The second half of the double header of action in The Hundred on Tuesday comes from Edgbaston where two powerful sides do battle as the race for the playoffs hots up when the Birmingham Phoenix host the Northern Superchargers.
These two could lay claim to being the two most powerful batting sides in the competition and if they ignite we could be in for something special. Both teams are on the fringes of the top three spots so this is a big game.
Where to watch
This match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket channels with the build-up beginning at 6pm ahead of the first ball at 6.30pm.
Birmingham Phoenix
The season started slowly for the Birmingham Phoenix when they were taken to the cleaners by the defending champions Oval Invincibles but it has picked up a lot since then and they go into the second half of the campaign with two wins to their name but when you consider that three of their last four matches are at home so if a team is going to come from deeper in the table to gatecrash the top three it could well be the Phoenix.
I think it is fair to say that their batting hasn’t fired to the levels that we would have expected it to so far but the innings of Ben Duckett in the defeat to the Southern Brave might just spark them into life and if their top order can come up with the goods there is certainly the firepower in this side to make a real impression on the tournament. I’ve always thought that the one thing which could hold Birmingham back is the lack of a mystery spinner so they will need their batting to fire.
Northern Superchargers
You could say the same about the Northern Superchargers in terms of how their season started slowly but has improved since then. They were absolutely terrible in their opening loss to the Trent Rockets and it would have been hard to believe immediately after that game that they would go on and win the next three but to their credit that is exactly what they have done and now they are in a position where they could end up being the ones to go straight into the final.
There is no doubting that it is the batting that is getting the job done for the Superchargers but when you look down their top six when everyone is fit and available it is one of the strongest that has been assembled so it is no surprise that they are delivering the goods. To be fair to the bowling, while the majority of the coin was spent on the batting, the bowlers are holding their own and if they can win three of their last four they will be in the postseason in some shape or form.
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Key Players
Ben Duckett showed all of his class in the loss to the Southern Brave and while the Birmingham Phoenix top order is finding its feet they could do with the England international filling his boots for a second time here.
Ben Stokes is in line for his first appearance for the Northern Superchargers in this match and you would imagine he will have free reign to go out and entertain so watch out for some big hitting from the England Test captain.
Betting
I don’t think this is an original thought but I can’t believe this match is going to be devoid of sixes. I regular repeat myself when I mention that Edgbaston is not a big ground and with some of the hitters we have on show here I just find it hard to believe that the ball isn’t going to fly regularly in this contest. We have only had one match in The Hundred at Edgbaston and it was high scoring with 13 sixes and now this Northern Superchargers powerful batting unit comes to town.
The sixes line for this match is at 11.5 and when you consider just some of the players we have batting here with the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Ben Stokes, potentially Matt Short, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook and so many more I just can’t believe there isn’t enough to get to a dozen sixes here. There isn’t anything really strong in either bowling unit unlike when the Southern Brave were here at the weekend so I really like the over here.
Tips
Back Over 11.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with William Hill
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