Southern Brave v Oval Invincibles, Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix previews and best bets

Cricket tips: The Hundred, Saturday August 19

1pt Both Teams to Score 160+ Runs in Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix at 5/2 (Sky Bet)

1pt Heinrich Klaasen to be Man of the Match at 9/1 in Southern Brave v Oval Invincibles (General)

The weather in Nottingham appears set fair for Saturday, as Trent Rockets host Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.

After a couple of relatively low-scoring matches at Trent Bridge, Thursday’s offering from this venue saw Trent Rockets score 171-5 in reply to Manchester Originals’ 181-6, reminding cricket bettors that this is generally a good place to bet runs in limited-overs cricket.

Bet big runs at Trent Bridge

England have shown that in recent years and with Birmingham patently a much stronger batting outfit than shown so far this summer, and the Rockets boasting the likes of Alex Hales, Dawid Malan and Joe Root in their ranks, we could see big scores in this one.

Assuming the weather forecast doesn’t change, BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 160+ RUNS IN THE MATCH at 5/2 (Sky Bet) looks decent business on a ground featuring short square boundaries and a rapid outfield which can make bowling very hard.

That match kicks off at 14.30, with Southern Brave locking horns with Oval Invincibles at 18.00.

With their strong Surrey contingent, Invincibles currently lead the way at the top of the table following four wins from six matches, but Brave are snapping at their heels and boast real pedigree having won the inaugural running of this competition in 2021.

Klaasen has the clout for leading honours

The Invincibles are packed full of star quality, particularly with the bat, and in HEINRICH KLAASEN, Will Jacks and Jordan Cox, they have three of the four top runscorers in the competition this season.

Klaasen is the real X-Factor, though, and not only is he currently striking at 180, but he has made scores of 60, 46, and 46 not out in his last four matches, along with a duck. This comes on the back of a fine IPL campaign, and the South African has quickly developed into one of the best white-ball middle-order batsmen in the world.

Taking Klaasen in the top Invincibles batsman market makes some appeal, but the rate at which he scores suggests he might not need to top score in an Invincibles victory to secure MAN OF THE MATCH honours, just make another impactful contribution. As such, that looks the way to go and the 9/1 on offer is worth a small wager.

With the world waking up to Leus du Plooy’s talents with the bat, I’ll leave the Brave left-hander alone for now, but he is a ferocious finisher when on song and someone who could be worth betting to cover his runs line when he does come into bat, however little time he has to play with.

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