THE EDGE: The Edge previews The Hundred clash between Welsh Fire v Birmingham Phoenix with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Welsh Fire v Birmingham Phoenix
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We have another massive double header at the Hundred on Betdaq Betting Exchange this Saturday! We kick off the action with Southern Brave v Trent Rockets in the opening game, but my focus is on a must win game between Welsh Fire and Birmingham Phoenix later in the day. We’re closing in on the final stretch of group games at the Hundred, and I don’t think it’s too dramatic to say this is a must win game given where both sides sit. As things stand, Birmingham Phoenix have six points with Welsh Fire just behind them on five. We had our first game washed out of the season on Thursday night in Cardiff; Welsh Fire would have been absolutely gutted. They had Northern Superchargers held to 26/5 in a 25 ball game – they “would have” chased that easily but the rain came back.
A loss here for either side would see them out of the race for the playoffs. Even the winning side will have their hands full. Oval Invincibles and Southern Brave both look very strong; all eyes will actually be on the early game today to see where these sides stand heading into the evening game. They will be hoping for a Southern Brave win there to keep Trent Rockets within touch. Best case scenario for either side is third, and for Welsh Fire they are massively up against it given they have played one game more. The Welsh Fire batting has looked weak outside of Jonny Bairstow, but you could easily say that about Birmingham Phoenix too outside of their big named England players.
Their bowlers led the way in hammering Northern Superchargers earlier in the week, but you’d still have to have a massive worry about the form of Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali. It was good to see them actually open with Moeen Ali only chasing 83, and he scored a nice 37 off 21 balls – they need him to stay in that type of form to have any chance at a playoff spot. It’s do-or-die here, which is always entertaining.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
This is the last game of the season at Cardiff, and with Thursday being a washout the Hundred has been quite under-whelming here this season. The first inning scores have been 113/9 (won), 139/5 (won) and then we had Northern Superchargers held to 26/5 in a 25 ball innings on Thursday before it rained again. It’s interesting to see scores so low because in the last T20 Blast game here we saw absolutely carnage with a 240+ score posted. You would have to go with the general trend over the last two weeks though and not expect runs to be scored easily. Thankfully the weather looks better on Saturday evening.
RECOMMENDED BET:
This is an interesting market. It’s one where you can get a lot of different opinions, because it’s quite easy to pick holes in either side to be honest. You can say the Welsh Fire have been poor at times, especially with the bat and the same can be said about Birmingham Phoenix too. I do feel Birmingham Phoenix have bowled better, and that’s where the difference will be – on a ground where bowlers have definitely been on top too! I think outside of Jonny Bairstow, the Welsh Fire batting looks like a line-up you want to take on. I’m keen to keep stakes small here given both sides have had their issues though!
The Edge Says:
One point win Birmingham Phoenix to beat Welsh Fire at 1.83 with Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/WelBir
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
So far at Cardiff you’ve really wanted to be on the bowling side. In the two completed games we had reasonably low scores, and then they were defended. I would go into this game expecting batting to be difficult, but we can get very good wickets here so I would suggest keeping an open mind for the first few balls and seeing what the wicket it like. I feel the best in-running trade will be taking on the Welsh Fire batting once Bairstow is out in either innings – first or second. I do feel it will pay to look for trades on both bowling sides here.
