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Cricket tips: The Hundred – Birmingham Phoenix v Manchester Originals
1pt Tom Helm top Birmingham Phoenix bowler at 15/4 (Betway)
- Richard Mann is 25.7pts in profit so far in The Hundred
Manchester Originals have turned their campaign around with three straight wins, and their meeting with Birmingham Phoenix on Sunday is now a key clash as The Hundred enters its latter stages.
Despite losing the injured Jos Buttler for the remainder of the competition, the Originals have really started to fire with the bat – posting scores of 188-3 and 208-5 when batting first in their last two matches – and the likes of Phil Salt, Laurie Evans and Tristan Stubbs will be hoping Edgbaston can serve up another decent batting surface.
Birmingham has hosted a remarkable amount of cricket this summer, with the addition of the women’s Commonwealth Games putting extra strain on the square, but the wickets have remained good, and Phoenix chased down 146 with ease against Trent Rockets recently.
Batting power on show in The Hundred
The power the Originals possess in their batting line-up makes them a formidable opponent for any team, though they must overcome a fine outfit in Phoenix on Sunday.
Last year’s runners-up lost to Northern Superchargers but bounced back against Oval Invincibles only a few days ago, making it four wins from six for the hosts this term.
Whether Phoenix should be as short as 4/7 against such dangerous opposition is another matter, and I’ll stick to the side markets for a bet.
With the likes of Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone going so well for Phoenix and the Originals the same, the top batsman markets are tricky to get an angle on, and the bowler markets make more appeal.
Helm preferred in match bet
For Phoenix, TOM HELM has gone under the radar a little, but has taken 10 wickets from six matches this term, and he was outstanding when claiming 3/11 from 20 balls against the Invincibles.
I was initially reluctant to take on the excellent Kane Richardson who has also bagged 10 wickets this term, but this looks a clear match on paper – Harry Brookes’ six wickets is the next highest for Phoenix this season – and the Australian might have to use up plenty of his quota here, given the strength of the Originals top order and the need for early strikes.
That, along with Helm’s price (15/4), and the fact he comes into this game on the back of a season’s best, suggest he is the bet.
Posted at 1645 BST on 26/08/22
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