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

gloucs vs kent Match Prediction & Analysis

Kent will be travelling to Bristol after a moral boosting win against Middlesex yesterday by 13 runs. With back-to-back wins, Kent have now surpassed Gloucestershire in the points table with 6 points and have a chance to overtake Glamorgan to increase their chances of landing into the qualifiers. The 76th game of the Vitality Blast T20 will be played at The County Ground, Bristol, on 17th June from 11:30 pm onwards.

Gloucs played their last game at home against Somerset. Batting first, Somerset put 231 runs on the board. None of the Gloucs bowlers survived Will Smead’s 94 off 35 balls. Zafar Gohar took 2 for 44. Miles Hammond (61) and Ben Charlesworth (41) took Gloucestershire to 99 in the 10th over. But back-to-back wickets hampered their chances of winning the game. Gloucs lost the game by 80 runs.

Bell Drummond & Joe Denly gave Kent their consecutive win in London. Drummond first put up a partnership of 88 runs with Muyeye and then scored his third half-century. Denly followed the footsteps of the opener to score 73 at a strike rate of 197.29. Kent bowlers took early wickets of Middlesex. But Max Holden scored an unbeaten 121 off 59 balls, scaring Kent throughout the second innings. Fred Klassen gave just 4 runs in the 18th over to win the game for Kent by 13 runs.

Both teams started the Vitality Blast campaign against each other. Gloucs were bowled out for 113 in just 17 overs. Micheal Hogan took 3 wickets for Kent in the game. Kent chased the target in just 14 overs for losing 3 wickets. This was Kent’s first win over the Glous in the last 4 games.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Gloucestershire Preview

An 80-run loss in the last game has brought the morale of Jack Taylor’s team down. But They will be playing against a team with a similar outcome this season. Gloucs will open with Ben Wells and Miles Hammond. Though Wells has played just one game this season, Gloucs will hope for a good partnership between Hammond and him. Hammond has scored 169 runs this season with two half-centuries. His strike rate is a bit concerning.  BG Charlsworth will be our top player from the Gloucs side. 

Charlesworth leads the run table for the Gloucs with 185 runs at a strike rate of 165.17 - the best amongst the Gloucs batters. The main reason for Gloucs' fallout this season is their weak middle order. Except for Oliver Price, none of the middle-order batters has scored runs for the Gloucs. Christopher Dent’s availability for the game is questionable. Dent had scored 55 off 29 balls in the first game against Kent and struck over 165 this season.

Price and David Payne will lead the Gloucs bowling unit. Both have 10 wickets each with a collective economy of less than 8. Payne will be the bowler to watch out for, as he has 7 wickets in the last 4 games. His form was crucial in Gloucs back to back wins against Surrey and Middlesex. Left-arm orthodox Thomas Smith will be responsible for restricting the runs in the middle. 

Key Players: Miles Hammond, BG Charlesworth, David Payne.

Gloucestershire Predicted Playing XI:

Ben Charlesworth, Miles Hammond, Ben Wells, Oliver Price, Jack Taylor (c), Zafar Gohar, James Bracey (wk), Danny Lamb, MD Taylor, Tom Smith, David Payne

Gloucestershire Actual Playing XI:

Grant Roelofsen, David Payne, Matthew David Taylor, Tom Price, Ben Wells, Zafar Gohar, Oliver Price, GLV Buuren, Tom Smith, Miles Hammond, Ben Charlesworth

Kent Preview

Back-to-back wins have boosted the chances of Kent to have a successful second half of the current season. Daniel Bell-Drummond will be the top batter from the Kent side. He leads the batting unit with 313 runs at a strike rate of 152.68. Drummond has scored three consecutive half-centuries, two in the Vitality Blast & one against Surrey in the Championship game.  His opening partner Tawanda Mueye has 173 runs at a strike rate of 150.43 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 248 runs in 8 games at a strike rate of 141.71. 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. This can be a problem for Kent against Gloucs if the top order collapses, especially when they are playing this game within 24 hours of their last one.

Grant Stewart and Michael Hogan have carried the bowling unit for Kent this season. While Stewart has taken 12 wickets at an average of 18.91, Hogan has 13 at an average of 20.46. You will be shocked by the disparity by knowing that the next leading wicket-taker for Kent has 7 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:

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

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be mostly cloudy. The temperature will range between 25 and 16. The wind will be flowing from the west at 8-12 kmh. The surface at the County Ground is true and consistent, providing a good balance between bat and ball. The batsmen can expect even bounce, allowing them to play their shots confidently. The ball comes onto the bat nicely, rewarding timing and shot placement.

The pitch at Bristol has historically favoured spinners as the match progresses. As the game wears on, the spinners can find a good turn. Overcast conditions can assist swing bowlers and make the pitch more bowling-friendly.

Venue Details

The 69th T20 of the Vitality Blast 2023 will be played at The County Ground, Bristol on 17th June from 11:30 pm onwards. The venue has a capacity of 15000 spectators and has hosted 1 Test, 34 ODIs & 12 T20Is. The four games at The Lords This season has seen 1 century and 6 half-centuries this season.

Toss: To Bowl

In 12 T20Is, the results have favoured teams chasing and defending equally. . The team chasing the target in the last 4 games has won 3 times. The team winning the toss should bowl first.