Essex and Middlesex lock horns in the opening fixture of England’s domestic T20 tournament, T20 Blast 2020.
Team Previews
The defending champions Essex will start their title defense against Middlesex in the opening game of South Group in T20 Blast 2020. Essex is boosted up after making a dream double last year. They are also going very well in Bob wills Trophy after winning three games out of four. Last season, Essex finished 4th in the points table and they cleared every knock out game to clinch the maiden T20 trophy. In the final, Essex defeated Worcestershire, thanks to Bopara’s unbeaten 36 and Harmer’s 3 for 16. Simon Harmer will again lead the side for the T20 season. Eagles have a strong batting line-up as the Westley and Delport both were outstanding last season. Dan Lawrence and Ryan ten Doeschate will play the sheet anchors for the defending champions who had a good run last season.
Meanwhile, Middlesex lost just one game out of four in Bob Wills Trophy 2020 and they look to carry the momentum in the T20 format as well. Middlesex finished 3rd in South Group table last season and lost the quarterfinal against Nottinghamshire. The bowling unit is a big strength for them with Sowter, Helm, and Roland-Jones. In batting, they are going to miss AB de Villiers and Malan due to travel restrictions. Eoin Morgan will miss the first few matches due to the international series against Pakistan.
Pitch Report
County Ground, Chelmsford will host the match between Essex and Middlesex. The surface is a pure batting track and it offers a good amount of runs in both innings. Essex scored 226 in just 15-overs last season on this track, so we expect another high score on Thursday. Slight rainfall is expected.
Possible XI
Essex
Tom Westley, Cameron Delport, Dan Lawrence, Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (C), Jamie Porter, Aaron Beard, Sam Cook
Middlesex
Max Holden, Nick Gubbins, Stevie Eskinazi, Martin Andersson, Dan Lincoln, John Simpson, James Harris, Toby Roland-Jones, Tom Helm, Nathan Sowter, Thilan Walallawita
Key Players
Middlesex
Nathan Sowter
Last Season: 16 wickets with an economy of 8.43
TS Jones
Last Season: 19 wickets at an average of 19.89
Essex
Simon Harmer
Last Season: 17 wickets with an economy of 8.15
Cameron Delport
Last season: 409 runs at an average of 29.21
