Royal London One Day Cup 2021 1st Quarter-final: Essex vs Yorkshire - Preview, predicted XIs, match prediction, weather forecast and pitch report

In the first quarter-final of the Royal London One-Day Cup, Essex will lock horns with Yorkshire at the County Ground in Chelmsford. The winner of this game will face Glamorgan in the first semi-final. Both sides are strong on paper and it promises to be a cracker of a contest.

Essex have won five of their eight games and lost two, with one being tied with Lancashire. Simon Harmer smashed three sixes in the last over in that thrilling contest and pulled off a stupendous run-chase for his team.

The batsmen have been very good for Essex so far. Former England captain Alastair Cook is in prime form and so is skipper Tom Westley. Both have scored over 350 runs and have been sensational so far. The bowlers in Harmer and Ryan ten Doeschate have picked up regular wickets and will be eager to continue in the same way in the quarter-finals.

Yorkshire, on the other hand, have won four out of the six completed games, with two being washed out. They have lost two matches so far but are coming into this game with two consecutive wins. Yorkshire defeated Glamorgan in their last game by four runs.

George Hill and Harry Duke have been good with the bat for Yorkshire. Matthew Waite has been good with the ball as he has picked up 11 wickets so far. The weather hasn’t been kind to them so far and they will be hoping the rain gods stay away in the quarter-finals. Yorkshire will be eager to step up and fire in unison against Essex.

Match Details:

Match: Essex vs Yorkshire, Quarter-Final 1, Royal London One-Day Cup

Date and Time: August 14 2021, Saturday, 3:30 PM IST

Venue: The County Ground, Chelmsford

Weather report:

The weather in Chelmsford on Saturday is expected to be on the gloomier side. Temperatures will range between 14 and 23 degrees Celsius. There is no chance of rain and a full day’s play can be expected.

Pitch Report

The pitch at the County Ground in Chelmsford is very good for batting. There is enough grip on the surface for the spinners to have an impact. The batsmen will enjoy batting on this surface as the pitch plays true to its nature throughout the course of the match.

Predicted Playing XIs

Essex

Essex’s last game was a tied contest with Lancashire. They have a nice balance to their side and are very strong on paper. Essex are a batting heavy side and are expected to go unchanged for the quarter-final clash against Yorkshire.

Playing XI: Josh Rymell, Sir Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Feroze Khushi, Paul Walter, Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater (wk), Simon Harmer, Aron Nijjar, Jack Plom, Ben Allison

Yorkshire

Yorkshire are on a roll in the competition so far. They have won two of their previous games and are likely not to tinker with the winning combination.

Playing XI: Will Fraine, Matthew Review, William Luxton, Gary Balance (c), George Hill, Jonathan Tattersall, Harry Duke (wk), Dominic Bess, Matthew Waite, Ben Coad, Josh Sullivan

Match prediction:

Two heavyweights will go up against each other in the first quarter-final. Both will be high in confidence as they set their sights on a semi-final berth. Both sides are strong on paper and it will all come down to handling pressure situations.

Essex have a good amount of experience in their side and should come out on top against Yorkshire.