THE EDGE: Our cricket tipster The Edge previews Thursday’s The Hundred clash between Southern Brave v Manchester Originals with a recommended BETDAQ bet.

MATCH OVERVIEW:

The Hundred games keep coming thick and fast on BETDAQ Betting Exchange, and we move to the Rose Bowl on Thursday evening as Southern Brave host Manchester Originals. When you look at the table you can actually see that this is a vital game for both sides. They both arrive into this fixture with only one win from four games, and a place in the playoffs is getting further and further away. The winner will give themselves a fighting chance while the loser will just have to finish the tournament with pride to be honest – it’s unlikely you’re making it to the playoffs with only one win from your opening five games.

So, a massive game then. Manchester Originals started the tournament slowly losing their opening three games, but they finally recorded a win against the poor Welsh Fire on Tuesday night. I wouldn’t be raving too much about that – I’ve already highlighted how poor Welsh Fire look with the bat and they have looked like the worst team in the tournament from early on. That being said, Manchester Originals have some fantastic power hitters and that would have been a nice confidence boost for their bowlers. Their bowling is clearly an issue, and it will be interesting to see how they perform against Southern Brave here.

It will be a surprise to see Southern Brave fighting it out down the bottom of the table for casual cricket fans after they lifted the trophy last season. They started this season very well too but have now put three losses together. Only one of those games was close and they are now starting to have problems at the top of the order. Looking at their middle order, they really do need the top order to fire. We have a fascinating game here, with a lot at stake.

WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:

This will be the third game here, and scores haven’t been too high. We saw Welsh Fire only manage 107/7 in the first game of the tournament and then London Spirit were able to defend 147/6. The Rose Bowl isn’t usually a high scoring ground that’s loaded with sixes. We have a big outfield and generally you have to work hard for your runs here. That being said, we did see high scores from India and South Africa in T20 Internationals here this summer – they did win by wide margins too. I wouldn’t be expecting a very big score. It’s worth keeping an eye on the radar too with the thunderstorms about but the forecast is for a nice day on Thursday at the moment.

RECOMMENDED BET:

There really isn’t much between the sides here. They have the same record, and they both have their flaws. Perhaps Manchester Originals can “get away” with their weak point here – the bowlers should have conditions to help a little – I’m not expecting a very slow scoring game by any means, just we don’t get many wickets here that you could call a road. Southern Brave have major issues with their middle order, and the pressure is on their openers. I would have this game 50/50 to be honest and with Manchester Originals trading 2.06, I’m happy to take the small bit of value on offer. They have a lot of power hitters in their side to get them over the line. Hopefully we can keep our winning run on Manchester going!

The Edge Says:
One point win Manchester Originals to beat Southern Brave at 2.06 with Betdaq Exchange.

View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/BraOri

IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:

As I said above, Manchester Originals would have taken great confidence from bowling Welsh Fire out for 102 on Tuesday night – their bowlers had been smacked around the park so far in the tournament. Let’s not get carried away though – the Welsh Fire batting looks terrible and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Manchester bowlers struggle again here. They do have reasonably good bowling conditions though in the sense that this isn’t a high scoring ground, and I feel the major market movement is going to be at the top of the order here for Southern Brave. If they can get Quinton de Kock and James Vince out early; I feel they will do very well against the middle order. If they don’t get the openers though you can see them conceding a high score again. The best play might be supporting the top four from Manchester Originals when they bat however, and then just sitting out while they bowl to the Southern Brave openers, and then taking on the Southern Brave middle order.