Vitality Blast 2019, Glamorgan v Gloucestershire, Worcestershire Rapids v Birmingham Bears, Durham Jets v Northamptonshire: Preview and predictions

The second day of Vitality Blast 2019 will see Glamorgan and Worcestershire Rapids playing their second encounters respectively against Gloucestershire and Birmingham Bears. The third fixture of the day will be played between Durham Jets and Northamptonshire.

Glamorgan vs Gloucestershire, Cheltenham

After their most successful campaign in 2017 they failed to qualify for the knockout stage last time. This time the focus should be to improve the records especially after the inclusion of the T20 stars like Colin Ingram, Fakhar Zaman, Mitchell Marsh. The bowlers like Timm van der Gugten, Kazi Szymanski can change the game for them along with the big hitter Kiran Carlson. Glamorgan’s first match against Somerset on July 18 will give a clear picture of the scenario and will help them to prepare for the encounter against Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire had a decent experience last year as they finished at the 4th position of their group. They won five matches at a trot after losing their first encounter of the edition. Their journey till quarter-final saw Michael Klinger finishing as their leading run-scorer with 431 runs and David Payne as the leading wicket-taker with 18 wickets. Gloucestershire will begin with an idea about Glamorgan as they would have played one match of the tournament by then.

Last season:Gloucestershire 197/6 in 20 overs beat Glamorgan 167/9 in 20 overs by 30 runs at Cheltenham

Glamorgan 201/6 in 20 overs beat Gloucestershire 167/9 in 20 overs by 2 runs at Cardiff

Players to watch: Timm van der Gugten (Glamorgan), Michael Klinger (Gloucestershire)

Prediction: Gloucestershire will start this edition with a win.

Worcestershire Rapids vs Birmingham Bears, Worcester

The winner of last year T20 Blast title will be playing their second match of this season’s Vitality T20 Blast against Birmingham. They turned things around last year with nine wins and four losses after having two poor seasons earlier. Joe Clarke was their highest run getter in last year with 396 runs and Pat Brown ended with the most number of wickets (31) in the tournament. These two will be key players along with Martin Guptill to continue his showcase post World Cup.

For Birmingham Bears (Warwickshire), things changed for the worse. The winners of the 2014 season of the T20 Blast tournament finished as the runners-up in 2017 but failed to get past the group stage in the last edition. Apart from Ian Bell, one the leading run scorers last year with 580 runs and Grant Elliot, their key bowler, a lot will depend on Colin de Grandhomme. Moreover, they will have a slight edge as this will be their first encounter.

Last season:Worcestershire Rapids 192/7 in 20 overs beat Birmingham Bears 188/9 in 20 overs by 4 runs at Worcester

Worcestershire Rapids 209/5 in 20 overs beat Birmingham Bears 194/7 in 20 overs by 15 runs at Worcester

Players to watch: Martin Guptill (Worcestershire Rapids), Colin de Grandhomme (Birmingham Bears)

Prediction: Worcestershire to continue good records against Birmingham Bears.

Durham Jets vs Northamptonshire, Chester-le-Street

Durham Jets had a pretty outing last time as they won nine and lost four to finish second in the North Group points table. A five-wicket loss to Sussex in the quarter-final finally ended their dream run. Tom Latham was their leading run scorer with 470 runs who has all the potential to carry the team this time as well. Nathan Rimmington emerged as one of the top five bowlers of the tournament with 22 wickets. Northamptonshire should be an easy opponent for Durham to start with keeping the track record in mind.

Two-time champions Northamptonshire failed to qualify for the knockout stage in previous two seasons. Whereas they came sixth in 2017 last year they finished at the bottom. They could register only two wins out of 14 matches they played last time. Moreover, they lost both matches against Durham as well. Joshua Cobb, who scored 448 runs last time, will be the key player as well although the bowlers need to bring some fortune if they want to do well this time.

Last season:Durham Jets 170/4 in 20 overs beat Northamptonshire 95 in 17 overs by 75 runs at Chester-le-Street

Durham Jets 174/7 in 20 overs beat Northamptonshire 162/9 in 20 overs by 12 runs at Northampton

Players to watch: Tom Latham (Durham Jets), Joshua Cobb (Northamptonshire)

Prediction: Durham Jets to clinch a comfortable win.