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

The defending champions Worcestershire suffered a big defeat in their previous game against the Lancashire in Manchester. In the absence of their skipper Moeen Ali, Worcester were limited to 130/9 as only Martin Guptill (37) crossing 20. Lancashire cruised to 71/1 by end of the 9th over when the rain had a say. The hosts were 21 runs ahead on the DLS par score and were declared winners.

Worcestershire began their title defence with a win over Nottinghamshire that was followed by a washout at home. They will now face Durham on Sunday at New Road. The opening pair of D’Arcy Short and Scott Steel have been the talking point of Durham in this competition. Steel scored 165 runs in three T20 innings including two fifties while Short has done well with both bat and ball for his team.

Match Details:

The North Group game in the Vitality T20 Blast 2019 will be played between Worcestershire Rapids and Durham at the New Road in Worcester.

The match starts at 2:30 PM local time (7:00 PM IST) (1:30 PM GMT).

This game will be stream live on Worcestershire’s County Cricket’s YouTube Channel.

Pitch Condition/Report:

In the last five completed T20 games at the New Road in Worcester, a team won did manage to chase 190+ but at the same time failed to chase less than 140. The track tends to be on the extreme sides. However, anything around 175 can be expected from the team batting first in season’s first match here.

Average first innings score: 168 (Last five T20 matches)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 3, Lost – 2

Probable Playing XIs:

Worcestershire:

Martin Guptill, Rikkie Wessels, Callum Ferguson, Daryll Mitchell, Ben Cox (WK), Brett D’Oliveira (C), Ross Whiteley, Ed Barnard, Wayne Parnell, Patrick Brown, Dillon Pennington.

Bench: Tom Fell, Josh Tongue, Adam Finch, Joshua Dell.

Durham:

D’Arcy Short, Scott Steel, Graham Clark, Ben Raine, Stuart Poynter (C & WK), Liam Trevaskis, Jack Burnham, Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Nathan Rimmington, Chris Rushworth.

Bench: Ryan Pringle, Alex Lees.

Injury and Availability News:

(Will be added when there is an update)

Power Picks:

Nathan Rimmington in Twenty20s since 2018:

30 wickets from 18 matches at an average of 17.39 and a strike rate of 12.3. He took more than one wicket in ten out of those 18 games.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain options – D’Arcy Short, Martin Guptill, Scott Steel, Daryll Mitchell, Ben Raine

Vice-Captain options – Wayne Parnell, Graham Clark, Patrick Brown, Nathan Rimmington, Ed Barnard

Suggested Playing XI for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – Ben Cox

Batsmen – Martin Guptill (VC), Rikkie Wessels, Scott Steel

All-Rounders – D’Arcy Short (C), Wayne Parnell, Liam Trevaskis

Bowlers – Ed Barnard, Patrick Brown, Matthew Potts, Nathan Rimmington

Suggested Playing XI for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – Stuart Poynter

Batsmen – Martin Guptill, Callum Ferguson, Scott Steel (C)

All-Rounders – Daryll Mitchell, Wayne Parnell (VC), D’Arcy Short, Ben Raine

Bowlers – Ed Barnard, Brydon Carse, Nathan Rimmington

Expert Advice:

Batsmen from both the sides failed to put on consistent scores in this tournament. Only Scott Steel and Martin Guptill are direct picks from this category. A gamble can be taken over the likes of Rikkie Wessels, Graham Clark and Callum Ferguson for selecting 3rd batsman.

Probable Winners:

The defending champions Worcestershire are expected to bounce back from their first defeat.

*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.