Vitality T20 Blast 2019: South Group, Essex vs Gloucestershire: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Essex has got a mixed beginning to their T20 Blast 2018 as they won only one of the three matches they played thus far. They were thumped by Middlesex in the tournament opener by virtue of an AB de Villiers special. On Friday, Essex lost out to Kent by 22 runs failing to accelerate the scoring rate. In between, Essex faced Surrey at home and thumped them thanks to Cameron Delport’s century.

Gloucestershire, on the other hand, is unlucky to not have four points from two matches. In the first match against Glamorgan, a 5-wicket haul from Benny Howell reduced the visitors to 96/8. However, rain intervened at this stage to wash out the game and rob a win for Gloucester. Their first win came in the very next game against Middlesex as they were successful in chasing 149 even after losing eight wickets.

Match Details:

The South Group game in the Vitality T20 Blast 2019 will be played between Essex and Gloucestershire at the County Ground in Chelmsford.

The match starts at 7:00 PM local time (11:30 PM IST) (6:00 PM GMT).

This game will be live on Sky Sports in England and Fan Code App in India.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The two games that the County Ground in Chelmsford has hosted over the last ten days speaks about the pitch at this venue. Last week, Essex and Surrey collected a total of 400 runs from 30 overs as the game got reduced to 15 overs-a-side. On the eve of this game, Meg Lanning recorded the highest individual Women’s T20I score and helped Australia posted a big total. Once again, a 180+ track is expected at this venue.

Average first innings score: 176 (T20 Blast matches since 2018)

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

Probable Playing XIs:

Essex:

Varun Chopra, Cameron Delport, Tom Westley, Ryan ten Doeschate, Daniel Lawrence, Ravi Bopara, Adam Wheater (WK), Simon Harmer (C), Adam Zampa, Shane Snater, Matt Quinn.

Bench: Aaron Beard, Paul Walter.

Gloucestershire:

Michael Klinger (C), Miles Hammond, Ian Cockbain, Benny Howell, James Bracey (WK), Ryan Higgins, Jack Taylor, Andrew Tye, Tom Smith, David Payne, Graeme van Buuren.

Bench: Chris Liddle, Tom Price, Chris Dent.

Injury and Availability News:

Mohammad Amir is not available for this fixture.

Power Picks:

Cameron Delport in Twenty20 matches in 2019:

737 runs from 27 innings at an average of 28.34 with two centuries and 2 fifties. He is one of the three players to score as many as two T20 hundreds in 2019.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain Options – Benny Howell, Cameron Delport, Ryan Higgins, Tom Westley

Vice-captain Options – Miles Hammond, Ryan ten Doeschate, Ian Cockbain, Ravi Bopara

Suggested Playing XI for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – James Bracey

Batsmen – Miles Hammond, Cameron Delport (VC), Tom Westley, Daniel Lawrence

All-Rounders – Ryan ten Doeschate, Benny Howell (C)

Bowlers – Adam Zampa, Matt Quinn, Andrew Tye, David Payne.

Suggested Playing XI for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – Adam Wheater

Batsmen – Miles Hammond, Daniel Lawrence, Tom Westley (C), Ian Cockbain (VC)

All-Rounders – Benny Howell, Ryan Higgins, Ryan ten Doeschate

Bowlers – Matt Quinn, Shane Snater, David Payne.

Expert Advice:

As both the teams were part of their respective matches over the last two days, there might not be any major changes to their squads. In fact, both the teams are expected to come into this game with unchanged XIs.

Probable Winners:

Essex might have an edge due to their batting and the advantage of playing at home.

*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.