The first silverware of the county season will be won on Saturday when Surrey take on Nottinghamshire in the Royal London One Day Cup final at Lord’s. This is the first year that the final has been back in July having been a September finale in recent years.
The two sides are seen as being among the most powerful in the county game and both are enjoying good seasons in other competitions so we should be set for a cracking conclusion to the domestic 50 over campaign.
Nottinghamshire
The Outlaws are in their first Lord’s final since they won the Yorkshire Bank 40 competition in 2013. They are renowned for being one of the most explosive sides in the country with the bat and we have seen that in the knockout stages of this tournament where they have put up 429/9 at Somerset and chased down 371 at Essex.
If there is a concern for them heading into this final it arrives with the ball where they have leaked runs for the entire campaign despite the plethora of international experience they have at their disposal. They will need to be tight here but they have bags of top level nous in their ranks which could be key.
Surrey
If it is Nottinghamshire’s batsmen who have got them into this final then you would say it is the opposite for Surrey. That isn’t to say that they are poor with the bat. They are anything but that but they have possibly the best bowling attack in the competition and that will give them confidence as they cross the river.
Surrey were thoroughly convincing in their two knockout matches as they kept Yorkshire at arm’s reach in the quarter final before absolutely destroying Worcestershire in the semi-final. On both occasions they put up more than 300 with the bat and their opponents couldn’t get on top of the Surrey bowling to remain competitive.
Team News
Nottinghamshire suffered a blow in the run up to this final when Jake Ball was ruled out with an injury. Stuart Broad has been passed fit but you suspect he isn’t 100%. Alex Hales is available as is James Pattinson who has hung around for this match.
Surrey are at full strength for this final with Jason Roy eligible to play and Kumar Sangakkara appearing in a Lord’s final in his last season has a full-time player.
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Betting
Heading into the week I couldn’t pick a winner in this final but the injury to Jake Ball and the doubts over the fitness of Stuart Broad push the balance in the favour of Surrey. The down side to backing Surrey is that they have lost the last two finals but they were in September when all sorts of crazy things can take place.
I’m not convinced that will be the case on what should be a sunny day in July. I’ve always been of the belief that the better bowling attack wins big matches and that is definitely Surrey so I’m with them here.
I do however think this will be a high scoring final. In the four innings these two had in their knockout matches they posted totals of 429/9, 313/7, 373/5 and 363/7 and with Lord’s being flat as a pancake these days I’m expecting plenty more runs from these two powerful batting line ups. A 595.5 runs line means we only need 300 from both sides and that is par for the course these days. I’ll go with the overs.
Ben Foakes has been a man in form this season and after taking him to cover his runs line in the semi-final I’m going to take him again. In this Nottinghamshire attack there is the potential to score against it and with Foakes seen as an outside chance of an England call up at some point this year he has the perfect platform to perform here. I fancy he can cover 24.5 runs once again.
Finally I can’t resist a dabble on Steven Mullaney to top score for Nottinghamshire. We all saw his heroics in the semi-final when his outstanding century got the Outlaws home in a thriller and he goes into this final off the back of a huge career best 168 in the Championship in midweek. Surrey get stuck in at the top of the order so the top score could still be available for Mullaney when he gets in and 10/1 is a big price on him to capitalise.
Tips
Back Surrey to beat Nottinghamshire for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Skybet
Back them here:
Back Over 595.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back it here:
Back B.Foakes – Over 24.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Coral
Back him here:
Back S.Mullaney Top Nottinghamshire Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Betfred
Back him here:
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