Northern Warriors vs Morrisville Samp Army, ABDT10, Today Match Prediction 28 November 2023

NRW vs MSA Match Prediction & Analysis

Another edition of the T10 league awaits 8 teams, who’ve assembled some of the high-profile international cricketers going around and a few local heroes from the UAE for this year’s campaign. And Morrisville Samp Army and Northern Warriors are going to go head to head in the second fixture of this year’s Abu Dhabi T10. 

Warriors, in particular, had forgettable campaigns last year and the year before, failing to progress to qualifiers. No doubt they will look to improve their record this time around by starting off the tournament on a good note.

Samp Army, on the other hand, put on a fantastic show on their first tryst with this tournament. They notched up five wins in the group stage and made it to the top 2 comfortably only to lose to eventual finalists.

But they signed off on a high with a win in their last game for the third place play off, handing Team Abu Dhabi a 79-run pummeling.

And they’ll be hoping to soak up pressure well and play better cricket particularly in the business end when everything is on the line.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

NRW

MSA

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Northern Warriors Preview

Take a sneak peek at the squads the Northern Warriors management put out for the last two editions, and you’ll know that they have gone for the complete overhaul.

But they’ve gone for more quality picks with hard-hitting southpaws Colin Mulro and Hazratullah Zazai as openers and world class all rounders such as Angelo Matthews, Jimmy Neesham, and Wanindu Hasaranga comprising the middle order. Adam Hose and Kennar Lewis have been retained and are expected to make it to the team for their tournament opener. 

Their batting unit, on their day, can take any attack to the cleaners so the team management will be hoping they’ll put on board a substantial score every time they win the toss and take the field, and their bowling unit will come good to restrict their opposition.

That being said, the bowling stocks look a little thin though with Muhammad Hasnain and Tabraiz Shamshi the only names to have played cricket at the highest level.

Wanindu Hasaranga’s form will be a crucial factor determining how far they can go in this tournament and he’ll look to shake off his rustiness from the injury layoff and get right amongst the wickets as soon as possible.

Northern Warriors Predicted Playing XI:

Colin Munro, Hazratullah Zazai, Kennar Lewis(w), Angelo Mathews, James Neesham, Wanindu Hasaranga, Adam Hose, Ankur Sangwan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Muhammad Hasnain, and Abhimanyu Mithun.

Northern Warriors Actual Playing XI:

Adam Hose, Angelo Mathews, Colin Munro, Hazratullah Zazai, Kaunain Abbas, Kennar Lewis, Abhimanyu Mithun, Ankur Sangwan, Tabraiz Shamsi, James Neesham, Azmatullah Omarzai

Morrisville Samp Army Preview

Morrisville Samp Army, the new kid on the block, silenced all its critics by almost going the distance last year. They had their hiccups in the business end and it looks like the team management have learned their lessons.

Their drafted picks for this season is a good mix of experienced campaigners in Faf Du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Jason Holder, Najibullah Zadran and exuberant young players in Karim Janat, Bas De Leede, Maheesh Theekshana and 'Baby AB' Dewald Brevis.

And they’ll be expecting this team to take out all the stops in their way and finish the round robin stage as table toppers just like last time. If that team can put up a strong performance, I don’t see why this team cannot. They’ve Faf and Moeen opening the batting, and a bevy of allrounders including the exciting Dutchman Bas De Leede, Jason Holder adding solidity to the middle, and strong finishers in the Afghan pair Karim Janat, Nazibullah Zadran etc.

The best thing about their team is they have the luxury to rotate players depending on the situation, so Karim Janat can float up and unleash his T10 hitting like he did in the previous edition if the start is good and the innings needs further impetus.

Morrisville Samp Army Predicted Playing XI:

Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Dewald Brevis(w), Najibullah Zadran, Bas de Leede, Jason Holder, Karim Janat, Basil Hameed, George Garton, Maheesh Theekshana, and Peter Hatzoglou.

Morrisville Samp Army Actual Playing XI:

Faf du Plessis, Najibullah Zadran, Andries Gous, Peter Hatzoglou, Salman Irshad, Basil Hameed, Jason Holder, Karim Janat, Moeen Ali, Muhammad Irfan II, Qais Ahmad, Ibrahim Zadran

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather radar doesn’t look threatening one bit so if the forecast holds, we should have a cracking contest with full quota of overs. The match starts at 8:30 PM local time when it gets a lot cooler and as a result dew starts rolling in and the ball tends to skid on to the bat making it highly favorable for the team chasing.

NRW vs MSA Pitch Report

The competition between bat and ball is usually great to watch here at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The nature of this format gives batsmen free license to come charging at bowlers right from the word go but skilled bowlers with a lot of deceptive tricks in their arsenal will have enough purchase from the wicket to pull things back with change in pace particularly knuckle balls, back of the hand slower ball etc.

Toss: To Bowl

Being a bat-heavy unit, Samp Army are comfortable chasing and have shown signs of discomfort when they’ve been asked to bat first not knowing what a good par score would be.

Their chances of winning go up when they have a clear total to chase in sight as they can plan their innings accordingly.

Contrastingly, Northern Warriors have always shown inclination to bat first when toss goes their way.