THE EDGE: The Edge previews The Hundred clash between Oval Invincibles v Southern Brave with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Oval Invincibles v Southern Brave
MATCH OVERVIEW:
We have a top of the table clash at the Hundred on Betdaq Betting Exchange as Oval Invincibles host Southern Brave on Thursday night! Both sides have lead the way this year with four wins from five games, and with Northern Superchargers losing on Tuesday night it now looks like they will very likely take up to top two spots. What order that comes in is very important at the Hundred because it’s not like other franchise leagues where the top two get two chances at the Final. The side who tops the table goes straight to the Final while second and third play an Eliminator to join them. It’s a bit harsh on the second place, but it’s always been the way.
Both sides have already had wins this weekend. Southern Brave beat Welsh Fire by 42 runs at the start of the week while Oval Invincibles had a dramatic win over Manchester Originals – they posted a good score of 164/8 but in a tense finish they managed to win by three runs. Once again Manchester Originals had a good start with their openers but their middle order fell apart – they sit rock bottom still waiting for their first win of the tournament! This should be a high quality game – the batting has been a little sub-par at the Hundred as a whole this season. We saw another collapse a very low score on Tuesday night; players are blaming the logo on the ball for the movement and low scores, but there’s definitely an element of poor batting too.
These two sides have been the most reliable with the bat, and it’s no surprise that they sit top of the table. We have a fascinating match in store – you could call this the best game of the tournament so far given the way both sides have been playing.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
The Oval is usually a good place to bat in white ball cricket. We have had a very low score here though; Birmingham Phoenix collapsed for 89 in the opening game of the tournament here. Northern Superchargers posted 145/5 in the second game here and won by 19 runs. There’s something about the Hundred this season that definitely makes you worry about expecting runs – even on good batting wickets. The jury is out on whether it actually is the logo on the ball as the players have been saying, but the reality is I wouldn’t go into any game expecting a big score at the moment. That being said, we do have the two sides who have batted the best here.
RECOMMENDED BET:
This is a fascinating market. Oval Invincibles are the favourites, but I feel Southern Brave offer the value at 2.1 or bigger. I really don’t see much between the sides here, and I’d make this a 50/50 game. Southern Brave have ticked a lot of boxes so far at this tournament, and they have scored the most runs too – considering we’ve had a lot of poor batting that is no mean feat. Kieron Pollard seems in decent form with the bat too, which is very important in the finishing role. Their bowling is definitely improved, and as I said they appeal as the value in what I believe is a 50/50 game.
The Edge Says:
One point win Southern Brave to beat Oval Invincibles at 2.1 on Betdaq Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/OvaSth
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
With another collapse on Tuesday evening, this time from the in-form batting of Northern Superchargers, once again I would suggest it’s wise not to trust any batting side at the moment. We have the two best batting sides here, but I would still take a cautious approach – I don’t actually see a major area to target in-running for this game. I don’t see batting or bowling offering a massive edge, and with both sides in form nothing screams that you want to take on the openers/middle-order/bowling of either side. This is definitely a game to react to market movements based on what we see – there will be over-reactions at some point!
