THE HUNDRED 💯: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Sunday’s new The Hundred format games between London Spirit v Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals v Birmingham Phoenix with recommended BETDAQ bets.

London Spirit v Oval Invincibles

MATCH OVERVIEW:

We had our first massive double header yesterday at The Hundred, and we follow that up with another fantastic double header on Sunday! We’re sure to have lots of twists and turns in-running on BETDAQ Betting Exchange as traders are still getting to grips with the new format. We kick the day off at 2-30pm at Lord’s as the London Spirit take on the Oval Invincibles. This will be the first game at Lord’s and I’m sure some of the members won’t enjoy format, but you can’t argue with the TV viewing figures so far!

The Oval Invincibles got off to a very nice start winning the first game of the tournament against the Manchester Originals who also play later today. The reflection of the first game involving the Invincibles was that players swung too hard too early. Everyone knows the format of T20, and perhaps this new format needs a change in mindset but you have to remember it’s only 20 balls less. It’s not a five over game! I’m sure we’ll see changes in tactics as the tournament goes on, and it will be very interesting to see what both sides learned from their opening game.

Jason Roy is going to be a huge asset for the Invincibles, even his quick 20 off 12 balls set the tone on Thursday. The London Spirit have Shane Warne as a coach, and we all know how competitive he is! Eoin Morgan is a huge asset as well and this should be a very enjoyable game. I have to say though, on paper the Oval Invincibles look much stronger.

WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

It will be very interesting to see what they do with the ropes at Lord’s. It’s quite a big outfield, will they bring them in so see some sixes? We’ll obviously have a very young target market and they love the big shots. I would definitely watch out for where the ropes are before forming a strong opinion on a good score here. We have seen big scores from Middlesex in the Blast here, but mainly when AB de Villiers went crazy – usually it’s a pretty average scoring ground so I would go into this game with an open mind. It’s a new format and it’s hard to know what’s par at the moment.

RECOMMENDED BET:

Once again we have a pretty open market – as I said that will be the case for the early part of the tournament as we see the tactics and the stronger teams develop. On paper for me the Oval Invincibles look much stronger and they also made a winning start on Thursday. Apart from Eoin Morgan, I’m reasonably happy to take on all the London Spirit batters in this format, and Birmingham Phoenix chased down their 144 reasonably easily on Friday night after some early wickets. It’s the Invincibles for me at the odds who can make it two from two.

The Edge Says:
Two points win Oval Invincibles to beat London Spirit at 1.87 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange

View the market here -> https://bit.ly/BDQLonOva

IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

I’m keeping a very open mind going into this game. There’s a lot of unknowns, of course that is to be expected with a new format, however as I said above it will be interesting to see what Lord’s do with the ropes – do we have a smaller than usually playing field or will they leave them the same. Looking at the Blast stats, which is very limited anyway because we don’t get a huge amount of games here, I would suggest there is nothing of note. Batting first or second doesn’t really offer an edge. As always at Lord’s, you look up and not down – get on the bowling side if it’s cloudy and the batting side if sunny. I doubt conditions will change much with 100 balls however! I would be keen to support the Invincibles here, they’re batting looks very strong and they performed very well on Thursday – I would expect a better performance with the bat too as Sam Curran and Sunil Narine can do better!

Manchester Originals v Birmingham Phoenix

MATCH OVERVIEW:

Next up at 6pm we head over to Old Trafford as the Manchester Originals take on the Birmingham Phoenix. The Manchester Originals took on the Oval Invincibles on Thursday while on Friday the Birmingham Phoenix met London Spirit, so we should have a good idea of those form lines after watching the first game today! Birmingham Phoenix have a very good looking bowling line-up and they should do very well. As the wickets get dry with the good weather, they have Moeen Ali and Imran Tahir in the middle overs. They also have the services of Chris Woakes.

The problem I see for Birmingham Phoenix is their batting looks very light. In my view they actually have the worst batting, on paper, in the tournament. They will of course will games with their bowling but I wouldn’t want to be on them while batting anyway – that’s a trade I’m happy to avoid. Manchester Originals should improve from their first game – they need to go less hard early I feel. Jos Buttler can do so much damage when he gets in, and then I’d bring Carlos Brathwaite up the order – this format should suit him.

We’ve seen a lot of close markets in this tournament and we should have another very close game today. I have to say though looking at the teams I expect Manchester Originals to have the edge, although keep an eye on the pitch as if we see any spin then Birmingham Phoenix will benefit.

WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

We had an England v Pakistan game here not long ago and the wicket looked very dry then. It’s a massive square at Old Trafford and although we might not get reserve swing with only 100 balls, I’m sure we could see spin as the game goes on. It’s a tricky situation as I’m sure the ECB want very good wickets, but the hot weather might just give us a turning wicket here. Keep an open mind and see what conditions are like in the opening balls – I was going to say overs but there’s no more overs in this tournament!

RECOMMENDED BET:

Birmingham Phoenix went well against the London Spirit on Friday night, but I’m happy to back the Manchester Originals here at 1.9 or bigger. This is a game for small stakes however, as I am worried about the Birmingham spinners and what impact they can have on the game. The Manchester batting looks better though and I feel that can give them the edge. This game is going to be very close, but Manchester edge it for me.

The Edge Says:
One point win Manchester Originals to beat Birmingham Phoenix at 1.9 with BETDAQ Betting Exchange

View the market here -> https://bit.ly/BDQManBir

IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

The in-running strategy could change a lot here depending on what the wicket is like, so definitely do watch the ball like a hawk early. I think it will pay to support the bowling side today as Birmingham look far stronger in that department anyway and Manchester could easily bowl out Birmingham looking at their batting order. If we do have a dry and slow wicket, the side batting first will have an edge, but I’m not sure I want to be looking for trades on the batting side here. I’d rather see them get a decent score and support them while bowling. Also on a tricky pitch with a new format, the team batting first might aim too high and fall short which can happen a lot – so there’s a lot of positives here to support the bowling side in both innings.