Kent vs Essex Match Prediction

KEN

41%

Chance of Winning

ESS

59%

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Apr 20, 202301:00 PM

Great Britain

St Lawrence Ground

Kent will take on Essex in their third match of the County Championship Division One 2023 season at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury from Thursday, April 20.

Kent had finished third in the County Championship Division One in the 2022 season. They won four out of their 14 matches. Essex finished fourth in Division one where they won 7 of the 14 games they played.

Kent vs Essex Chance of Winning

Kent are the red-hot favourites to win their upcoming contest against Essex. Despite Kent losing their last match against Warwickshire by an innings and 14 runs, Kent have everything in their arsenal to bounce back against Essex who could be facing their toughest test of the season so far.

Essex won their first match against Middlesex by 97 runs but scored 266 and 211 runs only across the two innings. In the second match against Lancashire, they were bundled out for 207 in the first innings.

Kent will be backing their premier pacers Matt Quinn and Michael Hogan. However, we think that the batters will decide the course of the match for both teams. While Kent's bowling unit might be at par with that of Essex, their batting unit is stronger with a good margin.

The likes of Ben Compton, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Jack Leaning, Jordan Cox and Sam Billings would be looking to avenge the innings defeat with a win against Essex.

Essex also have the likes of Alastair Cook, Tom Westley, Dan Lawrnece and Matthew Critchley. However, Kent bats deeper than them and have a more penetrating bowling unit. The same is the reason why they should beat Essex.

Kent chances of winning - 41.95% (Melbet)

Essex chances of winning - 63.29% (Melbet)

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Kent vs Essex Tournament Prediction & Betting Tips 2023

The team winning a match will be awarded 12 points in the County Championship 2023. In the case of a draw, five points instead of eight will be awarded this year.

Kent have the team to finish in the top three but a lot will depend on the consistency of their batters. Their bowling group apart is not the strongest. Quinn and Hogan will need some support at one point.

Essex has the bowling fire but it's the batting unit which can let them down. The side has some very experienced batters in the squad but their consistency would be key.

The two teams may not finish in the top 3.

Kent vs Essex Match Toss Prediction

Kent elected to bat first in the first match of the season at the venue. They won the match by seven wickets. In the last County Championship match of the 2022 season at the venue, Somerset won the toss and elected to bat first but ended up losing the match by an innings and 151 runs against hosts Kent. In the match prior to, Kent elected to field first but lost the match against Essex by an innings and 260 runs. In the third last county match at the Canterbury venue, Northamptonshire elected to bat first and won the match by 203 runs.

However, with overcast conditions on the card, the team winning the toss might opt to bowl first.

Weather Report

Rain is on cards throughout the four days of the first-class match. The precipitation will be around 70 percent on all the four days. The temperature will hover between 11 to 13 degree celsius.

Kent Player List

Kent Squad

Alex Blake, Ben Compton, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Harry Finch, Jack Leaning, Joe Denly, Tawanda Muyeye, Zak Crawley, George Linde, Grant Stewart, Joey Evison, Marcus O'Riordan, Jordan Cox (wk), Sam Billings (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Fred Klaasen, Hamidullah Qadri, James Logan, Jaskarn Singh, Kane Richardson, Matthew Quinn, Michael Hogan, Nathan Gilchrist

Kent Predicted XI

Kent Team Form

Kent have won three and lost two of their five matches. Before their defeat against Warwickshire in the last match, they won three matches consecutively.

Essex Player List

Essex Squad

Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Robin Das, Feroze Khushi, Dan Lawrence, Josh Rymell, Tom Westley, Luc Benkenstein, Matt Critchley, Simon Harmer, Will Buttleman, Michael Pepper, Adam Wheater, Ben Allison, Aaron Beard, Sam Cook, Eshun Kalley, Aron Nijjar, Jack Plom, Jamie Porter, Shane Snater, Paul Walter, Mark Steketee, Adam Rossington, Doug Bracewell, Daniel Sams

Essex Predicted XI

Essex Team Form

Essex have won three of their last five matches. Their last match against Lancashire was a draw. They lost to the same opponent in their fourth-last county match.

Kent vs Essex Head to Head

Essex have won four of their last five matches against Kent. The last time the two teams met, Kent was beaten by an innings and 260 runs. The second match of the previous season between the sides ended in a draw.

Kent vs Essex Betting Odds

Kent to win

Kent lost their last match by an innings margin and they would be cursing themselves for it. Warwickshire do have a formidable pace attack but the Kent batting unit is also not an ordinary one. The likes of Compton, Crawley, Denly, Leaning, Cox. Billings and Bell-Drummond feature in the side which bats really deep. In fact, Joey Evison also scored 99 while batting at nine in the second innings against Warwickshire. Kent would have learnt their lesson.

Further, Essex batting unit looks impressive on paper but they are vulnerable. Opening Nick Browne is yet to fire, captain Tom Westley hasn't scored big for long, and Adam Rossington has also scored in single digits in the first two matches. The unit is largely dependent on Dan Lawrence and Matt Critchley.

Kent batters will have to bring in the experience and talent they have and the bowlers just need to strike early to put Essex under pressure.

Kent vs Essex Top Team Batsmen

Ben Compton to be Kent's top batter

Kent batter Ben Compton finished as the second-highest run-scorer in County Championship Division One 2022 season. The southpaw scored 1193 runs in 13 matches at an average of 54.22. He hit four hundreds and six fifties through the season. In the first match of the he scored 114 unbeaten runs in the second innings and 88 in the second innings of the second match. Overall, the 29-year-old has scored 2725 runs in 30 first-class matches at an average of 57.97.

Dan Lawrence to be Essex's top batter

England international Dan Lawrence will be the bowler to watch out for Essex. He kicked off the season with a hundred against Middlesex at Lord's. In the second match he scored 39 and 15 runs respectively but he is expected to bounce back in the high-octane upcoming match.

Kent vs Essex's top bowlers

Michael Hogan to be Kent's top bowler

The 30-year-old right-arm pacer picked six wickets in the first match of the season against Northamptonshire. He did not pick any wicket against Warwickshire in the second match. Quinn has played a total of 54 first-class matches and picked 177 wickets at an average of 29.06.

Sam Cook to be Essex's top bowler

Sam Cook picked six wickets including a five-fer against Lancashire in the previous match. In the first match, he took four wickets against Middlesex. He is expected to carry his good form. Overall, he has played 63 first-class matches and picked 227 wickets at an average of 19.77.

Our Prediction

Favorites to win: Essex

Kent lost their last match by an innings margin and they would be cursing themselves for it. Warwickshire do have a formidable pace attack but the Kent batting unit is also not an ordinary one. The likes of Compton, Crawley, Denly, Leaning, Cox. Billings and Bell-Drummond feature in the side which bats really deep. In fact, Joey Evison also scored 99 while batting at nine in the second innings against Warwickshire. Kent would have learnt their lesson.

Further, Essex batting unit looks impressive on paper but they are vulnerable. Opening Nick Browne is yet to fire, captain Tom Westley hasn't scored big for long, and Adam Rossington has also scored in single digits in the first two matches. The unit is largely dependent on Dan Lawrence and Matt Critchley.

Kent batters will have to bring in the experience and talent they have and the bowlers just need to strike early to put Essex under pressure.

Kent to win - 2.384 (Melbet)

Essex to win - 1.58 (Melbet)

Shankar Shekh

Sportscafe's author

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