T20 Blast Quarter Final 3: Somerset vs Lancashire - Preview, Predicted XIs, Match Prediction, Weather Forecast and Pitch Report

Somerset and Lancashire will face each other in the third quarter-final of the Vitality T20 Blast 2021 at Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton on Thursday, August 26.

Overall, Lancashire had a topsy turvy run in the group games. The team was plagued with inconsistency despite showing a lot of promise. However, three victories on the trot against Northamptonshire, Durham and Yorkshire helped them qualify for the quarterfinals.

A defeat in either of those three games would have knocked Lancashire out of the T20 league. In the end, they finished second with 16 points below table-toppers Nottinghamshire.

Somerset, on the other hand, have had a smoother run in the tournament thus far. They finished in second spot in the South Group with 18 points from 14 games and a net run rate of 0.371. Somerset beat Glamorgan and Gloucestershire to confirm their berth in the quarterfinals. It remains to be seen if they can continue the momentum.

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Match Details:

Match: Somerset vs Lancashire, T20 Blast, 2021.

Date: August 26, 2021 (Thursday)

Time: 11:30 PM (IST)

Venue: Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton

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Weather Report:

Playing conditions will be pleasant on Thursday with no chance of rain. The temperature will be around the 21-degree Celsius mark.

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Pitch Report:

The ground in Taunton isn’t the largest and hence a high-scoring game is on the cards. The track has something for the pacers and spinners as well. Batting first should be the way forward.

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Predicted Playing XIs:

Somerset

Somerset won’t be having the services of Devon Conway. Tom Banton and Steve Davies should open the batting. Somerset will also be missing out on Craig Overton, who’s with the England Test team. The onus will be on the likes of Smeed and Gregory, both of whom played well in the Hundred.

Predicted XI: Tom Banton, Steven Davies (w), Will Smeed, Lewis Goldsworthy, James Hildreth, Tom Lammonby, Ben Green, Lewis Gregory, Roelof van der Merwe, Marchant de Lange, Jack Brooks

Lancashire

Lancashire won’t be having Finn Allen, who’s with the New Zealand team. However, Liam Livingstone’s return should strengthen them. Matt Parkinson is also expected to return to the XI. Dane Vilas has a truckload of experience and needs to be on top of his game.

Predicted XI: Liam Livingstone, Keaton Jennings, Alex Davies, Dane Vilas (w/c), Steven Croft, Rob Jones, Luke Wells, Luke Wood, Tom Hartley, Danny Lamb, Matt Parkinson

Match Prediction

Though both teams finished second in their respective groups, Somerset have looked the better side. Somerset should be able to come out trumps in the crunch game.

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TV and live streaming details:

TV: N/A.

Live Streaming: Fancode.