Northern Districts V Southern Express: CLT20 Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

The Champions League T20 qualifiers are here. A group of teams will slog it out for a place in the main draw. New Zealand’s Northern Districts and Sri Lanka’s Southern Express begin their campaigns on Saturday.

Venue: Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur

Dates: Saturday, 13 September

Start time: 11:30 a.m. BST (4:30 p.m. local time)

TV and live stream: STAR Cricket (India), Ten Sports/PTV Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), Eurosport (UK/Europe), SkyTV (New Zealand), Network Ten/Fox (Australia), CSN/Star Cricket (Sri Lanka), Star Cricket (Bangladesh), ESPN (USA and Caribbean), Willow Cricket (USA)

Weather: The news is not too good on the weather front. AccuWeather.com forecasts some scattered thunderstorms throughout the day, getting heavier in the evening. Weather can be quite fickle in India this time of the year, but the forecast is not looking too great.

Overview

Southern Express were dealt a blow before they even started their campaign. Star batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan will not play for his team, due to family commitments, according to ESPNCricinfo.

Lasith Malinga also opted to play for the Mumbai Indians instead of his "home side" so the team will have to rely on some relatively unknown  players for the tournament.

Northern Districts, meanwhile, are well balanced in terms of all-rounders. This kind of approach is a massive advantage in the shortest format of the game. They also have a very reliable bowling attack with the Boult Brothers, Trent and Jono, mixing it up with left-arm pace and off-breaks. Ish Sodhi is also a handy leg break bowler while Scott Kuggeleijn and Tim Southee ensure that there are plenty of options to pick from.

Jono Boult led the wicket-taking list duirng the HRV T20 competition and the batting experience of Scott Styris will stand the team in good stead.

For the New Zealand team, their toughest challenge will be adapting to the conditions. Sri Lanka’s players are used to turn and flat tracks, but New Zealand’s players have not had much practice on sub-continental tracks.

T20 is a notoriously difficult format to call and it will only be after both sides have played that the picture will become clearer on just how good these two teams are.

Key players

Northern Districts

Trent Boult's left-arm pace will be a massive asset. Even on flatter decks, having somebody who can bowl fast and with control is an immense advantage and Boult's experience in using his skills will be a huge asset.

Southern Express

Niroshan Dickwella only recently made his Test debut, but his tenacity was very impressive. He's only played nine T20s in his career, but has a solid List A record, averaging 38.57 in 33 matches, including four hundreds and four fifties.

Squads

Northern Districts

Ish Sodhi, Jono Boult, Brad Wilson, Kane Williamson, Daniel Flynn, BJ Watling, Graeme Aldridge, Anton Devcich, Tim Southee, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Daniel Harris, Scott Styris, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner.

Southern Express

Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Angelo Perera, Jehan Mubarak, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ishan Jayaratne, Farveez Maharoof, Kasun Madushanka, Yasoda Lanka, Charith Jayampathi, Sachith Pathirana, Sandaken Lakshen.