Vitality T20 Blast 2019: North Group, Northamptonshire vs Worcestershire: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Match Details:

The North Group game in the Vitality T20 Blast 2019 will be played between Northamptonshire and Worcestershire Rapids at the County Ground in Northampton.

The match starts at 6:30 PM local time (11:00 PM IST) (5:30 PM GMT).

This game will be live on Northamptonshire County Cricket Club’s YouTube channel.

Preview:

The defending champions Worcestershire qualified for the quarters after their previous match against Nottinghamshire got abandoned. This meant all the four quarter-final entrants from the North Group have been finalized. Ahead of the knockouts, the Worcestershire will tour Northampton to face Northamptonshire. The Joshua Cobb-led team are currently at the bottom of the North Group.

As many as four matches of Northants were washed out. In the remaining nine games, they won three and lost six. With only ten points from 13 matches, the Northampton team is set to bag the wooden spoon in their group. On the other hand, Worcestershire has got 15 points from 13 matches. They lost four matches out of which three defeats came in their last five completed matches.

Weather Condition/Report:

Northampton is expected to be under clouds for most of the day. However, no rain is predicted in the forecast. The match could go without any interruption in cold conditions. There could be a bit of drizzle late in the day.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The County Ground in Northampton has witnessed an interesting bit of results. The totals of 180 and 157 have been chased down. At the same time, scores of 145 and 155 have been defended successfully. Usually, the pitch at this venue remains the same throughout and the toss is expected to make no difference.

Average first innings score: 159 (T20 Blast matches in 2019)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 2, Lost – 2

Injury and Availability News:

Martin Guptill has joined New Zealand for the T20I series in Sri Lanka.

Probable Playing XIs:

Northamptonshire:

Richard Levi, Adam Rossington (wk), Joshua Cobb (c), Dwaine Pretorius, Alex Wakely, Rob Keogh, Faheem Ashraf, Tom Sole, Graeme White, Nathan Buck, Blessing Muzarabani.

Bench: Ben Sanderson, Brett Hutton.

Worcestershire:

Rikkie Wessels, Hamish Rutherford, Moeen Ali (C), Tom Fell, Wayne Parnell, Ben Cox (WK), Daryl Mitchell, Ross Whiteley, Ed Barnard, Patrick Brown, Dillon Pennington.

Bench: Joe Leech, Charlie Morris.

Top Picks:

Rob Keogh has earned 20+ points in each of the last four matches he featured in. Richard Levi has got quick runs at the top and isn’t far away from hitting a big knock.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain – Moeen Ali, Rikkie Wessels, Wayne Parnell

Vice-Captain – Rob Keogh, Alex Wakely, Joshua Cobb

Moeen Ali cannot be overlooked as a captain or vice-captain. He got 65+ points in his first two matches of this T20 Blast and 24.5 in the previous despite an off day in all departments.

Suggested Playing XI for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – Adam Rossington, Ben Cox

Batsmen – Richard Levi, Rikkie Wessels, Rob Keogh (VC)

All-Rounders – Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Moeen Ali (C)

Bowlers – Ed Barnard, Graeme White, Patrick Brown

Suggested Playing XI for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – Ben Cox

Batsmen – Rob Keogh, Rikkie Wessels (VC), Richard Levi, Alex Wakely

All-Rounders – Moeen Ali (C), Daryl Mitchell, Joshua Cobb

Bowlers – Ed Barnard, Patrick Brown, Blessing Muzarabani

Expert Advice:

Picking Ed Barnard and Patrick Brown will not only get you good amount of points but also saves credits. Brown has 13 wickets this season and is Worcestershire’s leading wicket-taker. Barnard adds value with the bat down the order.

Probable Winners:

Worcestershire is expected to go into Quarters with a win over Northampton.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.