We are back to just one match in The Hundred on Monday and it comes from Cardiff as the Welsh Fire take on the defending champions Trent Rockets in what is another big clash for both sides in this tournament.
The Welsh Fire can’t seem to get any consistency going but they will move from fifth to second in the table with a win here. The Rockets have fallen to the bottom of the table over the weekend but a win here will move them up to third so there is plenty at stake.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Cricket and Sky Mix channels with the build-up beginning at 6pm ahead of the first ball at 6.30pm.
Welsh Fire
The Welsh Fire have won twice, lost twice and come out with a tie in their five matches so far and that all equates to five points. You would imagine three wins to close out the group stage will ensure them a top three finish but they might be able to sneak in with a couple of wins at the right time. Both their defeats have come against the Southern Brave so they will be glad they have seen the back of them until the knockout stages.
The Fire have gone pretty well with the ball in the main in this tournament but their batting has been way too miss than hit for my liking. When you consider one of their matches was a 40 over game we haven’t really seen the best of them with the bat and we might need to start seeing it if they are going to make it into the next stage. Their bowling has got them through on a couple of occasions but it is hard to keep relying on that.
Trent Rockets
The Trent Rockets have played a match less than everyone in the tournament with the exception of the London Spirit so the fact that they are bottom of the table should recall that but even so they would have expected their title defence to be going much better than it is to date. They won the opening match of the tournament but they are still looking for a second win having had a washout and gone down to the Northern Superchargers and the London Spirit since then.
The problem that Trent Rockets have is that in their last two matches they have gone the distance with the ball. They had the Superchargers three down inside the first 10 balls and still shipped 142 and then the Spirit took them for more than 190. That is something they need to sort out if they are going to take their title defence into the latter stages of the season, especially with a couple of their star batters looking bang out of form.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for this competition! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Key Players
Jonny Bairstow had a bit of an inauspicious start to life at the Welsh Fire this season when he was out for a duck and he’ll be looking for much better in this one. If he can take care of the powerplay the Fire will be well on their way to victory.
Daniel Sams showed that he can clear the ropes at will in the defeat to the London Spirit but the Rockets need his death bowling to come to the fore potentially more than his fireworks with the bat. He’ll hope to deliver that here.
Betting
In recent matches in this tournament I have expected some high scoring matches but that isn’t the case here. I think the Welsh Fire are really struggling with the bat and while it can often be that going up against a team who isn’t performing well with the ball can fix that issue, there is a lot of bowling talent in this Trent Rockets side and I would expect them to pick up when it comes to the bowling at some point so why not against a struggling batting unit?
Cardiff isn’t the easiest place to score runs. The pitch is often low and slow and the square boundaries and areas where batters usually target as the default slog areas are so long that runs can be harder to come by. The Welsh Fire have a top bowling unit and their Pakistan duo play their last match of the campaign here so they’ll be eager to go out in style. The Trent Rockets’ new ball pair have been delivering the goods and if we get new ball wickets I don’t see either team recovering enough with the bat for 282.5 runs to be challenged.
Tips
Back Under 282.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
