Essex vs Kent, VITALITY T20 BLAST 2023, Today Match Prediction

ess vs kent Match Prediction & Analysis

The Vitality Blast is reaching its final phase. With interesting outcomes day by day, two mid-table teams will be battling against each other to improve their position. Essex is set to host Kent at County Ground, Chelmsford. The match will be played on 22nd June from 11:30 pm onwards. Essex is currently in third with 14 points while Kent is in fifth with 10 points.

Essex suffered a massive defeat at the hands of ruthless Somerset. After losing three wickets on 15, Robin Das (72) and Paul Walker (51) added 94 runs off just 44 deliveries to take Essex to a respectable total of 186. Somerset's explosive top order of the table toppers, outmuscled Essex’s bowling attack to chase the target in the 17th over by 7 wickets.

Kent played Sussex at the County Ground, Hove yesterday. Batting first, Sussex scored 169 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. Micheal Hogan bowled brilliantly to take four wickets for 31. Kent got into trouble after losing early wickets. But in-form Daniel Bell-Drummond put up a partnership of 67 runs with Jordan Cox to take Kent to their 4th consecutive win. Jordan Cox scored 82 off 44 balls for Kent.

Essex and Kent have already played against each other this season at St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury. Essex won that game by 4 wickets. Italian bowler Grant Stewart’s 37 off 16 balls took Kent to a respectable total of 150. Sam Cook took 4 wickets for 18 runs for Essex. After losing both openers for a duck and a collapse in the middle order, Matthew Critchley scored 63 off 46 balls to win the game by 4 wickets in the 19th over of the game. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Essex Preview

The 2019’th Vitality Blast winner had an amazing run in the middle of this season by remaining unbeaten in 5 games. A 7-wicket defeat at the hands of Somerset derailed their efforts a bit. But they have nothing to worry about. Essex batters have scored 8 half-centuries in the last 5 games. Essex is still struggling to find an opening pair. They have tried 5 different openers without finding a proper one. Daniel Lawrence will open the innings. Lawrence has 102 runs in 6 games at a strike rate of 154.54.

Micheal Pepper at number three has been an effective choice for Essex. He has scored 230 runs in 7 games with two half-centuries at a strike rate of 167.88. Robin Das and Paul Walter will hold the middle for Essex. Walter is Essex’s leading run-scorer with 250 runs with the best strike rate of 172.13 amongst the Essex batters. Out of 250, he has 218 runs in the last 5 games with a strike rate of 203. Pepper is undoubtedly our choicer for the batter to watch out for.

All-rounders Daniel Sams, Simon Harmer, and Matthew Critchley will lead the pace attack for Essex. Sams has 18 wickets this season at an economy of 7.29 - the best amongst all bowlers. Besides this, he has 232 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 173.13 - the best among all batters. Skipper Simon Harmer has 15 wickets between the lot. Another all-rounder Matthew Critchley has 13 wickets with the ball and 173 runs with the bat. Overall, Essex has a balanced batting and bowling unit as compared to Kent, who are dependent on their top order.

Key Players: Paul Walter, Daniel Sams, Matthew Critchley.

Essex Predicted Playing XI:

Daniel Lawrence, Feroze Khushi, Michael-Kyle Pepper, Robin Das, Paul Walter, Matthew Critchley, Daniel Sams, William Buttleman (wk), Simon Harmer (c), Shane Snater, Sam Cook

Essex Actual Playing XI:

Matt Critchley, Paul Walter, Robin Das, Dan Lawrence, Aron Nijjar, Feroze Khushi, Daniel Sams, William Buttleman, Simon Harmer, Michael Pepper, Shane Snater

Kent Preview

Back-to-back wins have boosted the chances of Kent to have a successful second half of the current season. They now have 4 wins in a row after having just 1 win in the first 6 games. Daniel Bell-Drummond will be the top batter from the Kent side. He leads the batting unit with 407 runs at a strike rate of 142.80. Drummond has scored four consecutive half-centuries and a 38-run score in his last 5 games. His opening partner Tawanda Mueye has 221 runs at a strike rate of 148.32 with two fifties.

Joe Denly, at number three, is having a good run this season. Denly scored an unbeaten knock of 73 runs in 37 balls in the last game. He has 259 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 134.89. Kent’s middle-order issues are almost similar to the Gloucs. None of the batters have performed well for Kent in the middle this season. Jordan Cox’s 82 off 44 gave Kent their fourth consecutive win. Besides this performance, the middle-order looks struggling for Kent.

Grant Stewart and Michael Hogan have carried the bowling unit for Kent this season. While Stewart has taken 14 wickets at an average of 17.80, Hogan has 19 at an average of 17.57. Hogan has 6 wickets in the last 2 games. You will be shocked by the disparity by knowing that the next leading wicket-taker for Kent has 9 wickets.

Key Players: Daniel Bell-Drummond, Grant Stewart and Michael Hogan

Kent Predicted Playing XI:

Tawanda Muyeye, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Joe Denly, Sam Billings (c & wk), Jordan Cox, Jack Leaning, George Linde, Grant Stewart, Kane Richardson, Fred Klaassen, Michael Hogan

Kent Actual Playing XI:

Joey Evison, Michael Hogan, George Linde, Grant Stewart, Joe Denly, Tawanda Muyeye, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Sam Billings, Jordan Cox, Wes Agar, Jack Leaning

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be mostly cloudy. The temperature will range between 26 and 13. The wind will be flowing from the west at 8-12 kmh. The Chelmsford pitch is traditionally known to be batsman-friendly, providing good pace and bounce. The wicket tends to be firm, offering true and consistent bounce throughout the match. 

The pitch at County Ground usually favours fast bowlers in the early stages of the game due to its ability to generate movement and swing, particularly under overcast conditions. The seamers can exploit the initial assistance on offer and trouble the batsmen with well-directed deliveries. The spinners can find assistance in terms of grip and occasional uneven bounce as the game progresses.

Venue Details

The 69th T20 of the Vitality Blast 2023 will be played at County Ground, Chelmsford. The match will be played on 22nd June from 11:30 pm onwards. The venue has a capacity of 6500 spectators and has hosted 12 ODIs & 11 T20Is. The average score at Chelmsford is low (130). A low-scoring game is expected.

Toss: To Bowl

In 11 T20Is, the results have favoured teams defending the target. The team chasing the target in the last 7 games. The team winning the toss should bowl first. In this season of the Vitality Blast, 4 out of 5 games have seen teams successfully chasing the target.