It is too early to panic perhaps but Southern Brave Men need a change of fortunes pretty quickly after losing their opening two games of this season's Hundred, although it may not come easily as they next face the three-time defending champions, MI London, on Monday.
Three-time defending champions MI got their campaign off to the perfect start when they cruised to a seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Leeds, but then suffered a 15-run defeat to Welsh Fire on Saturday and are now also looking for a response.
The Brave have lost both games to the same opposition as MI so far and can ill-afford another setback as they look to return to the play-offs, having missed out last season when finishing fourth after losing four of their eight games.
Southern Brave Men v MI London Men Tips Summary
Best Bet - MI London to win @ 4/6
Alternative Bet - James Vince Top MI London batter @ 11/4
Bet Builder - Will Jacks under 22.5 runs, Marcus Stoinis over 18.5 runs, Batter Match - Ben McKinney (v Jamie Smith) & Richard Gleeson 1+ wickets @ 9/1
Southern Brave Men v MI London Men Prediction
Best Bet: MI London to win @ 4/6
These two sides have played the same opposition and MI London have won a game so have started the season in better shape, and they weren't that far away from winning the second either but Rachin Ravindra's brutal 98 made a telling difference in a 15-run reverse.
The Braves were restricted to 135-7 by the Fire, who eased to a six-wicket win, and although they got close to Sunrisers' huge total in a five-run defeat, the fact that they allowed the opposition openers to put on 111 is a huge worry.
The total could have been bigger had it not been for some Adil Rashid magic with the England ace limiting the damage by taking 3-21.
MI London also have a dominant record in the head-to-heads, winning each of the last five games having lost the very first meeting back in 2021, while three of their batters have already registered a half-century this season.
The Brave are still waiting for someone to reach that landmark as they struggle to click into gear, and they may be on the end of a third successive defeat as a result.
Alternative Bet: James Vince Top MI London batter @ 11/4
James Vince would no doubt love to get one over his former club and looks in the sort of form to be able to do just that by topping the run-scoring for the visitors on Monday.
The Hampshire Hawks T20 captain smashed a century in his last match at the Rose Bowl, in the quarter-finals of the Blast, and followed up with a half-century in the semis.
While he wasn't able to match those sorts of heroics in either the Blast final or the opening game of this competition, he found his better form by leading the way in the ultimately unsuccessful run-chase against the Fire on Saturday, clubbing seven fours and four sixes in a 38-ball 66, 42 runs clear of the next best.
Sam Curran and Nicholas Pooran had scored fifties in the win over Leeds but failed to follow up, and given the Brave's struggles to take wickets in the opening two games, Vince looks very good value at the top of the order.
Southern Brave Men v MI London Men Bet Builder Tips
- Will Jacks under 22.5 runs
- Marcus Stoinis over 18.5 runs
- Batter Match - Ben McKinney (v Jamie Smith)
- Richard Gleeson 1+ wickets
Pays 9/1
Will Jacks has not been in fantastic form with the bat and only once struck more than 20 runs in five innings against India, admittedly batting lower down the order, but his struggles have continued in the Hundred with innings of 2 and 12.
Marcus Stoinis overcame a back issue that forced him to miss the first game and struck 31 off 16 balls batting at three against Sunrisers, and can pass a relatively low run line.
Ben McKinney has won the batter match bet against Jamie Smith in the Brave's opening two games and after striking a team-leading 44 off 23 balls he can complete the treble.
Turning to the bowlers for the final leg of the Bet Builder, Richard Gleeson has taken a wicket in all but one of his last eight games in the shorter formats, including figures of 4-25 and 1-40 in the Hundred, and he can keep that wicket-taking success going against an out-of-sorts Brave line-up.
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Key Match Stats
- MI London have won the last three editions of the Men's Hundred
- MI London have won and lost one of their opening two games this season, beating Sunrisers Leeds before losing to Welsh Fire
- Southern Brave have played the same opposition but lost both games
- MI London have won five straight games against the Brave, after losing the first head-to-head back in 2021
- James Vince, Nicholas Pooran and Sam Curran have all scored fifties for MI over the first two games
- No player has reached the half-century milestone for the Brave so far
- MI's Richard Gleeson has taken five wickets in the opening two games
Tactics, Form & Team News
Marcus Stoinis overcame a sore back to play against Sunrisers, taking 1-29 before scoring 31 so is likely to play again for the Brave, who will decide whether to bring back Thomas Rew or keep the faith with Nikhil Choudhary.
Expected Southern Brave XI: 1 Jamie Smith (wk), 2 Ben McKinney, 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 David Miller, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Nikhil Choudhary, 7 Chris Jordan (c), 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Luke Wood, 11 Dan Worrall.
MI London brought in Sherfane Rutherford to face Welsh Fire, despite Josh Philippe not getting a chance to bat in the opener against Sunrisers, and he is likely to keep his place after striking an unbeaten 24.
Expected MI London XI: 1 Will Jacks, 2 James Vince, 3 Jason Roy, 4 Sam Curran (c), 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Tom Curran, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Richard Gleeson, 11 Nathan Sowter.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
