KENT vs ESS Match Preview
This is the last opportunity for the side led by Sam Billing to keep up their hopes for a place in the knockout stages of the competition. The Kent team has lost their last 4 matches on the trot and is going into this encounter with a loss against Surrey. Their bowlers have not performed up to the mark throughout the season. They will need to execute their plans properly to stage a comeback and gain the confidence required for a restriction job when they are batting. Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye will need to provide a good start to the inning and they are up against a strong bowling attack in this encounter.
The Kent side has some experienced batsmen in their middle order. The team management will be looking for batting contributions from Sam Billing, Jordon Cox, and Joe Denly more specifically. Even George Linde and Jack Leaning can hit the ball a long way. They will be looking to get some quick runs on the board in this match. Michael Hogan and George Linde will have to carry the onus of getting crucial wickets on this track. Kane Richardson has not been too effective and will have a significant role to play as an experienced bowler.
The Essex side on the other hand has managed to register a 3rd win in the tournament and has succeeded in putting a halt to a 2-game losing streak. They managed to beat the Sussex Sharks outfit by a margin of 5 wickets. They are currently positioned in the 6th slot in the points table. Harmer will be expecting a good show from his teammates for this game to try and move up in the table. Daniel Lawrence and Adam Rossington will be manning the top-order batting. The pair will look to provide a huge opening wicket stand that will get them to a big score.
The middle order for Essex will be manned and in the hands of Robi Das and Paul Walter. Michael Kyle Pepper batted well in his last few games and he might look to anchor the innings in the middle overs. Essex has good depth in their batting line-up and they can also expect some runs towards the end from the likes of Daniel Sams, Matthew Critchley, and the skipper Harmer. Sams is in good nick with the ball though and will be looking for early breakthroughs. He will be sharing the new ball with another crucial bowler Sam Cook. The Essex middle overs will be handled by Harmer himself and Shane Snater.
Weather Report
The temperature at this venue on Wednesday is likely to be close to 17 degrees. You can expect relative humidity of close to 70%. There is a 10% probability of players perspiring and you can expect strong winds close to 26 km/hr during the game. There might be some cloud cover during the match but with no chance of getting showers.
Pitch Report
The average first-inning score at this ground is 174 runs. Out of the last 3 games played at the venue the team batting second has won 2. Kent has also lost their last couple of games while batting first. Essex on the other hand has lost their last couple of games while bowling first. If the Kent skipper wins the toss, he will opt for bowling first while the Essex skipper is likely to bat first here
Notable stats
The head-to-head for the last 5 games is in favor of Kent.
Although Kent has a lead in the recent head-to-head, Essex has won more matches in recent history.
Michael Pepper has had an excellent average/strike rate in recent games.
In his last 7 games played for Essex, Michael Pepper has scored 238 runs with an average of 34 and a strike rate of 168.79.
Team News
There do not seem to be any injury updates available for this encounter. So, the entire team will be up for selection for both these sides.
KENT vs ESS Probable 11
KENT Playing 11
- Sam Billings (C)
- Tawanda Muyeye
- Daniel Bell-Drummond
- Joe Denly
- Jordan Cox
- Jack Leaning
- George Linde
- Joey Evison
- Grant Stewart
- Kane Richardson
- Michael Hogan
ESS Playing 11
- Simon Harmer (C)
- Adam Rossington (Wk)
- Robin Das
- Michael-Kyle Pepper
- Matthew Critchley
- Paul Walter
- Daniel Lawrence
- Daniel Sams
- Shane Snater
- Ben Allison
- Sam Cook
Dream11 Prediction
Kent will be desperate to win this game and get back to their winning ways. Essex might just be the opposition that will set them on the right track. Kent's team appears to be very strong on paper. But this has not transcended into sufficient wins in reality. We expect them to stage a comeback and get a win against Essex. We will bet with Kent to win this game. Nothing much in it though.
Top Picks
Daniel Sams: In his last 10 appearances for Essex, Daniel Sams has picked up 19 wickets with a strike rate of 11.73 and he is bowling with an economy rate of 7.88.
Michael Pepper: Michael Pepper has been the go-to batsman for Essex in this tournament. In his last 7 appearances for Essex, he has picked up 238 runs with a strike rate of 168.79.
Simon Harmer: Simon Harmer has picked up 19 scalps for Essex from his last 10 games for them with a strike rate of 11.26.
Grant Stewart: Stewart is the top bowler for Kent and in his last 9 matches for Kent he has picked up 13 victims with a strike rate of 13.84.
KENT vs ESS Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: S Billing
Batters: M Pepper , J Cox , D Bell Drummond, D Lawrence, R Das
All-rounders: S Harmer (VC), M Critchley, D Sams (C)
Bowlers: M Hogan, G Stewart
