SOM vs HAM Match Prediction & Betting Tips - May 24, 2023
The English 2023 Vitality Blast T20 tournament is again underway, and all eyes will be on reigning champions, Hampshire, in their first match against Somerset. It’s hard to forget Hampshire’s incredible victory versus Lancashire in the final by only a single run, and last year’s captain, James Vince, will again lead the squad in the upcoming season.
Somerset will certainly be out for revenge, as it was none other than Hampshire knocking them out of the semi-final in a 37-run victory. It’s good to keep in mind that each of the 18 county sides will play a total of 14 group games (seven home and seven away between May 20th and July 2nd. Afterwards, the top four teams in each pool (North and South) will advance to the quarterfinals.
The Somerset vs. Hampshire match will be played at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton on the 24th of May. Make sure you don't miss all our cricket betting odds for all the matches happening this week.
SOM vs HAM Team Previews
Somerset
Apart from the loss to Hampshire in the semi-finals last year in the T20 Blast, Somerset had a great cricket season with a 10-4 record. There are a few changes to the side, as last season’s top-scoring batter, Rilee Rossouw (623 runs), won’t return, but the good news is that Will Smeed (407), Tom Banton (359), and Tom Abell (400) all remain in the squad. Abell was a big part of the team last year and is currently averaging 33.41 in the T20 format, while also contributing solid runs for Somerset in recent Test games.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sean Dickson, and Shoaib Bashir are the newest English players, but Somerset is also welcoming international names like Peter Siddle (Australia) and Matt Henry (New Zealand).
Top wicket-taker from last season, Ben Green (21 wickets) is again in the T20 squad, and fast bowler Josh Davey (15) will return once more. Davey’s ER of 8.74 will have to improve this season, but there’s hope that the experienced bowler can help Somerset.
Somerset Playing 11
Tom Banton, Will Smeed, Tom Kohler Cadmore, Thomas Abell, Tom Lammonby, Lewis Gregory, Ben Green, RE Van Der Merwe, Craig Overton, Matt Henry, Peter Siddle.
Hampshire
Hampshire appears to be the team to beat yet again, as the current champions of the T20 Blast have a great side to contend for a title. James Vince (678 runs) was just sublime and was arguably the major reason as to why Hampshire was so strong last season (although he scored only five runs in the final).
Ben McDermott (494), Joe Weatherley (394), and Tom Prest (316) will all be back, and there’s also the inclusion of Benny Howell and internationals like Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan), and Nathan Ellis (Australia).
On the bowling front, three of the best in the side will all be back, including Liam Dawson (20 wickets), Chris Wood (21), and Brad Wheal (22). This is great news for Hampshire fans, as it’s good to see the team with so many reliable bowlers, rather than putting all their hopes into a single player who may not perform well every game.
Vince will be the batter to watch, as he’s been playing fantastically well for Hampshire in recent Test matches and is again likely to star with the bat in this T20 tournament. If he can again average 30.90 and beat his high score of 129*, then Hampshire is a team to be feared.
Hampshire Playing 11
James Vince, Ben McDermott, Tom Prest, Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley, Toby Albert, Liam Dawson, Nathan Ellis, Chris Wood, Mason Crane, Scott Currie.
SOM vs HAM Toss Prediction
Judging from previous games, the team batting first has won 33 out of 58 games, whereby batting second is only 25. This is fairly close, but you’d have to imagine that any team winning the toss would love to bat first and get out any first-match jitters.
Read our guide on toss predictions to learn how we analyze and come up with our tips.
Pitch and Conditions
The County Ground, Taunton, is known to be fairly balanced for both batters and bowlers, but spinners have done increasingly well here in the last few years. As the boundaries are slightly smaller here, we can expect a high-scoring match that could rival the highest total of 229 made by Somerset.
SOM vs HAM Betting Tips
The Satbet odds for this match are practically the same right now, as both counties appear to be two of the favourites for the title. You really can’t go wrong with choosing either team, as there are star players on each squad and both will be hungry for a win.
We’d have to go with Hampshire simply because of the experience, but as the odds are quite low for each team, you probably won’t get a huge return based on the victory. It’s likely better to choose some bonus bets, as we’ll suggest below.
Bet on Hampshire to win.
Bonus Cricket Bets
As the odds for other batters are quite low, we really like the option of choosing Joe Weatherley as Hampshire’s top batter. The odds are generous and he can certainly improve on his 394 runs made last season in the T20 Blast. He’s young and confident right now, and is averaging 25.42 in T20 games, but we think he can surpass Vince and McDermott in runs for this game.
We’ll go with the under in terms of sixes made in this match. 14.5 seems a lot and it’s more likely than it’ll be around 10, just like in Hampshire’s last match of the season. As it’s the first match of the season for both teams, there will probably be more caution and we may see more sixes attempted later in the round.
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Somerset Best Bowler: Ben Green
5.4
We thought Ben Green’s odds would actually be lower, but now’s a good time to bet on him. He was the team’s leading wicket-taker last season with 21 and has had performances as good as 5/29 in T20 games before. He’s a talented fast bowler who can take a few wickets on batters not quite prepared enough in the first game of the season.
Who will win SOM vs HAM
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Match Predictions
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Cricket Betting Tips
- Highest opening partnership - West Indies (1.50) and 2 more UAE vs WI betting tips
- Hampshire to score more than 80 runs in the first ten overs of their inning. - 1.53 and 2 more MID vs HAM betting tips
- Dawid Malan to score more than 26 runs in the game. - 5/6 and 2 more LEI vs YOR betting tips
- Northamptonshire Top Batter: Ricardo Vasconcelos - 3.65 and 2 more DUR vs NOR betting tips
- Essex Top Bowler: Simon Harmer - 7/2 and 2 more ESS vs SUS betting tips
- Total 6s in the Match - Under 7.5 (1.96) and 2 more SL vs AFG betting tips
- Best batsman for India first innings - Shubhman Gill (4.60) and 2 more AUS vs IND betting tips
- Lancashire to score more than 86 runs in the first ten overs of their inning. - 1.85 and 2 more LAN vs WOR betting tips
- Colin Ingram Total Runs - Over 20.5 (1.83) Read analysis of GLA vs SUR betting tip
- 1st innings - Wayne Madsen To Score 50 - Yes - 3.55 and 2 more WRW vs DER betting tips
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We are eager to know what you think of our match predictions, if there is anything we can do better or if you want to let us know your own predictions for the match.