ESS VS SUR MATCH PREDICTION & ANALYSIS
It's all happening in Vitality T20 Blast. A few of the teams that were dismal last year are leading the charge and the defending champions are languishing at the bottom of the south group table. They still have pretty much the same team as last year and it's been rather surprising to see them perform so poorly. They are still without a win and if things don't change they'll soon be in a do or die position. They are set to meet Surrey in their next match, which is to be played on 11th September 2020 at County Ground, Chelmsford. cicket tips online
TEAM PREVIEWS
ESSEX
Essex claimed the title last year, but their journey wasn't easy by any means. It hasn't been easy for them this year as well and they'll have to play out of their skins to qualify from here. As it stands now, they have two points from five matches, standing at the bottom of the points table. Their net run-rate of -0.529 is the least in their group and that could be a decisive factor at the back-end of the tournament.cricket online tips
Apart from a tie they managed to get against Surrey earlier in the competition, the Eagles have looked far from competitive. Ever since that tie, which was in their second match, the Eagles have lost three matches on the trot. Their last loss came against Kent Spitfires, losing the match by a massive margin of 29 runs. Chasing a total of 193, Essex got off to a reasonably good start with Varun Chopra and Cameron Delport adding 41 in 4 overs for the opening wicket. However, the Eagles failed to keep the momentum after the first six overs, losing wickets at regular intervals. Although Ryan ten Doeschate hammered 42 off 24 deliveries towards the end of the innings, his knock proved to be too little and came in too late for the Eagles.
Earlier with the ball, the Essex looked dismal and that is evident by the fact that four of the seven bowlers used conceded at an economy rate of nine or more. Simor Harmer was the pick of their bowlers as he returned with the figures of 4-0-21-2 and was ably assisted by Paul Walter who picked up 1 for 17 in his two overs. The remaining five bowlers together gave away 154 runs in their 14 overs combined.
On paper, not much has changed for the Eagles as compared to the last year. However, barring a few, almost all of their players appear to be out of sorts, be it with the batting or bowling. This break is likely to do a world of good to them and they are likely to come back stronger. Having said that, they'd need to play exceedingly well to challenge Surrey in the upcoming match.
Essex Playing 11
Playing 11 not yet available.
SURREY
Although Surrey haven't been clinical thus far, they have done enough to keep themselves in the top half of the South Group ladder. They are sitting comfortably at the second spot with six points to their name. So far, they have managed to win two of their manages and have lost one.
With a tie and a loss, Surrey didn't get off to a start they'd have wanted to. Struggling to put challenging totals on the board, their batting looks out of sorts in their matches against Essex Eagles and Kent Spitfires. While their batting didn't see much improvement in their two subsequent matches, their bowling did a tremendous job to make things easier for their batting. Surrey are coming off two consecutive in their last two matches, against Hampshire and Middlesex respectively, and will be looking to continue to build on the momentum.
Restricting a team like Middlesex to a total of 113 was a job that isn't often heard of. Surrey bowlers went about their business against the Panthers in a fantastic manner, bowling in tight channels and picking up wickets at regular intervals. Their bowlers were so good collectively against Middlesex that none of their regular bowlers went for over six runs an over. Barring Dan Moriarty and Jamie Overton, all of their bowlers found success. Gareth Batty finally came good for them and returned with the impressive numbers of 4-0-18-3. He was assisted well by Gus Atkinson and Will Jacks, who both picked up a couple of wickets each. Reece Topley picked up on wicket.
Chasing a total of 114 should never have been difficult for Surrey and it wasn't either. However, given that they lost four wickets to chase that down and took 18.1 overs, they wouldn't be too happy with their batting effort. Will Jacks, Hashim Amla, Laurie Evans, and Rory Burns were all dismissed pretty early as Surrey found themselves struggling at 23 for 4. Ben Foakes and Jamie Smith then put on a fabulous partnership to take their team home without any further damage. Ben Foakes finished unbeaten on 60 and Jamie Smith scored 38 off 35.
While Surrey haven't been flawless thus far, they have done just enough. Their bowling has looked in superb form and the array of spinners they have makes their bowling even stronger. With surfaces likely to slow down further, their bowling is likely to have an upper hand more often than not. If their batting can join in, Surrey will be a difficult team to beat.
