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

Match Details:

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

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

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

Preview:

Essex ensured that their game against Kent will be a do-or-die match for both the teams following their win against Surrey. At the same time, Kent suffered a narrow defeat to Gloucestershire on Thursday. This put them in a must-win situation at the County Ground in Chelmsford. Kent kick-started the T20 Blast 2019 with five consecutive wins and had six wins from their first seven matches.

However, since then, Kent played six matches without a win. Two matches were abandoned while they suffered defeats in four other games. The results of the two would surely affect Kent mentally. They lost to Surrey by a 1-run margin and against Gloucestershire by 5 runs. Faf du Plessis joined Kent since the game against Gloucester and started with a good fifty but couldn’t stop his team from another defeat.

Weather Condition/Report:

The weather forecast for Chelmsford suggests a full 20-over match on Friday. Even toss was not possible on the previous two scheduled matches here. The conditions, however, will be cold throughout the day with partial cloud cover.

Pitch Condition/Report:

There is no doubt about the Chelmsford being a suitable venue for high-scoring T20 matches. However, the last T20 Blast game played here was at the start of the month. The previous two matches got abandoned and it makes tough to read the pitch which will be used after a while.

Average first innings score: 177 (Unaffected T20 Blast matches since 2018)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 3, Lost – 4

Probable Playing XIs:

Essex:

Cameron Delport, Tom Westley, Adam Wheater (WK), Dan Lawrence, Ryan ten Doeschate, Ravi Bopara, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (C), Mohammad Amir, Jamie Porter, Adam Zampa.

Bench: Shane Snater, Sam Cook, Aaron Beard.

Kent:

Daniel Bell-Drummond, Zak Crawley, Faf du Plessis, Heino Kuhn, Sam Billings (C & WK), Alex Blake, Oliver Robinson, Hardus Viljoen, Mitchell Claydon, Fred Klaassen, Imran Qayyum.

Bench: Jordan Cox, Matt Milnes, Marcus O’Riordan.

Injury and Availability News:

(Will be added when there is update)

Top Picks:

Faf du Plessis has impressive numbers in the T20 format in the last 12 months. Ravi Bopara has done well in the last few matches as he gained 35+ points in three of last four completed matches. Tom Westley would hope to convert starts in the big match which he has been getting throughout the season.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain Options – Daniel Bell-Drummond, Faf du Plessis, Tom Westley, Ravi Bopara

Vice-captain Options – Heino Kuhn, Dan Lawrence, Sam Billings, Cameron Delport

Daniel Bell-Drummond had a tough game with both bat and ball against Gloucestershire. But he remains as a key face in the fantasy cricket.

Suggested Playing XI for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – Adam Wheater

Batsmen – Zak Crawley, Faf du Plessis (C), Tom Westley (VC), Daniel Lawrence

All-Rounders – Ryan ten Doeschate, Ravi Bopara, Daniel Bell-Drummond

Bowlers – Jamie Porter, Hardus Viljoen, Imran Qayyum

Suggested Playing XI for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – Adam Wheater

Batsmen – Heino Kuhn, Sam Billings, Tom Westley, Cameron Delport, Faf du Plessis

All-Rounders – Daniel Bell-Drummond (C), Ravi Bopara (VC)

Bowlers – Fred Klaassen, Mohammad Amir, Simon Harmer

Expert Advice:

Picking up players from Kent’s top-order won’t be a bad idea considering the conditions which are suitable for batting in Chelmsford. The ideal situation will be when India be forced to batting

Probable Winners:

Kent might end up as the winners in a close match against the hosts.

*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.