The 2016 NatWest T20 Blast gets underway with Essex taking on Surrey, live on Sky Sports 2 from 7pm on Friday.Ahead of the competition, weve asked Sky Sports Rob Key and Nasser Hussain to take a look at the North and South groups respectively, picking out their winners and ones to watch.Read Robs take on the northern teams below, while click here for Nassers thoughts on the southern sides... North Group winner…Nottinghamshire. Their overseas player is Dan Christian, plus hes the captain. Its a very experienced side with the likes of Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels. Jake Ball is a rare talent with the ball, and Luke Fletcher, if he plays, bowls very good yorkers. Theyve also got a very good, wily spinner and all-rounder in Samit Patel.I just think theyve got a lot of excellent cricketers. Obviously, whats happened to James Taylor is going to be a huge loss, but Trent Bridge is a great ground for T20, one of the best wickets to play a T20 game on. Theyve got a very good history of playing well in Twenty20 and theyve got a very good side. Dan Christian starred for Hobart Hurricanes in this years Big Bash League Quarter-final contenders…Northamptonshire were at Finals Day last year and everyone sees them as underdogs because theyre a smaller county but actually theyve got a lot of match-winners in their line-up. Theyve lost David Willey, but I like Northants and I think they understand T20 cricket - theyve got some good young players and skilful bowlers.Strugglers…Yorkshire are obviously a fantastic side and there is every chance theyll still do well in it, but any team that loses three-quarters of your players to England or any other side is going to find it hard work. There is nothing to say they wont do very well but, if they do, it will be a serious effort.Batting star… Ben Duckett - a star in the making I think Ben Duckett at Northants is an outstanding prospect, certainly in the longer format. He really puts you under the cosh and can score very quickly, so can easily come off in T20, too. What sort of role they find for him at Northants I dont know, but he could be a real star.Bowling star…Stephen Parry. An unsung hero at Lancashire over the last few years, he leads their spin attack - which is important for them - well. You have Arron Lilley and Steven Croft who come on and do a job but Parry is the one they generally use as a banker - he gets four overs, normally takes wickets and doesnt concede many runs.Gun fielder… Rob has compared Paul Collingwood to Peter Pan! Paul Collingwood is still one of the best fielders in the world at near-on 40 years old. Its extraordinary, particularly considering I wasnt moving well at 20 and got progressively worse! Colly is like Peter Pan and doesnt seem to age.Emerging talent…Olly Stone. People might not have seen a lot of him but he reminds me of a young Stuart Broad when he first came on the scene for Leicestershire as a youngster. He has good pace, is smart and I think hes one to watch.Fantasy team must have… Samit Patel - a threat with bat and ball Samit Patel. Hell get runs, hell get wickets and hell field well. You cant go too far wrong with someone who is involved in every part of the game. Hell bowl four overs, bat and field in important positions so Samit is always up there.Id like to see someone come in fancy dress as…Im not sure on that one. But Id like to see Chris Read come as someone in fancy dress. I think hes a dark horse and would probably put in a bit of effort.The 2016 NatWest T20 Blast gets underway with Essex taking on Surrey, live on Sky Sports 2 from 7pm on Friday.Also See:WATCH: Top Blast momentsLive cricket on SkyWATCH: The Blast is back!Get Sky SportsDaRon Payne Jersey . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Sammy Baugh Redskins Jersey . 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"Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland.Azhar Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder, has been appointed the teams bowling coach for a two-year period. His term begins with the first Test of the New Zealand tour on November 17.Mahmood, 41, had first been brought on as a temporary replacement for Mushtaq Ahmed for the Asia Cup in February 2016, then worked along with Mushtaq at the World T20. He was with the team during the limited-overs series against England in August as well. The short-term nature of these stints was because Mahmood was contracted as a player with English county club Surrey until July 2016. He has already linked up with the Pakistan squad in Sharjah, where they were playing the third and final Test against West Indies.Pakistan have been without a bowling coach sinnce the end of the England tour.dddddddddddd The PCB were deliberating over several candidates, including former fast bowler Aaqib Javed. However, he was unwilling to give up his current role as the PSL team Lahore Qalandars head of cricket operations.Mahmood may have less than a years experience coaching an international team, but he represented Pakistan for 10 years and after he retired in 2007 he became a T20 specialist, playing for domestic teams at home and in England, India, Bangladesh, New Zealand and the West Indies.Pakistan depart for New Zealand on November 4 to play two Tests, in Christchurch and Hamilton. ' ' '