The Hundred - Cricket: Southern Brave v Manchester Originals preview

bet365 News Team Published: Aug 17 2022 13:14

Having lost three of their first four matches in The Hundred, Southern Brave Men will be desperate for a home victory over Manchester Originals.

However, the Brave - winners of the inaugural men's title in 2021 - face an Originals side led by England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler and buoyed by their first win of the campaign against Welsh Fire on Tuesday.

What	Southern Brave Men v Manchester Originals Men, The Hundred
Where	The Rose Bowl, Southampton, Hampshire
When	19:00, Thursday 18th August 2022
How to watch	Sky Sports Cricket, Main Event & Mix
Odds	Southern Brave Men 4/5, Manchester Originals Men 1/1

Brave faltering after bright start

Southern Brave swaggered to the Hundred title last summer and they started their trophy defence in similar fashion, easing to a nine-wicket win over Welsh Fire thanks to an unbeaten 71 from skipper James Vince.

Now, though, Vince – who has already led Hampshire to T20 Blast glory this summer – must rouse his side after three straight defeats against Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit and Oval Invincibles.

Southern Brave are 4/5 to get back to winning ways against the 1/1 Originals but they have been hit hard by injuries to England pacemen Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills.

Both players have been ruled out of the tournament so Vince and his fellow batters will need to step up to compensate for the Brave's depleted bowling unit.

The home skipper is 11/4 to be Southern Brave's top batter against the Originals but he has scored just 32 runs in three innings since his match-winning knock in the season opener.

A bigger concern is the form of Vince's opening partner Quinton de Kock. The South Africa star is 10/11 to outscore his Brave teammates on Thursday but he has had a string of low scores in The Hundred and Twenty20 cricket this summer.

De Kock's first three knocks for the Brave were 15, two and eight and he came into the tournament after scores of two, 15, nought, seven and seven in five T20 internationals against England and Ireland.

Vince and De Kock's struggles at the top of the order are in contrast to their Manchester Originals counterparts Buttler and Phil Salt, who have scored 49 per cent of their side's runs off the bat this season.

The England pair put on 66 from just 35 balls against Welsh Fire last time out and are 10/11 to have the highest opening partnership at the Rose Bowl.

Salt and Stubbs could shake up six-hitting market

Both teams have lost three of their first four matches, which is surprising given the number of big-name players in the two camps.

The Player to Score Most Sixes market demonstrates the depth of talent on show as Manchester's Andre Russell 15/4 and Southern Brave's Tim David 13/2 are two of the most feared hitters on the Twenty20 franchise circuit.

Originals captain Buttler has to be respected at 15/4 although he has hit only three sixes from 94 balls in this year's Hundred while his opening partner Salt 13/2 cleared the ropes four times in his 22-ball 38 against the Fire on Tuesday.

Another player for punters to consider in this heat is South African batter Tristan Stubbs, who hit four consecutive sixes for the Originals in last week's defeat to Trent Rockets.

Stubbs's feat was even more impressive given that the bowler he took apart was his international teammate Tabraiz Shamsi, currently number two in the ICC's T20 bowling rankings.

The 22-year-old also cracked eight sixes in his first T20 international innings against England last month and he is 17/2 to overshadow some illustrious hitters at the Rose Bowl.

What	Southern Brave Women v Manchester Originals Women, The Hundred
Where	The Rose Bowl, Southampton, Hampshire
When	15:30, Thursday 18th August 2022
How to watch	Sky Sports Cricket, Main Event & Mix
Odds	Southern Brave Women 4/7, Manchester Originals Women 1/1

Southern Brave batters expected to shine again

Southern Brave Women lost in the final of The Hundred last season but they are 4/7 to make it three wins out of three in 2022 with a home victory over 11/8 Manchester Originals on Thursday.

The Brave were bowled out for just 73 in a disappointing final defeat to Oval Invincibles so they will be pleased with their batting performances in their first two games of the new campaign.

Their batters needed to hit the ground running after Australian better Beth Mooney crunched 97 not out for London Spirit in their opening game.

England's Danni Wyatt set up a successful run-chase with a blistering 65 off 34 balls and she is 3/1 to be Southern Brave's top batter against the Originals.

Her opening partner Smriti Mandhana of India stole the show in the 12-run win over the Invincibles last time out, scoring 46 off 25 before spinner Georgia Adams took 2-16 from her 20 balls.

Adams claimed the key wickets of the well-set Lauren Winfield-Hill and Marizanne Kapp and she is also a talented batter, scoring 36 runs from 28 balls in her first two appearances. It is 14/1 that she claims her second Match Hero award of the season.

Manchester Originals were skittled for 76 in their opening defeat to Trent Rockets but they bounced back well, beating Welsh Fire by 11 runs thanks to a brilliant all-round display from West Indies star Deandra Dottin.

She followed up her unbeaten 67 from 37 balls by dismissing Australia internationals Rachael Haynes and Annabel Sutherland and is 13/2 to be the Match Hero at the Rose Bowl.