Worcestershire will take on Hampshire in the third quarter-final of the NatWest Blast T20 of the 2015 season at the New Road Stadium at Worcester on Friday.
The Birmingham Bears sneaked into the quarter-final of the NatWest T20 Blast, thanks to errors made by Essex Eagles on Thursday. Northamptonshire Steelbacks also stunned the Sussex Sharks in the first quarter-final of the NatWest T20 Blast. Can Worcestershire pull off an exciting victory over Hampshire on Friday night?
The England and the Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had let go off English players so that they can participate in the NatWest T20 Blast and that gave a lot of boost to a number of teams. Worcestershire have also benefited from this move and Moeen Ali would be adding a lot of strength to their middle order and bowling as well.
"I put Worcestershire's success this year down to using their limited resources extremely well. They don't have a big squad but that means there are fewer changes and everybody in the Rapids' side knows exactly what their role is. Worcestershire's team spirit is also there for all to see.
"I do, though, think it is crucial to their chances that captain Daryl Mitchell – who does a great job with bat, ball and in the field – is fully fit as they are tackling a team that know who to get to Finals Day perhaps better than anyone, Hampshire having done so for the last five seasons," former England cricketer Nick Knight told Sky Sports, ahead of the Quarter-Final fixtures.
Hampshire will not be an easy opponent; they go in as favourites in this match. Michael Carberry and James Vince have been brilliant right at the top of the order.
"The visitors haven't been at their consistent best in all forms this term but with Michael Carberry and James Vince at the top of the order and Jimmy Adams finding some form, they will post a score, while their bowling attack has lots of variations. Yasir Arafat, in particular, is brilliant in this format," said Knight.
Where to Watch live:
The third quarter-final game between Worcestershire and Hamsphire is scheduled for a 6:15 pm local time (10:45 pm IST, 1:15 pm EST and 5:15 pm GMT) start, with live coverage in India on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD 1. The live streaming option is not available in India.
Viewers in the UK can switch to Sky Sports Ashes and stream the same on Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can tune into ESPN 3 and stream the second quarter-final on Watch ESPN.
