The Vitality T20 Blast quarter-finals continue at apace with Worcestershire facing Gloucestershire in front of the Sky Cameras on Saturday afternoon.
Worcestershire head into the knockout stages as one of the form horses in the competition having played some outstanding cricket over the last few weeks to top the North Group and earn themselves a home quarter-finals tie.
They are 8/11 to see off Gloucestershire and progress to the last-four and punters happy enough to play at odds-on should have few qualms about wading into a side packed with talent and boasting a strong team spirit.
One of the most respected counties on the circuit, Worcestershire has built a side from its roots with the likes of Joe Clarke, Ben Cox and Patrick Brown coming through the club's renowned academy system and they have acquitted themselves well in the top tier of the County Championship this year having claimed the Division Two title with a surging late run last summer.
Worcestershire began their T20 Blast campaign with four victories and despite a few slip-ups along the way, ended the group stages with a good victory over the Birmingham Bears.
With Clarke and overseas recruit Callum Ferguson enjoying fine tournaments to date - 345 runs at 31.36 and 326 at 40.75 respectively - their batting certainly has a powerful look to it and Moeen Ali's return to the side strengthens their hand further.
Ali has been in terrific form with the bat since returning from England duties, blasting 115 against Birmingham in that aforementioned North-Group clash before making a sparkling 219 against Yorkshire in the County Championship this week.
His off-spin is always a threat in this format and with the exciting Brown - 27 wickets in the competition this year and counting - Ed Barnard and South African Wayne Parnell forming a potent seam attack, Worcestershire have every reason to believe they can go all the way having only narrowly missed out on a place in the Royal London One-Day Cup final earlier in the summer.
8/11 looks worth taking but Gloucestershire will be no pushovers and house some match winners in their own ranks.
The visitors beat the likes of Surrey, Kent and Somerset on the way to the quarter-finals, showcasing their definite capabilities, and in Micheal Klinger and AJ Tye, they boast a pair of gun players.
Tye is one of the best death bowlers going around the T20 circuit and has been a key performer for Gloucestershire this season, picking up twelve wickets with his wonderful variations and delivering some crucial spells along the way.
His Australian compatriot, Klinger, is another who has proven to be a rock in Gloucestershire's side - he currently tops their run charts in this competition with 407 runs at 37.00 - and as ever, it is his consistency and coolness under pressure that has set him apart from the rest.
Klinger has now amassed over 5400 T20 runs in his career and despite his advancing years, recent scores of 46, 44, 9, 59, 43 illustrate that he is in no way ready to slow down.
He is usually happy to let his more aggressive colleagues take the risks while he looks to anchor the innings and as a result, 13/5 about him obliging in the top Gloucestershire runscorer market is very appealing.
In fact, Klinger has obliged in this market in each of Gloucestershire's last two matches and I'm happy to bet that he completes the hat-trick.
Posted at 1540 BST on 22/08/18.
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