Richard Mann takes a look at Sunday's action from The Hundred, with Manchester Originals' home clash with Birmingham Phoenix under the microscope.
Cricket betting tips: The Hundred
2pts Manchester Originals to beat Birmingham Phoenix at 10/11 (General)
MANCHESTER ORIGINALS look a solid bet to beat Birmingham Phoenix at home on Sunday, with the fixture scheduled to begin at 6pm, UK time.
On the face of it, both sides have been disappointing this season, two wins from six matches hardly doing justice to two talent-laden squads.
But you’d have to worry about Phoenix who were awful against a moderate Welsh Fire on Friday, batting poorly on a good pitch and then offering little threat with the ball.
Their three-pronged Kiwi pace attack have so far proved poor business, with Tim Southee reduced to a passenger of late.
Ben Duckett has barely scored a run, Will Smeed not that much better, meaning time and time again, Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell have been left with too much to do in the middle order.
That’s not to say the Originals are bombproof, but both their wins came at home in conditions they know well, and they hammered Northern Superchargers here a week ago.
Jos Buttler, who has been excellent all campaign, again shone on that occasion, as did the inconsistent but very dangerous Heinrich Klaasen.
In fact, this Originals top six just looks that bit more solid to me, in the main because of Buttler’s excellence, but also because Phil Salt and Rachin Ravindra are proven internationals with good pedigree.
On what we’ve seen so far, it’s hard to argue that the Phoenix attack gives them the edge, and I’d actually worry for their bowlers on this ground.
Manchester, as flat as it’s been this summer, does generally offer something for the spinners, and in each of the last two editions of this competition, we’ve had one game at Old Trafford played on poor surfaces which saw scores of sub-100.
We haven’t seen it yet this term, and perhaps we won’t, but through Noor Ahmad, the hosts have the trump card in terms of spin, and seamers such as Lewis Gregory and Scott Currie whose cutters and changes of pace can be mighty effective.
I view Phoenix as much more one-dimensional, in all conditions, so make the Originals a bet at 11/10.
Sunday’s earlier match sees Welsh Fire entertain Trent Rockets.
I remain of the view that Fire are poor, though Ben Kellaway’s inclusion at long last makes them better.
However, I’ve unsuccessfully chased a big-priced winner in the top Fire batsman market all season, so am loathe to take a strong view again.
Preview published at 1045 BST on 23/08/25
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