Kent vs Birmingham Bears Tips & Preview - Who will win the Vitality Blast quarter-final?

Kent won the only previous T20 meeting with Birmingham Bears. That took place in 2008 where Kent won by 42 runs.

Kent topped the South group table with nine wins from their 14 Vitality Blast matches. It was a close fight for the top spot but they beat Somerset to the summit by one point.

While Kent have won three of their last four matches, they did lose their last match of the round robin stage to Sussex. It was a low scoring affair in Canterbury as Kent batted first, scoring 130 runs in their 20 overs.

Calum MacLeod top scored on 31 runs while Harry Finch scored 30. None of the top three batsmen managed more than 20 runs.

Sussex were convincing four wicket winners in the end with more than three overs to spare. Harry Podmore took 3-25 but it wasn’t enough to get Kent over the line.

Zak Crawley was released from the national side so is available to start for Kent. Joe Denly and Sam Billings are also available, they did not feature in the final round robin match.

Birmingham Bears just got into fourth place of the North group to qualify for the quarter-final. They won seven of their 14 matches.

Their last match was a must-win affair against Northamtonshire in Birmingham. The Bears batted magnificently, scoring 191 runs.

After a subdued start where they lost regular wickets, Chris Benjamin came to the party, hitting 60 off 34 balls. Will Rhodes scored 32 while Carlos Brathwaite smashed 27 off 10 balls at the end of the innings.

Northamptonshire chased well but Will Rhodes took 3-41 to stifle them. They finished on 177 in 20 overs, falling 14 runs short of the Bears total.

Internationals Carlos Brathwaite and Kyle Mayers are not available having left for the Caribbean Premier League.

The good news is that England international Chris Woakes is available and looking to gain match-fitness after injury.