Recommended Bets: Friday NatWest T20 Blast
1pt Sarfraz Ahmed top Yorkshire batsman v Lancashire at 8/1 - looks a couple of points too big having done this in one of his two games already
2pts Hampshire-Gloucestershire double at 2.78/1 - Hampshire so impressive on Thursday night, consistent Gloucs can profit from Sussex's Thursday capitulation
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Yorkshire v Lancashire – 1830 BST
The Roses clashes are always among the biggest games of the T20 Blast season, but this particular encounter between the two old rivals carries more weight than most.
The pair cannot be separated in this T20 season. Both have four wins and 11 pts from their 11 games thus far, and when they met at Old Trafford earlier in the campaign it ended in a tie.
So trans-Pennine bragging rights are at stake here but so too, potentially, is a quarter-final spot. The Vikings and the Lightning currently sit just outside the top four, and for either defeat at Headingley will likely spell the end of their top-four hopes in the North Group. While the victor won’t be sure of reaching the last eight, they will be firmly in the mix.
In the match market, I’d narrowly favour Lancashire at odds-against, as I did in the tied game earlier this season, but better value is to be found elsewhere in the shape of bet365’s 8/1 for Sarfraz Ahmed to top-score for Yorkshire.
He’s already done so once in his two games for the Vikings and just feels too big for a man with over 100 white-ball international caps for Pakistan as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Adam Lyth has been Mr Consistent for Yorkshire this season and is also probably a touch big at 4/1 co-favourite in a market he should probably head on his own, but it’s the Pakistan skipper who offers the most value here.
Best of the rest
Gloucestershire look worth support at odds-against to beat Surrey at Hove. The Sharks have to bounce back after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at Middlesex on Thursday night, a damaging loss that leaves their top-four hopes in the balance.
Gloucestershire may not be one of the fancied sides, but they lead Sussex by two points with a game in hand – victory on Friday would be a huge stride towards the last eight. They’ve won their last two games against Glamorgan and Somerset, the top two in the table.
Hampshire look plenty backable at 4/5 at Kent after crushing South Group leaders Glamorgan in a one-sided Ageas Bowl clash on Thursday. Kent are second bottom in an admittedly tight South Group and have lost three of their last four at home, while Hampshire have won their last two on the road.
Thursday’s results have only added to the feeling that Hampshire and Gloucestershire are the best bets on the coupon, and the double at a touch better than 11/4 makes plenty of appeal.
Posted at 2200 BST on 10/08/17.
