Cricket betting tips: The Hundred Oval Invincibles vs Manchester Originals preview and best bets

Cricket betting tips: The Hundred Saturday August 9

2pts Mark Chapman top Manchester Originals batsman at 9/1 (General)

1pt Tom Curran top Oval Invincibles batsman at 20/1 (bet365, Unibet)

2pts No fifty in the Welsh Fire/London Spirit match at 4/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)

2pts Steve Smith top Welsh Fire batsman at 11/4 (bet365, Star Sports)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Weak batting teams meet in Cardiff

In Saturday's second match from The Hundred, Welsh Fire play London Spirit in Cardiff, 6pm, UK time.

Judging on what we have seen so far, Spirit getting bowled out for only 80 against the Invincibles and Fire only managing 143-9 on a flat one at Headingley, this season could again be a struggle for both outfits.

It’s the batting which is the biggest issue for both franchises.

Fire were particularly poor in that area last season and though Jonny Bairstow made 42 against Northern Superchargers on Thursday, he was a model of inconsistency in the T20 Blast for Yorkshire this summer – making a hundred in the Roses game but only managing a total of 70 runs in his other six outings.

I don’t expect much from him this year, and that batting line-up is full of names who have yet to really deliver in this competition. Like every other side, there is talent there, but we’re yet to see it consistently.

Spirit are arguably worse. Kane Williamson should add solidity, but T20 cricket looks to stretch his attacking skills nowadays, so 100 balls could be real a push.

Keaton Jennings doesn’t have the gears for this format, and with the ageing David Warner a perennially slow starter, I can see that top three getting Spirit behind the rate all season.

Smith the standout for Fire

With all those concerns, I rate NO FIFTY IN THE MATCH a big runner, given neither side managed one in their respective opening matches and that Cardiff can be tricky for batting.

These are two of the worst batting teams in the tournament, so the 4/1 on offer in this market is too big.

It hasn’t taken bookmakers long to tighten up STEVE SMITH’s price in the top WELSH FIRE BATSMAN market, now 11/4 from a general 7/2 for Thursday’s match.

However, we now know the Australian will open the batting for Fire, and that he’s in good touch following his 29 in Leeds which saw him finish second best to Bairstow.

I made the case earlier in the week that whenever Smith drops down to this level from international cricket, he generally does very well, even in the shorter formats.

After what he witnessed in Leeds, I suspect he might reason he needs to play the anchor role in this side, so I'm happy to row in with him again.

Originals face defending champions

Defending champions Oval Invincibles are back on home turf when hosting Manchester Originals in the first of two matches from The Hundred on Saturday, starting at 2.30pm, UK time.

The Invincibles kicked off their bid for a third straight title success with victory over an admittedly poor London Spirit, but the Originals had their death bowling exposed when failing to close out a winning position against Southern Brave.

Still, the Originals do have plenty of talent in their squad, particularly in a batting unit featuring Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Heinrich Klaasen.

The bowling is more reliant on spin, chiefly in the form of Noor Ahmad, though James Anderson comes into this competition on the back of strong returns in the T20 Blast.

Anderson struggled against Brave, but this Oval surface has tended to be more sporting in recent years, as demonstrated in the recent Test match played here, and it will be interesting to see if the new ball does much on Saturday.

Conditions were especially tricky in this tournament last year, but the balls had much to do with that, and we are assured that batch of balls have been consigned to the bin ahead of this season.

Nevertheless, my hunch is that batting could still be tricky in those first few overs, and the tournament has hardly been a run-fest so far.

What are the best bets for The Hundred?

As such, I’m going to throw a couple of darts at the respective top batsman markets, starting with MARK CHAPMAN to be TOP MANCHESTER ORIGINALS BATSMAN.

Regardless of how the match plays out, I do think there is a solid case to be made for Chapman at 9/1, given he made a good impression on debut on Wednesday when striking a rapid 22 not out from only 12 balls.

I’ve long been a big fan of Chapman who has really started to make his mark in international cricket for New Zealand, averaging a staggering 101.33 in ODIs in 2025.

The negative is that Chapman batted down at number five on Wednesday, but these things are often fluid, especially with Klaasen sometimes held back for the second part of the innings.

Furthermore, given the hosts have two right-arm wrist spinners in their starting XI, namely Rashid Khan and Nathan Sowter, the Originals might think long and hard about utilising the only left-hander in their top six when those spinners enter the fray.

It could mean a promotion for Chapman.

Dangerous Curran worth support

For the Originals, I’m going chance my arm on old friend TOM CURRAN who is used exclusively as a finisher in this side, though that didn’t stop him top scoring in the final of this competition in 2023.

Curran was quieter with the bat last term, but I really do rate his lower order hitting, and his last five innings in the T20 Blast this season saw him post scores of 32, 49*, 19, 47 and 17*.

You pay your money and take your chance with Curran, given he’ll bat at number six or seven, but I reckon he’ll land at some stage, meaning quotes of 20/1 could pay if we’re prepared to play the long game.

In respect to Saturday, this Originals bowling attack and its leaky death bowling might just be perfect for Curran’s late antics and he is backed to be TOP OVAL INVINCIBLES BATSMAN.

Preview published at 1635 BST on 08/08/25

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