Northamptonshire vs Yorkshire, County Championship Two, Today Match Prediction 24 May 2024

NOR vs YOR Match Prediction & Analysis

In match number 28 of the 2024 County Championship Division Two, Northamptonshire will take on Yorkshire at Northampton. Both teams haven’t had the best of seasons and are separated by just one point in the standings. This match presents a chance for both teams to claw their way up the table. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Northamptonshire Preview

Northamptonshire are currently fifth on the table with 70 points. They haven’t won a single game, while losing one and drawing five. 

Emilio Gay has led their batting unit this season in spectacular fashion. The opener has amassed 661 runs in 9 innings at an average of 82. He has two hundreds and two fifties to his name.

Karun Nair (443 runs in 9 innings at 55.37) has been holding the middle-order together along with skipper Luke Procter (427 runs in 8 innings at 53.37). 

You can expect some important runs from any of these three batters in the fixture.

The team’s bowling has almost single-handedly been carried by Ben Sanderson. The right-arm medium pacer has taken 19 wickets in 9 innings at an average of 32.10.

Unfortunately, the other bowlers haven’t really backed him up so far. The inclusion of Indian seamer Siddarth Kaul, however, seems to be paying rich dividends. He has already taken 9 wickets in just 4 innings and seems to be really enjoying bowling on these surfaces.

Northamptonshire Predicted Playing XI:

Ricardo Vasconcelos (wk), Emilio Gay, Luke Procter (c), Karun Nair, George Bartlett, Rob Keogh, Justin Broad, Liam Patterson-White, Michael Finan, Ben Sanderson, Siddarth Kaul

Yorkshire Preview

Just like Northamptonshire, Yorkshire too haven’t won a single game this season so far. They are in seventh place with 69 points, having lost two matches and drawn four. Yorkshire are coming off a 21-run loss to Sussex, where they could only manage to put up totals of 195 and 161.

The experienced Adam Lyth tops the batting charts for Yorkshire this year with 461 runs in 10 innings at an average of 51.22. Following him closely is England’s Test great Joe Root, who has notched up 442 runs in 8 innings at an average of 55.25.

For Yorkshire to salvage their season, Root will have to do all the heavy lifting from here and put up some big scores. 

Yorkshire’s bowling hasn’t really clicked this year. Right-arm seamer Ben Coad (21 wickets in 10 innings at 21.33) is the only one who has stood out.

George Hill (10 wickets in 8 innings at 23.10) has also done a decent job in the middle overs.

Yorkshire Predicted Playing XI:

Adam Lyth, Finlay Bean, Shan Masood (c), Joe Root, James Wharton, Jonathan Tattersall (wk), Matthew Revis, Ben Coad, George Hill, Jordan Thompson, Dominic Leech

Weather Conditions

This season, the pitch at Northampton has favored the batters. Historically, the pitch has provided solid bounce and consistent pace, benefiting both strokemakers and seamers who swing the ball. The pitch typically settles down after the early session, giving spinners a chance later in the innings.  Both teams will be aiming for a big first-inning totals, therefore, this game will most likely be won by disciplined bowling and astute captaincy.

Some showers are expected to disrupt proceedings on the third and fourth days. The weather is likely to remain cloudy for the majority of the match, giving seamers an opportunity to swing the ball.

NOR vs YOR Pitch Report

The average score batting first at the County Ground in Northampton over the last 18 matches is 316. The highest total posted at the venue this season in County Championship Division Two is Northamptonshire’s 6056 (dec.) against Glamorgan. The team batting first will be targeting a total of around 350 runs.

Toss: To Bat

The pitch in Northampton has favored the batters. The last game here was won by the team batting first (Gloucestershire), after they put on 409 on the board. We think the team winning the toss in the match will also be looking to bat first.