’s best chance of being in the contest.

 

Durham Predicted Playing XI:

A Lees, G Clark, B Raine, D Bedingham(wk), B Carse, F Behardien, P Coughlin, S Steel, L Trevaskis, N Rimmington(c), M Potts

Durham Actual Playing XI:

Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Scott Steel, Paul Coughlin, Farhaan Behardien, Alex Lees, Nathan Rimmington, Ben Raine, Graham Clark, Liam Trevaskis, David Bedingham

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Forecast is for a clear day with no predictions of rain. Trent Bridge generally gives good batting surfaces and while the decks could be a bit slow due to the amount of cricket played, it should still play alright.

Venue Details

Trent Bridge has been one of England’s favourite cricketing venues both in Tests and limited-overs cricket. While the decks have been balanced in the longest form of the game, white-ball games have often been run fests.

Toss: To Bowl

Teams would prefer to chase at Trent Bridge owing to the conditions on offer. Even if the deck slows down, it won’t change a lot during the course of 40 overs.