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

Middlesex has managed to put an end to their poor show in the T20 Blast. They have won three of the four matches they played in the tournament thus far. Interestingly, Middlesex won exactly three matches across 2017 and 2018 editions of the tournament. They are currently placed at No.2 in the South Group and their opponent on Thursday, Kent is leading the table.

Kent has won all their four matches so far with the recent most victory coming against Surrey. The Kent’s bowling attack comprising of International pacers Adam Milne, Hardus Viljoen and Fred Klaassen restricted Surrey to 54/4 in seven overs. Middlesex have enough quality batting in form AB de Villiers, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan and Paul Stirling which can tackle Essex’s bowling.

Match Details:

The South Group game in the Vitality T20 Blast 2019 will be played between Middlesex and Kent at the Lord’s.

The match starts at 6:15 PM local time (10:45 PM IST) (5:15 PM GMT).

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

Pitch Condition/Report:

The Lord’s produces tracks of different nature for T20s, ODIs and Tests. While the ODI pitches stay slower, the Test tracks produce a lot of swing and seam. But when it comes to T20s, the pitches here tend to be flat with early swing and signs of turn for the spinners as the game goes through.

Average first innings score: 173 (Last six Twenty20s)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 4, Lost – 2

Probable Playing XIs:

Middlesex:

Dawid Malan (C), Paul Stirling, Stephen Eskinazi, AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan, John Simpson (WK), Tom Helm, Toby Roland-Jones, Steven Finn, Nathan Sowter, Mujeeb ur Rahman.

Bench: George Scott, James Harris, Dan Lincoln.

Kent:

Daniel Bell-Drummond (C), Zak Crawley, Oliver Robinson (WK), Heino Kuhn, Mohammad Nabi, Alex Blake, Grant Stewart, Adam Milne, Hardus Viljoen, Fred Klaassen, Imran Qayyum.

Bench: Calum Haggett, Sean Dickson, Matt Milnes, Jordan Cox.

Injury and Availability News:

AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan and Paul Stirling are available for this game.

Power Picks:

Paul Stirling in List A and T20s this year:

1232 runs from 33 innings at an average of 38.5 with help of a century and 12 fifties.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain – Mohammad Nabi, Dawid Malan, Henio Kuhn, AB de Villiers, Daniel Bell-Drummond

Vice-captain – Paul Stirling, Hardus Viljoen, Toby Roland-Jones, Oliver Robinson, Stephen Eskinazi

Suggested Playing XI for Head to Head/Small Leagues:

Keeper – John Simpson

Batsmen – Dawid Malan (C), AB de Villiers, Heino Kuhn, Alex Blake

All-Rounders – Mohammad Nabi (VC), Toby Roland-Jones

Bowlers – Adam Milne, Hardus Viljoen, Tom Helm, Nathan Sowter

Suggested Playing XI for Grand Leagues/Mega Leagues:

Keeper – Oliver Robinson

Batsmen – Stephen Eskinazi, Daniel Bell-Drummond (VC), AB de Villiers (C)

All-Rounders – Mohammad Nabi, Toby Roland-Jones, Paul Stirling

Bowlers – Hardus Viljoen, Fred Klaassen, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Nathan Sowter

Expert Advice:

AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan, Dawid Malan and Paul Stirling collectively value 39.5 credits. With Stephen Eskinazi, a top-3 batsman of 8.5 credits available, only two of the above four are enough. Morgan isn’t the same batsman in T20s as he is in ODIs. Hence he can be excluded directly.

Probable Winners:

The star-studded batting of Middlesex can give them an edge over Kent.

*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.