Vitality Blast 2023 Cricket Prediction | North Group: Birmingham Bears vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks

Birmingham Bears vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks at a glance

• With the pace of Miles and the spin of Briggs, Birmingham Bears held an effective bowling attack.
• Vasconcelos might not play for Northamptonshire Steelbacks since Lynn is a strong batter but isn’t always reliable.
• Hain is batting superbly for Birmingham Bears and just needs some help from Maxwell, Davies, or Ali.

Birmingham Bears vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks Team Preview

Birmingham Bears

The return of skipper Moeen Ali to the squad has coincided with three consecutive defeats for Birmingham Bears, who fell again on Wednesday evening in a high-scoring game against Derbyshire Falcons. The Bears are in third place with eight points going into this game.

Only James Vince of the Hampshire Hawks and Wayne Madsen of the Derbyshire Falcons have scored more runs in the Vitality Blast 2023 than Warwickshire’s Sam Hain, who has struck 382 runs and been removed only twice. The Bears’ batting order is loaded with power hitters, including Moeen Ali, Glenn Maxwell, and Chris Benjamin. The most reliable wicket-takers for Birmingham Bears so far in their North Group matches have been Craig Miles and Danny Briggs. Along with Dan Mousley and Moeen Ali, both batters were out on Wednesday’s game against Derbyshire Falcons.

Northamptonshire Steelbacks 

Northamptonshire lost to Durham by 4 wickets on Tuesday night, marking their fourth loss of the season after triumphs against the Leicestershire Foxes and Worcestershire Rapids. They are only two points behind the team in first position despite being in eighth place.

The Steelbacks were only able to score 161-7 on Tuesday, despite Emilio Gay scoring 53 runs from 45 balls and Gay and Chris Lynn putting together an opening stand of 61 runs inside eight overs. In the previous game, six Northamptonshire batters hit sixes. Freddie Heldreich, a young left-arm wrist spinner, picked up 3-36 against top-of-the-table Durham on Tuesday night, his second three-wicket haul in two games. The Steelbacks’ two top-speed bowlers, David Willey, and Andrew Tye are still active.

Birmingham Bears vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks Team Playing Squads

Birmingham Bears Squads

Birmingham Bears

Moeen Ali (c), Alex Davies (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Dan Mousley, Sam Hain, Chris Benjamin, Danny Briggs, Ed Barnard, Henry Brookes, Jake Lintott, and Craig Miles.

Northamptonshire Steelbacks Squads

Northamptonshire Steelbacks

David Willey (c), Lewis McManus (wk), Chris Lynn, Josh Cobb, Emilio Gay, Saif Zaib, Tom Taylor, James Sales, Andrew Tye, Ben Sanderson, and Freddie Heldreich.

Birmingham Bears vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks Team Form in Last 5 Matches

Birmingham Bears vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks outfield report

Edgbaston Birmingham

Any captain who wins the toss will almost certainly bowl first, as the side batting second has won 38/87 T20 games.

On the day of the match, Birmingham will see bright and partly cloudy weather with little likelihood of precipitation.

This Vitality Blast match will take place at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham. Both sides are excited to bat on this surface with regular bounce and carry.

Birmingham Bears vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks Final Prediction

Winning the toss

• Birmingham Bears

Player of the Match

• Birmingham Bears – Sam Hain

Most sixes

• Birmingham Bears – Sam Hain
• Northamptonshire Steelbacks – Chris Lynn

Most wickets

• Birmingham Bears – Danny Briggs
• Northamptonshire Steelbacks – Andrew Tye

Most runs

• Birmingham Bears – Sam Hain 
• Northamptonshire Steelbacks – Chris Lynn

Team Scores Batting First

• Birmingham Bears – 190+
• Northamptonshire Steelbacks – 180+

According to our prediction, Birmingham Bears will win this match.