Vitality Blast 2019, Leicestershire v Yorkshire, Middlesex v Surrey: Preview, predictions

Two fixtures of Vitality Blast 2019 on July 23 will see Leicestershire hosting Yorkshire and a clash between Middlesex and Surrey at The Oval, London.

Leicestershire vs Yorkshire

Leicestershire had a poor outing in their second match of the season against Birmingham Bears. The top order failed miserably although the middle order somewhat put a fight. The good part was that their highest run getter from last season Colin Ackermann looked in tough with 26 off 28. With the first match being abandoned and surrender in the next Leicestershire should look for more focus.

The case is similar with Yorkshire as well. Apart from a 50 at the lower order by Jordan Thompson, the entire lineup failed to deliver. Yorkshire could put up 164/8 and Adam Lyth and Dominic Base did try to defend it. But the unit needed to perform and they could not. Yorkshire need to play as a team if they do want to do better than previous editions.

Last Season: Yorkshire 187/5 (20) beat Leicestershire 127/9 (20) by 60 runs.

Players to watch: Colin Ackermann (Leicestershire), Jordan Thompson (Yorkshire)

Prediction: Yorkshire to win.

Middlesex vs Surrey

Middlesex, after a terrible season in 2018 came back strong and kicked off this season with a blast. AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 88 to win the match against Essex. His magic touch along with the likes of Dawid Malan, Paul Stirling can carry innings for Middlesex. Even the bowlers did a good job to restrict the opponents for 164.  The pair of Tom Helm and Nathan Shower was effective.

Incidentally, even Surrey played their first match of Vitality Blast 2019 against Essex. Cameron Delpart’s 129 off 49 made look all Surrey bowlers out of track but they overall did a decent job. Chasing 227 was never going to be easy but Surrey openers gave a solid start. The middle-order had a major collapse as three batsmen went for zero and Tom Curran could add just four runs. The match against Middlesex will not be an easy one for Surrey as the former had won against the same opponents who gave a tough time to Surrey.

Last Season: Middlesex 161/7 (19) beat Surrey 158/6 (20) by 3 wickets.

Surrey 222/1 (16) beat Middlesex 221/5 (20) by 9 wickets.

Players to watch: AB de Villiers (Middlesex), Aaron Finch (Surrey)

Prediction: Middlesex to win.