The Hundred kicks off at Lord's on Tuesday evening, and Richard Mann has a couple of bets for the clash between London Spirit and Oval Invincibles.
Cricket betting tips: London Spirit vs Oval Invincibles
2pts Under 141.5 London Spirit total match runs at 5/6 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
1pt No fifty in the match at 11/4 (bet365, Boylesports)
The sun is promising to make an appearance in London on Tuesday, perfect timing for fans of The Hundred as this year’s tournament begins with London Spirit hosting defending champion Oval Invincibles at Lord’s, live on BBC2 and Sky Sports at 6.30pm, UK time.
I’ve again plumped for the Invincibles in my outright tournament preview here, and am not surprised to see the visitors hardening from 4/6 to win Tuesday’s opener.
Sam Billings leads an outstanding outfit with a strong Surrey core, and the likes of Sam and Tom Curran, along with powerhouse Will Jacks, are ably supported by Jordan Cox who remains firmly on England’s radar for a batting spot.
The Curran brothers will do plenty of bowling as well, so too overseas recruits Jason Behrendorff and Rashid Khan.
This is an excellent side, and I’d expect them to make a winning start at the expense of a Spirit outfit who finished bottom last season.
David Warner and Kane Williamson have been brought in to bolster the home ranks, so the batting has a more solid look to it, but the depth just doesn’t look there to me.
One of the running themes of last year’s competition was how tough batting was against the new ball which swung all throughout August.
That is unusual for the white Kookaburra, and there were rumours aplenty that an extra layer of lacquer had been added to the balls for the tournament branding.
That was never confirmed, not that I picked up anyway, and one would expect that The Hundred organisers would be keen to see higher scores this summer. This is an entertainment business, after all.
WHAT A SIGNING 😱
— The Hundred (@thehundred) March 12, 2025
David Warner will be heading to London Spirit for The Hundred 2025! 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/fz03NrZ8Fd
However, there is no getting away from the fact that Lord’s was hard work for batting.
Of first innings scores, funnily enough, the Invincibles total of 147-5 was the best, followed by 135-5, 127-7 and 94-9.
I’m in no rush to strike any both teams to score bets anyway, and interestingly, there were only three fifties scored in those three Lord’s affairs, two coming in the same match.
With the strength of that Invincibles attack, and the Spirit’s bowling looking their stronger suit with a line-up featuring Dan Worrall, Luke Wood and Liam Dawson, this could well be another low-scoring contest.
I'm happy to go with that strategy for now, and NO FIFTY IN THE MATCH at 11/4 looks a good starting point.
With my overall expectations of the home side pretty lower, I’ll also be backing UNDER 141.5 LONDON SPIRIT TOTAL MATCH RUNS at 5/6.
Preview published at 1415 BST on 04/08/25
ALSO READ: Richard Mann's outright tournament preview
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