Manchester Originals v Southern Brave preview and best bets
Cricket tips: The Hundred, Saturday August 26
2pts Zaman Khan top Manchesters Originals bowler at 7/2 (General)
1pt Wayne Madsen top Manchester Originals batsman at 11/2 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
1pt Leus Du Plooy top Southern Brave batsman at 11/2 (Sky Bet, bet365)
Manchester Originals and Southern Brave renew hostilities at the Oval on Saturday night, the winner of the Eliminator rewarded with a place in Sunday’s final against Oval Invincibles.
These two teams only met on Wednesday, Brave winning by six wickets after their strong spin attack restricted Originals to 130-8 batting first. However, I’m not sure how relevant that piece of form from Manchester will be in South London, given Brave enjoyed much the best of conditions in that clash.
Persistent rain ensured the pitch quickened up when they batted, having appeared tacky in the first innings and spun sharply, and as the ball got soaked through, the spinners found it virtually impossible to grip and gain any traction. The run chase thus became much easier than it would have been.
as persistent rain in their batting innings ensured the pitch quickened up, the ball was quickly soaked and was then virtually impossible for the spinners to grip.
Granted a level playing field, I have this down as a toss of a coin match, with both teams apparently evenly matched in all departments. On the face of it, Originals are very reliant on star opening pair Jos Buttler and Phil Salt, with Brave equally dependant on James Vince and Devon Conway at the top of their order, and how those big names fare could well determine which team progresses to Sunday’s final.
As is often my approach to short-format cricket, I see no reason to strike a bet on the match market this far out, and in-running almost always presents the best opportunities once conditions and team news have been assessed.
In the side markets, ZAMAN KHAN makes strong appeal to be Manchester Originals bowler at 7/2.
Zaman was comfortably the pick of the Originals attack when taking two of the four wickets to fall against this same opposition earlier in the week, turning in his best performance since joining up with the franchise only a short time ago.
Those who follow the Pakistan Super League will know only too well what a fine death bowler Zaman is, and his 25 wickets in 14 T20 Blast appearances for Derbyshire this summer ensure fans of county cricket are equally aware of the qualities of the Pakistan pacer.
Zaman is quick, but his main weapon is a slingy action that is clearly very hard for batsmen to pick up and allows him to nail his yorker at the end of an innings. He’s some way from Lasith Malinga just yet, but is remarkably similar in style and will be expected to do the bulk of his bowling late in the Brave batting innings.
Sticking with the Derbyshire theme, the 11/2 available about WAYNE MADSEN for top Manchester Originals batsmen is hard to ignore on value grounds.
The veteran has been one of the most consistent batsmen on the county circuit for a number of years, and this season’s Blast was no different as he racked up 580 runs at an average of 48.33, with one hundred and five half-centuries.
As such, he can count himself unlucky to have not featured in this competition until Wednesday, though he wasted little time in getting back in the groove and his 16-ball 22 would prove a vital contribution as it kickstarted his team's fightback having lost two quick wickets prior to his arrival at the crease.
Madsen is a terrific player with a wealth of experience, and though taking on Buttler is this market is always risky business, the England captain is priced accordingly. Madsen, who should bat at number four, looks too big at 11/2 and is well worth playing to small stakes.
A similar line of attack leads me to LEUS DU PLOOY in the top Southern Brave batsman market at 11/2.
This year’s competition has been one to forget for du Plooy so far, but he enjoyed another good year in the Blast – striking at 168.20 – and it wasn't so long ago that he finished in the top 10 runscorers in the SAT20, where he averaged 62.25.
While his more recent form must be a concern, there is no doubt that we are dealing with a classy operator here, and I like his match-ups against Originals' spinners Tom Hartley and Calvin Harrison who will both be turning the ball into him.
Du Plooy is an old favourite of mine but with good reason, and I’m backing him to return to form when his team needs it most.
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