Two of county cricket's powerhouses, Surrey and Lancashire, top the betting midway through the 2024 Vitality T20 Blast competition.
Lancashire top the Northern group with five wins from seven matches and 10 points on the board – but have the Birmingham Bears, Leicestershire Foxes and Northampton Steelbacks two points behind.
Durham Cricket are a further point behind in fifth – having just beaten Lancashire in a high-scoring thriller – with Derbyshire Falcons and Yorkshire Vikings on six points. Worcestershire Rapids and Notts Outlaws seem out of contention, having gathered just four and three points, respectively.
Lancashire are currently 11/5 to claim the Northern Group crown, with rivals Northants (7/2), Birmingham (11/2) and Yorkshire (6/1) very much in the mix. The current table leaders do boast a young bowling attack and depleted batting lineup, but veteran Luke Wells has excelled with bat and ball scoring 204 runs and taking nine wickets – both club bests.
Australian all-round Chris Green has also claimed nine scalps, but it feels like the value is elsewhere with 14 games in the regular season.
An outsider we like is the Leicestershire Foxes (7/1), who host several young talents Rishi Patel (281 runs) - run leader in the competition, Australian batter Peter Handscomb (170 runs) and bowling aces Scott Currie (13 wickets), Josh Hull (eight wickets) and Rehan Ahmed (four wickets). With a bit more support from the batters, the Foxes can contend.
Down in the Southern Group, Surrey (15/8) are favoured to top the table – they are currently second in the group with four wins and a no-result from five games. They sit one point behind Somerset, with Essex, Sussex and Hampshire in contention.
Somerset (5/2) tickle the fancy in the Southern Group with the firepower they possess specifically in the batting order. Tom Abell (172 runs), Will Smeed (235 runs) and Tom Banton (152 runs) can take the game away from an opponent. Sean Dickson and Lewis Gregory are capable hands as well to steer the team toward big totals.
Bowling wise, Ben Green leads the tournament with 14 wickets through six games, with Australian Riley Meredith chipping in with 11 scalps. Jake Ball is a season veteran in the format, with Gregory a solid arm too. A lack of early showing from the spin department is the lone worry to date.
For the tournament, Surrey (5/1), Lancashire (13/2), Somerset (7/1), Yorkshire (10/1) and Hampshire (9/1) top the betting. Leicestershire (14/1) are considered a longer price to take the title – they won the 50-over white ball competition last term.
