The in-form Trent Rockets welcome the struggling Birmingham Phoenix to Nottingham on Wednesday evening for a 6pm start in the men's Hundred competition.
The Rockets have been in imperious form so far this campaign with just one loss in their opening five fixtures.
That came in their first match of the competition and they have since won four consecutive matches to sit top of the standings ahead of the Welsh Fire on net run rate.
Their nine-wicket victory over the Fire underlined their strength. With the first-placed team after eight matches going straight through to the final, while second and third play in the Eliminator, topping the standings will be a huge motivator for the Rockets to keep up this superb run.
Their winning streak is likely to continue here given they are facing Hundred bottom side Birmingham Phoenix, who won in the opening round of fixtures but have lost three on the bounce since then, a sequence likely to continue in Nottingham.
Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix Tips Summary
Best Bet - Ben Duckett most match fours @ 11/4
Alternative Bet - Rehan Ahmed top Birmingham Phoenix bowler @ 5/1
Bet Builder - Trent Rockets to win, Finn Allen 3+ fours & Craig Overton 2+ wickets @ 6/1
Trent Rockets Men v Birmingham Phoenix Men Prediction
Best Bet: Ben Duckett most match fours @ 11/4
England opener Ben Duckett has been in imperious form this summer and never more so than when donning the Rockets colours.
Duckett is the leading run scorer in this season's competition with 240 in five innings, only once scoring below 49 when he got an uncharacteristic two-ball duck against Manchester Super Giants.
He has a high score of 75 this season and has smashed 35 fours and four sixes.
Duckett has managed 15 more fours than anyone in the competition and can continue his fine run with the bat against the weakest side in the tournament.
Alternative Bet: Rehan Ahmed top Birmingham Phoenix bowler @ 5/1
There have been few positives for the Phoenix in this year's competition so far, but Rehan Ahmed's form gives them a slight hope in this match.
The England all-rounder has contributed with both the bat and ball, hitting a top score of 48 in his opening match for the side and taking five wickets in his last three matches.
The Phoenix still have four matches remaining in the group stage so are not out of the competition just yet, but realistically they need a win in this match to keep their slim hopes alive.
If they are to seal all four points, then Ahmed is likely to be key in both facets of the game.
He is the only Phoenix bowler to have taken five wickets in this summer's tournament, so backing the spinner to finish this match as his side's top bowler appeals.
Trent Rockets v Birmingham Phoenix Bet Builder Tip
Trent Rockets to win
Finn Allen 3+ fours
Craig Overton 2+ wickets
Pays 6/1
The Rockets have been flying since their opening round defeat and they are more than capable of making it five wins on the bounce against a Phoenix team who are low on confidence and coming into this match off the back of three straight defeats.
Duckett has rightly been taking all the plaudits for his phenomenal form with the bat this summer, but he has been ably supported by Finn Allen at the top of the Rockets' order.
Allen has 150 runs to his name in five innings and is second only to Duckett when it comes to fours hit.
Duckett's 35 is far and away the most in the competition, but Allen's 20 is still four more than anyone else not playing for the Rockets.
The short boundaries at Trent Bridge are sure to have played a part in their success and another match at home will suit Allen and the Kiwi can comfortably beat this line.
Rounding off this Rockets-heavy three-fold is backing seamer Craig Overton to take two or more wickets.
Overton's form this summer has seen him mentioned in the conversation to replace Ben Stokes in the England Test side and, although the white-ball specialist has played down the noise surrounding him, his form with the ball is doing the talking for him.
In The Hundred, Overton has six wickets to his name with best figures of 2-15 and the Rockets quick is more than capable of matching that haul against an out-of-sorts Phoenix side.
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Key Match Stats
Trent Rockets have won two of their last three matches against the Birmingham Phoenix
The Rockets have won four consecutive matches after losing their tournament opener
Birmingham Phoenix have lost three on the trot after their opening round victory
Trent Rockets' Ben Duckett is the tournament’s leading run scorer with 240 in four innings
Ben Duckett leads the way in the most fours market with 35; team-mate Finn Allen is second with 20
Rehan Ahmed is Birmingham Phoenix's most potent bowler with five wickets
Tactics, Form & Team News
Trent Rockets sit top of the table and have four straight wins to their name, making any changes to their settled line-up highly unlikely.
Duckett and Allen set the tone at the top of the order, with Overton leading the attack with the ball.
Expected Trent Rockets XI: Ben Duckett, Finn Allen, Aneurin Donald, Sam Billings (c & wk), Tim David, Mitchell Santner, Craig Overton, Lewis Gregory, Calvin Harrison, Matt Henry, Mohammad Amir.
The Phoenix need a win in this clash and despite their poor form, faith is likely to be kept in their big names with the international players expected to stand up and be counted in the final matches of the group phase.
Ben Dwarshuis will be pushing for a recall to the side and could come into the bowling attack.
Jacob Bethell's absence has been keenly felt, with the England man ruled out of the tournament as he faces a race against time to be fit for the upcoming international series versus Pakistan.
Expected Birmingham Phoenix XI: Mitchell Owen, Will Smeed, Joe Clark (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Laurie Evans, Donovan Ferreira (c), Sean Dickson, Scott Currie, Ben Dwarshuis, Saqib Mahmood, Usman Tariq.
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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.
