Birmingham Bears take on Gloucestershire in the last quarterfinal contest of the Vitality T20 Blast 2024, with the winning team set to book their spot in Finals’ Day for this year. Birmingham were the standout team in the North Group, with 10 wins in their 14 matches, while Gloucestershire scraped through with only 7 wins in the last qualification spot in the South Group.

LAST FIVE MATCHES RESULTS

Birmingham Bears: W L W L W

Gloucestershire: W L L W W

LIKELY PLAYING XIs

Birmingham Bears likely XI

Batters: Sam Hain, Jacob Bethell

Allrounders: Moeen Ali, Dan Mousley

Wicketkeeper: Alex Davies, Chris Benjamin

Bowlers: Danny Briggs, Jacob Lintott, George Garton, Craig Miles, Zakary Foulkes

Gloucestershire likely XI

Batters: Miles Hammond, Jack Taylor, Ben Charlesworth

Allrounders: Beau Webster, Ollie Price

Wicketkeeper: James Bracey, Cameron Bancroft

Bowlers: David Payne, Matt Taylor, Josh Shaw, Tom Smith

STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE (BIRMINGHAM BEARS)

1. MOEEN ALI

Moeen Ali returned towards the end of the group stage matches and left a mark in the last match of the league stages with a score of 103(59). With his ability to contribute with ball and strong form in the Hundred, he is a big threat.

MOEEN ALI IN T20 BLAST 2024

INNINGS - 4

RUNS - 178

AVERAGE – 44.50

STRIKE RATE – 166.35

50s/100s – 1/1

2. DANNY BRIGGS

Danny Briggs was the leading wicket-taker of the group stages for the entire T20 Blast, with 27 wickets in 14 innings. His wickets make him an excellent option in this team.

DANNY BRIGGS IN T20 BLAST 2024

INNINGS - 14

WICKETS - 27

STRIKE RATE – 12.00

ECONOMY RATE – 6.40

AVERAGE – 12.81

Players who can make a difference (BIRMINGHAM BEARS)

1. Sam Hain

Sam Hain has been one of the picks of the tournament, averaging just a touch under 70 with 554 runs so far. His powerful opening batting ability makes him one of the strong choices for this match.

2. Jacob Bethell

Jacob Bethell had a strong group stage showing and backed it up with a good performance in the Hundred. He’s also a capable contributor with ball in hand.

STATISTICAL PERFORMANCE (GLOUCESTERSHIRE)

1. MATT TAYLOR

Matt Taylor has been an important component of Gloucester’s bowling attack, with 23 wickets in 13 matches.

MATT TAYLOR IN T20 BLAST 2024

INNINGS - 13

WICKETS - 23

STRIKE RATE – 12.86

ECONOMY RATE – 7.03

AVERAGE – 15.08

2. MILES HAMMOND

Miles Hammond has been one of the pillars of Gloucester’s batting this season, putting in solid performances at the top of the order alongside Cameron Bancroft.

MILES HAMMOND IN T20 BLAST 2024

INNINGS - 14

RUNS - 392

AVERAGE – 30.15

STRIKE RATE – 131.98

50s/100s – 2/0

Players who can make a difference (GLOUCESTERSHIRE)

1. David Payne

David Payne has led a strong Gloucestershire bowling attack which has been responsible for their success this tournament. He has a very good economy rate of 6.60.

2. Jack Taylor

Gloucestershire captain Jack Taylor has been in strong form with the bat, with an average of 30.09 and a strike rate of nearly 160. He will be key for the batting unit for the visitors.

TEAMS HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

Birmingham and Gloucestershire have played 14 T20 matches as far back as 2003, with the Bears winning 8 of these matches. However, the last two matches, played in 2020, were both won by Gloucestershire.

VENUE AND PITCH

Edgbaston in Birmingham will be the venue for this match, as well as for the Finals’ Day later on. Edgbaston has been a bat-first wicket this tournament, with 6 wins out of 8 for the team batting first. Birmingham Bears have won all 5 matches where they have chosen to bat first after winning the toss at home.

The average first innings score has been 182 at this venue, and both teams will likely choose to put runs on the board in this knockout match.

MATCH PREDICTION

Gloucestershire will be heavily reliant on their bowling keeping them in the game, with their batting not boasting the same firepower as that of the Birmingham Bears. With experienced internationals and powerful T20 batters in their side, as well as a better league stage record and home advantage in this match, Birmingham Bears are the favourites to go ahead, 70%.

FANTASY XI

Batters: Sam Hain (c), Miles Hammond, Jack Taylor

Wicketkeepers: Cameron Bancroft, Alex Davies

All-rounders: Moeen Ali (vc), Dan Mousley, Beau Webster

Bowlers: David Payne, Matt Taylor, Danny Briggs

Backup players:

Batter: Jacob Bethell

Wicketkeeper: James Bracey

All-rounder: Ollie Price

Bowler: George Garton

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